How long after buying your horse did you start competing together?

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FleabittenT

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I finally bought my lovely new mare home last week :) So far, she's settled in really well.

There is a local spring show coming up on bank holiday monday, 31st May, I will have owned her nearly 3 weeks by then.

Would you go (assuming horse is fit, capable & has competed before), or would you wait & build more of a bond first?

If so, how long would you / did you wait before you started getting out & about?

Thanks! :)
 
When i got mystic on loan last year (have now bought him) he settled in well, i rode him the day he arrived and I took him to a show a month after he came to me, was my first ever show but he used to be a competition pony.
 
If the horse has been to competitions before then I can see no reason why you couldn't go to the show. I have had all my horses out to shows within 6 weeks of owning them. My current horse was totally green and barely had any of the basics in place but I still took him Autumn hunting 6 weeks later.
 
Mine was only four when I got him, and hadn't done much. I took him to a hunter trial for a mooch around within about a week of getting him I think, and prob competed him within 6 months or so of getting him. That said he had a sarcoid removed and was kicked in that time, so had about 4 months off for recovery anyway!

My second pony I got was out competing (and winning) within a week of me having him :)
 
I took my mare to her first hunter trial a week after she arrived and 5 weeks later to MK 3DE and she was 6th! I don't think it really matters it is all personal opinion and how confident you feel as a partnership. If you trust your mare and feel that you are in tune with each other I should go for it just don't aim too high, keep everything at a level you are both comfortable with until you are more established. Good luck and have fun!
 
The next day.
However, I bought him from someone at the yard and had been trying him for 3 weeks so he was getting used to me and hadn't even moved stables. I'd been jumping him at about 2'9 in lessons. The day after I bought him they had a show jumping comp at our yard so I took him in that.
What I didn't know was that he got stagefright at shows. We started with the 1'6 class as he hadn't seen a lot of fillers but I struggled to get him over the first tiny cross pole and in the end he slammed the breaks on and dumped me on it. I was so embarassed.
Fortunately his old owner was there to help me deal with it and he got round the next class with a bit more style!
 
I tried out one of my horses at a competition (saves hiring an arena, and got to see how well behaved Pippa was). She was good so I took her in the 75cm, which she won, then her previous owner rode her in the 85cm, which she also won. So we bought her!!!! Within a week of owning her I won a 90cm jumping competition.
 
Hell yes get yourself off, enjoy each others company, excellant opportunity to bond, munching grass in the sun, being groomed, no doubt being spoilt with the odd polo mint and lots of fuss and attention etc
 
I've had my horse about 7 weeks, and still haven't been out competing, due to GCSEs :( I have done an SJ clinic though and played round a friend's XC course, and going proper XC schooling on Sat.
I'll hopefully do a hunter trial in half term :)
My last horse, I had a week before we went show jumping. But he was a seasoned competitor. :D If it hadn't been for GCSEs, I probably would have done first comp a couple of weeks after he arrived.
 
Our previous mare did a dressage comp at our home yard a week after she arrived...just wanted to see how she was in the collecting ring etc. She passed the test with flying colours by being totally unphased when some idiot wiped us up the rail!
Our current mare took a while to get used to my husband - she'd only been ridden by a lightweight girl before so it was about three months before we went anywhere. We sneaked off to do an indoor trec where no-one would know the horse to avoid any pressure, and they came 7th out of 60 :)
 
All my horses (on my 6th now) I competed within the first week to two weeks. My present boy I competed 15 days after he arrived but this was only because there was no events on the first weekend! I did my first ever course of jumps on him (and my first fillers) in a two foot six clear round and we went clear and then I did my first ever class which happened to be a derby class with a dyke (which he stepped into and didn't jump) and a bank and wall and we came 5th!!! Following weekend went to another venue did two classes got placed in both. I was getting cocky by then. Third weekend we went to yet another venue and I fell off!!! Ha.
 
I bought my ID and 2 weeks after getting him we entered our first showjumping comp and got a 3rd in the first class and won the next so if you are both fit and ready then i say go for it!!!!
 
My 14.2, 6 days after, I went to a hunter trial and came 3rd.

Mick was bought only to hunt so it was about 4 years before I competed him, but I hunted him about 3 months after buying.
 
henry.... 1 year (no transport)
Trigger .... 5 days (although I didnt ride him, Baydale did, so before that they had never met!)
 
Took the new boy showjumping after two weeks and taking him to an ode on Saturday which will be a month after getting him.
 
Thanks all, good to know!

Will play it by ear, I think, there's plenty going on over summer so I'm not in any rush. Not started asking too many questions of her yet, just enjoying having her! And thought a little local show would be a nice place to start :)
 
The next day... and he was an unschooled 6 yr old who jumped round 90cm well with two runouts due to schooling.
Next one I waited two weeks before going out for a double clear sj/xc comp.
but I only buy honest competition horses so not such a big deal and I'm confident in my ability to ride to instill confidence.
 
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