how stupid am i. anyone feels sick b4 a comp?

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popp

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iv entered my first comp dressage in 4 years and i feel sick thinking about iv always sufferted with nerves at a comp ideas please does anyone else have this problem
 
im so boring, i hardly ever get nerves anymore and some times struggle to get excited it makes it boring, enjoy the nerves!lol and dont make too much of it, think thts why i dont get nerves, i make sure im well prepared and just take what i get on the day! love it when i get a few butterflies in the xc start box, its ace!
deep breaths and some herbal remedy, or booze will help
 
At least you know you're alive! It's all part of the fun
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Don't worry about it, just enjoy!
 
Always, even to the point of feeling nervous before a clear round training session at the weekend.!! Wost point for me is arriving at a place i could just turn right round and drive home, once I'm on and certainly after a first cross pole to warm up i'm ok.

Rescue remedy helps me a bit - dont care if its a placebo (sp) or all in the mind so are my nerves!!

Hip flask used to help out hunting too! Not sure how it would go with dressage.

good luck you can do it
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Absolutely sympathise. Feel sick as a dog(even am sick as a dog..) and can't sleep night before. I think some nerves are good as properly channelled adrenalin can raise your game. Try some Rescue Remedy. You'll feel fine once you are warming up and when you go in, because you will just concentrate on the job in hand. Try smiling as you ride..ok, I know I must look like the village idiot when I do it, but it does help me relax!!
Good luck and have fun! Don't forget to report back!!
 
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Hip flask used to help out hunting too! Not sure how it would go with dressage.

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*chuckle* !

I get butterflys going anywhere away from the yard! If I'm competing, I can't eat before hand and I feel sick for hours before. Once I'm on I'm fine
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Let us know how you get on
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I was just talking to a colleague about this today. It starts about 48hours before and I begin to make lists (they're exactly the same lists that I make every time). Then I start to worry that:
I should have pulled his mane
Should I plait him the night before?
What if I go to bring him in and he's lost a shoe?
What if I get lost/stuck with the trailer on the way?
What if he's a total plank in the dressage and we get eliminated?! before even getting near the SJ/XC?

I'm always dreadful on the morning of the comp. My husband makes me eat and I just want to puke. Its not that I'm scared nervous, just so anxious because I want to do well.

Quick nip from the hip flask is a definite bonus tho' :-) really takes the edge off!!
 
My son always asks why I compete at all, if it makes me feel so sick...it's a good question. I only know I couldn't bear NOT to compete....mainly because a competition makes me a hell of a lot braver than I would normally be!
 
thanks guys its not till next sunday either and its the first time my boy has been out since he slip on the ramp of the lorry and the dressage is at the same place so i hope he will be ok and my first time at a comp on him too. i should be ok once i get going grr
 
I used to be physically sick the morning of a competition and I would be lucky to keep down a cup of tea. I would survive a whole day at an event, walk the course and do everything on sips of tea. I then had some time away from big competitions and discovered rescue remedy which helped when I went back to unaffiliated stuff with my old boy (who was a nutter). Now I have a new young horse and I have to concentrate on keeping calm although I'm so tired after a long week at work, I don't have the energy to be sick! I now make sure I have a small breakfast and lots of RR!!!! I set myself little goals (like being able to mount at the show ground) and then anything better than that I can realy enjoy.
 
Not stupid at all, I'm exactly the same. Not actually sick but feel so nervous and don't want to eat. I went through a phase at college AFTER SJ rounds or individual shows, only when I was riding infront of people, I would physically gag, and have to try and pretend I was just coughing. Perhaps a build up of adrenaline, I don't know? Seems to have gone away as quickly as it came though?
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Not stupid at all, I'm exactly the same. Not actually sick but feel so nervous and don't want to eat. I went through a phase at college AFTER SJ rounds or individual shows, only when I was riding infront of people, I would physically gag, and have to try and pretend I was just coughing. Perhaps a build up of adrenaline, I don't know? Seems to have gone away as quickly as it came though?
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MY LEGS SHAKE AND I START PLAYING WITH THE LENGTH OF MY LEATHERS
 
ha ha ha!

I have also entered my first XC comp in three years which is OVER A MONTH AWAY and everytime i THINK of it my legs go wobbley and I get sooo nervous!!
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I have done the course years ago before and we went clear so i really dont see why its such an issue....
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BUT IT IS!!
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I used to be physically sick sometimes beforehand...only when doing dressage tho really. BTW Only little stuff - not big comps!!! I used to do the list thing too...but would forget to take it on the day!!!
Used to get nervous I think mainly in case I let my horse down really. Once my friend really made me laugh before I went in to do a test...I was still chuckling to myself whilst doing the test...best test I ever did!!!
Rescue Remedy did nothing for me...I think my body just soaked it up and overrode it..or my many trips to the loo put paid to it!!!! Of course once I was in the arena...loved it...and once I'd done the test I would want to do it again as disappointed it was over!!
Good luck...deep breaths...once you are going in I am sure you will be fine..its more the thought of it all.
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Yes, i write lists and lists... but still forgot my tack once!
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I live on rescue remady and lavender oil... though Gem now knows that the smell of lavender = compeitions and she gets really excited, wont eat, wont stand still and poop galore!
 
Me too, so many nerves all the time, sickness, shakes, tears getting used to it now though and I find it funny that my body behaves in such a stupid way when I do the things I am supposed to really love doing. I've just entered a dressage comp after 5 months off with injury and already going through the motions when I think about it and its 2 weeks away yet!!!! And what is more ridiculous is reading that other people feel the same is giving even more butterflies, Duh!!!!!
 
Gah bl00dy horses - why do they get excited too. That REALLY doesn't help me! As soon as mine starts doing runny poos, all my good work goes to pieces and I worry that she won't load, will be a monkey, etc etc

In answer to the OP - always always always. I am even a bit stressed about going to a tiny unaffiliated dressage tomorrow night. Why? No logic but it's the enormity of the task that gets me - not the dressage, just the sorting, packing, loading, plaiting, driving, tacking, riding, then doing it all in reverse. And I am considering doing my first BE in YEARS soon, last night I was lying in bed with my heart thumping just thinking about it. Even reading the rule book sets me off!!

I always used to get excited nervous when I was younger. I think the difference is now that I have been out of the game for so long, it all feels strange and a bit of an ordeal. I know if I can only start doing it all regularly, it will be fine.

And I echo the others, I never eat till it's all over. On the plus side, I have never actually physically been sick
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Join the club!! I have overcome nerves by just going out and competing a lot, familiarity breeds contempt and all that. My tips are - bananas and sport drinks to give you energy when you can't eat, rescue remedy and/or hip flask of sloe gin (yes, yes, even for dressage!!) and just remember that the nerves turn into adrenalin and you feel GREEAAT when you finish and then can't wait to torture yourself again
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Absolutely! I feel terrified and sick before the event. I go in, love every minute of it and then relax with a hot dog and a cuppa after it.

I have been competing for years now and still an't get over the nerves. I think it is healthy in a way, you don't get too complacent that way. PLus I always look forward to the food afterwards. I feel as If i deserve the grease!
 
We just defy logic don't we? I was a wreck leading up to Stilemans a couple of weeks ago (and Harry does the copious poop thing also) and yet as I finished walking the XC and stood watching a couple go off out of the starting box I could have screamed with excitement.

Coming up I've got 3 ODEs in 3 weeks and I'm already lying in bed at night sweating and panicking in case I forget to wash my favourite bl**dy breeches or something else utterly trivial (quite apart from the sheer terror at the thought of the 3 dressage tests I have to endure).

I really wish I could stop being such an idiot
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and look forward to it like I would a holiday or just a day out.
 
Oh yes, I don't want to talk to anyone and get all moody. I am definately going to take a hip flask next time and have a swig before I go in!
 
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