How to remain calm when competing

[SaffronWelshDragon]

Started doing BD last year, we went out about once a month. Down the centre line, every time without fail, Saf would go tense in her neck, hurry and I'd shorten my reins in response. She'd then (understandably) gag her mouth open in protest. This of course doesn't make a great first impression! Usually the warm up would start off ok, then my heart thumping nerves would build up and up until they plateaued as I came down the centre line. For some reason I didn't correlate my tension with hers.

We practiced the test at the weekend (at the venue, I hire the arena) we came down the centre line and I felt Saf's head come up and I automatically shortened my reins. We then completed the first half of the test like this, after the first canter I relaxed, she relaxed and everything was better. I am at least, now aware of this being a problem. I just need to work out how to fix it. My goal for this Saturday's comp is to have a more relaxed first half of the test. I will start by not creeping up the reins. It's a defence mechanism where I feel that Saf is about to shoot off and 'I have to hold her back'. A tricky habit to overcome and something I hardly ever do at home. Any calming suggestions? I'm usually a very chilled rider at home, it's just that pesky competition environment!

 

[Orangehorse]

Work out why you get nervous. It is only walk, trot and canter you have to do. Instead of shortening the reins, think of riding her forward. Take Rescue Remedy!

 

[PorkChop]

At least you know why it is happening - go and do some tests, maybe at a lower level, and go with the aim of keeping her relaxed. If this means throwing away the test, and having your reins go long then so be it.

 

[kassieg]

I never thought I would say this but take rescue remedy. It used to forget my test every time out. My mare was 5 & hard work & i used to be focusing so much on her my mind would blank & I'd panic.

I took rescue remedy for about 4 tests & remembered my tests & I have never looked back or forgot a test again. Its quite often psychological & you just need to break the cycle.

Focus on you not the horse. I have a habit of drawing my hands back if I feel she tenses which makes things worse. If you feel her tense lift your hands, short reins long arms & ask her to soften again. Focus on the judges car when going down the centre line & forget about the horse.

I used to be too focused on the horse, now I really focus on my riding & tbh she goes great when I do. It often really is the rider & not the horse totally agree with LJR do some unaff & don't care about the score just focus on riding it perfectly & see how it goes.

 

[nato]

I find I get really nervous if it's been a while since I've competed. Do you compete regularly? I went out every 1-2 weeks for about 6 shows and it helped massively. I'm a lot Less nervous about shows now.

I also find being super organised helps, and I try to avoid getting to places too early where I can hover. I like to give myself plenty time to be ready and warmed up, but not so long that I'm watching others.

Don't look at others. Don't listen to commentary or other competitors chatting. When you get to the warm up focus TOTALLY on you and your horse, forget the world around you. Absorb yourself in your world and don't allow people in. I find this helps massively.

 

[OliveOyl]

Try to focus more on actually riding and less on the fact that it's a test. So use the thought process you use at home when you're riding a centre line, "I want it to be straight, forward and relaxed" repeat the same words to yourself in the test that you use as you're riding through it at home. Think that it doesn't matter whether it goes exactly how you want it to, just move on to the next movement, say a circle "I want this to be forward, bending to the inside, with a good rhythm . . ." and train yourself to totally focus on riding every movement and then you won't have time to notice whether anyone is judging you or not.

 

[PaddyMonty]

I find the best way to remain calm is to keep things in perspective.
What is the effect on your life if it all goes horribly wrong in the arena? NOTHING!
You wont loose your job, your house, your loved ones, your horse etc. No one gets sent to prison, sentenced to death or worse - Coventry. The only end result is a short lived disappointment at a lost opportunity to get a bit of ribbon. Upside, things going wrong can make the judge smile and have a joke with you.

 

[wkiwi]

I find the best way to remain calm is to keep things in perspective.
What is the effect on your life if it all goes horribly wrong in the arena? NOTHING!
You wont loose your job, your house, your loved ones, your horse etc. No one gets sent to prison, sentenced to death or worse - Coventry. The only end result is a short lived disappointment at a lost opportunity to get a bit of ribbon. Upside, things going wrong can make the judge smile and have a joke with you.

Totally agree with this!
At least you know what you do and what to work on. Try imagining in your head that pesky centre line; when her head goes up you are going to KICK. Repeat 'video' 100 times the night before the test. Ok, you may not kick in the actual test, but you will probably not pull if you can convince your subconscious there is an alternative. Ideally you want to use a light leg aid, but if you do kick in the test by mistake and the horse leaps forward, then just circle, smile at the judge and carry on.
Another tip: I used to get nervous warming up before cross country, then i had a long term illness that severely hampered my ability to compete (i could do it but it was a major struggle). If i had adrenaline pumping too soon then i was exhausted by the time of the practice fence! So i used to tell myself that "yes, i could get nervous, but i couldn't waste the energy yet so the adrenaline surge HAD to wait"; surprisingly this worked (okay, not the first few times but my 'brain' soon got the idea)!

 

[oldie48]

I also really suffer from competition nerves and it goes straight through to the horse who is then tense. I did a BD comp as my first comp and the test was appalling, tight, tense and I went wrong twice despite knowing the test inside out! it's taken me nearly 6 months to pluck up courage to get out again but I went to an UA comp and just wanted to get through the warm up and tests without incident, marks were pretty unimportant. I'm going to continue going out UA until I can get through the tests with the horse going forward in a relaxed way and I remember the test. I've just taken the pressure off myself.

 

[SaffronWelshDragon]

Thank you everyone for your replies. It's tomorrow, so not long now. I'm trying to get into the chilled 'whatever' mindset, so whenever I get a slight pang of nerves I'm dismissing it - I'm getting better and whenever I feel like it's coming on I'm trying to extinguish it first (sounds weird but hopefully makes sense).

Work out why you get nervous. It is only walk, trot and canter you have to do. Instead of shortening the reins, think of riding her forward. Take Rescue Remedy!

I think I'm getting nervous because I care too much about the outcome. I have my OH and sister as my support team so I suppose I want to do well for them. I have some Rescue Remedy so will definitely take some beforehand.

At least you know why it is happening - go and do some tests, maybe at a lower level, and go with the aim of keeping her relaxed. If this means throwing away the test, and having your reins go long then so be it.

Hi LJR, it's only prelim so I can't really go much lower LOL! Going to focus on relaxation

I never thought I would say this but take rescue remedy. It used to forget my test every time out. My mare was 5 & hard work & i used to be focusing so much on her my mind would blank & I'd panic.

I took rescue remedy for about 4 tests & remembered my tests & I have never looked back or forgot a test again. Its quite often psychological & you just need to break the cycle.

Focus on you not the horse. I have a habit of drawing my hands back if I feel she tenses which makes things worse. If you feel her tense lift your hands, short reins long arms & ask her to soften again. Focus on the judges car when going down the centre line & forget about the horse.

I used to be too focused on the horse, now I really focus on my riding & tbh she goes great when I do. It often really is the rider & not the horse totally agree with LJR do some unaff & don't care about the score just focus on riding it perfectly & see how it goes.

I've used RR for other things and I'm sure it's worked, so will definitely do that. A large part of my lessons are focused on me rather than the horse, so I'm used to concentrating on what I'm doing. When I go to a comp, I then 100% focus on Saf, and that just doesn't work. When we went to the venue last weekend Saf was relaxed and got to work within 10 minutes, so it's definitely me causing the tension.

Unfortunately I can't do unaff as Bluegate is the only venue within hacking distance and they only do aff. Pony won't play nicely with the trailer!

I find I get really nervous if it's been a while since I've competed. Do you compete regularly? I went out every 1-2 weeks for about 6 shows and it helped massively. I'm a lot Less nervous about shows now.

I also find being super organised helps, and I try to avoid getting to places too early where I can hover. I like to give myself plenty time to be ready and warmed up, but not so long that I'm watching others.

Don't look at others. Don't listen to commentary or other competitors chatting. When you get to the warm up focus TOTALLY on you and your horse, forget the world around you. Absorb yourself in your world and don't allow people in. I find this helps massively.

Last year I think I did 6 shows, all once a month through the summer. Do my last comp was August last year so a bit of a gap. I'm going to try to go out every 2 weeks now, just to make it seem 'normal'. I think I'm quite good at completely ignoring others once I'm on board, it doesn't bother me about other competitors on WBs when I'm on my Welsh Cob - everyone's so friendly I don't think that's a problem.

Try to focus more on actually riding and less on the fact that it's a test. So use the thought process you use at home when you're riding a centre line, "I want it to be straight, forward and relaxed" repeat the same words to yourself in the test that you use as you're riding through it at home. Think that it doesn't matter whether it goes exactly how you want it to, just move on to the next movement, say a circle "I want this to be forward, bending to the inside, with a good rhythm . . ." and train yourself to totally focus on riding every movement and then you won't have time to notice whether anyone is judging you or not.

That sounds like a great tactic, I've simplified the test in my head (which is mainly symmetrical anyway) but a lot of my concentration is taken up just on remembering where to go! Hopefully I can spend more time thinking about my position, which in turn helps Saf.

I find the best way to remain calm is to keep things in perspective.
What is the effect on your life if it all goes horribly wrong in the arena? NOTHING!
You wont loose your job, your house, your loved ones, your horse etc. No one gets sent to prison, sentenced to death or worse - Coventry. The only end result is a short lived disappointment at a lost opportunity to get a bit of ribbon. Upside, things going wrong can make the judge smile and have a joke with you.

This is it! I'll keep telling myself this, and I am genuinely looking forward to it (it's odd, I always seem to be excited beforehand, then I just get too tense right at the start).

Totally agree with this!
At least you know what you do and what to work on. Try imagining in your head that pesky centre line; when her head goes up you are going to KICK. Repeat 'video' 100 times the night before the test. Ok, you may not kick in the actual test, but you will probably not pull if you can convince your subconscious there is an alternative. Ideally you want to use a light leg aid, but if you do kick in the test by mistake and the horse leaps forward, then just circle, smile at the judge and carry on.
Another tip: I used to get nervous warming up before cross country, then i had a long term illness that severely hampered my ability to compete (i could do it but it was a major struggle). If i had adrenaline pumping too soon then i was exhausted by the time of the practice fence! So i used to tell myself that "yes, i could get nervous, but i couldn't waste the energy yet so the adrenaline surge HAD to wait"; surprisingly this worked (okay, not the first few times but my 'brain' soon got the idea)!

So you're saying that focusing on the complete opposite of what I'm currently doing may counteract that pulling. Interesting about the adrenaline - I just get shattered from not breathing throughout the test!

I also really suffer from competition nerves and it goes straight through to the horse who is then tense. I did a BD comp as my first comp and the test was appalling, tight, tense and I went wrong twice despite knowing the test inside out! it's taken me nearly 6 months to pluck up courage to get out again but I went to an UA comp and just wanted to get through the warm up and tests without incident, marks were pretty unimportant. I'm going to continue going out UA until I can get through the tests with the horse going forward in a relaxed way and I remember the test. I've just taken the pressure off myself.

I think just doing it as much as possible would help, sadly I can't do unaff due to venue but I'm going to try to go as much as possible in the hope of desensitising myself to it

 

[wkiwi]

I just get shattered from not breathing throughout the test!
Yes; breathing comes in useful too! Can you learn the test by going (say)
1. Enter at A at trot and breathe
2. X halt salute, and breathe three times
3. Proceed at working trot and breathe again
etc. This might help you to keep breathing through the test.
Or maybe convince yourself that you need to breathe to keep the horse alive (i.e. if you don't breathe then he won't), or that the judge will give you an extra mark for everytime you breathe (they probably will anyway, if the test is less tense, so this might be a good way to look at it)?
Good luck and remember that it is fun too, even if you get nervous.

 

[Wishful]

Have only done a few unaffiliated competitions on RS ponies but actually never got nervous for the tests. I think this is because I trusted my memory of the test (ridden around the living room hundreds of times) and because although competing on horseback is relatively unfamiliar competing at another sport was a big part of my life so it was easy to "not care" about anything other than riding the horse as I would in a lesson.

Maybe find something cheap to compete at and do that for a while as training - darts, skittles, pub quiz and make competition part of life.

 

[oldie48]

Not sure my horse would be much good at any of these and I haven't played darts for years!! I've played lots of competitive sports over the years and always found that a bit of adrenaline in the system was great for improving performance but unfortunately it doesn't help with sharp, sensitive horses. I think wkiwi's suggestion with the "breathing" is worth a try. Good luck with the comp tomorrow!

Maybe find something cheap to compete at and do that for a while as training - darts, skittles, pub quiz and make competition part of life.

 

[humblepie]

Some really good advice. A few other thoughts - how about putting some black tape or something on your reins above which you must not shorten them! Also think about what you do in the second half of the test when it is going better and try to get that feeling. What do you do outside the arena before you start the test? Practice your ride up the outside of the arena the same as you are going to ride up the centre line. Is there anything in your warm up which you could change to help the right feeling for that centre line? And failing all that then don't over complicate it and just work on the basis that you are there to enjoy it. Good luck.

 

[SaffronWelshDragon]

Thank you again everyone, I really appreciate the support. It went quite well, here's my write up for anyone who's interested:

"My aim for today was to really concentrate on my relaxation, breathing and position in the hope that this would also relax Saf and allow her to have a nice experience. We warmed up in two halves, first half was better than the last time, we came out for a minute when it got busier and Saf started to get worried about the other horses. Went back in and it was just like we were schooling, you can see in the photos after we went outside, she just went down and round - I was thrilled! Came out feeling really good and wandered calmly to the arena.

So intent was I on remaining relaxed, and Saf certainly felt more relaxed than at our last competition 9 months ago, it was at the expense of some judge's comments 'could do with being more forward' - argh! Do they prefer her to be loopy? Anyway, I was more than happy that I wasn't going to forget the test so I felt like the first half went quite well. We got to the first canter and I lost the correct bend, which wasn't entirely unexpected as we've only just cracked this at home. This put me off somewhat and the rest of the test was tenser with incorrect bend. I wasn't sure at the time how to fix it as I would normally calmly circle at home to get her pointing the right way. But we did nail the halt and get a 7, which I was pleased about given our previous record.

Overall really pleased with myself and Saf. I got the whole relaxed thing sorted which definitely transfered to Saf. I also definitely recall breathing! Next time I will definitely monitor what my blinking inside leg is doing! I will ride her trot more forward but whilst keeping my relaxation. We got 58.75% which I think was deserving given the incorrect bend stuff. At least it was 3% higher than this time last year. There's so much to work on, but given these issues seem to only really pop up at competitions, I'm going for maximum exposure and going to head out to BG every two weeks in the hoping of 'curing' us."

So if anyone has any tips on correcting bend during a test when I can just circle, that would be great. This is a new thing at home for Saf, she was always bent the wrong way, but is much better now. I need to watch my inside leg as that moves back which doesn't help the situation. Back there in 2 weeks to do the same test.

Lots of piccies here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.821070754674406.1073741857.515263488588469&type=1

 

[wkiwi]

, it was at the expense of some judge's comments 'could do with being more forward' - argh!
Overall really pleased with myself and Saf. I got the whole relaxed thing sorted which definitely transfered to Saf. I also definitely recall breathing! Next time I will definitely monitor what my blinking inside leg is doing!

LOL - this reminded me of the other week when i was riding someone else's horse and i asked how it looked (meaning the horse) and my friend said it would be great if I just stopped looking like I was reading a book! Yes; looking down again! There always seem to be something we need to focus on, but fantastic news that you got the relaxation right and that you kept breathing too!!!
Regarding correcting the bend in the test, you need to practice the aids for shoulder in; it doesn't matter whether or not your horse can do a proper shoulder in or not, but the aids will help straighten her. The key is to not try to pull her head round to make her bend, but to use the inside leg to outside rein contact. It takes a bit of practice, particularly in a test situation where there is so many other things for the horse (and rider) to think about, but it does help.
In the meantime, well done and good luck for next time too.

 

[Dreckly]

Hi Saf. Well done.

I saw you warming up on Saturday (the quiet period) and thought how well you were doing. I have recently moved Charlie to Bluegates so will see you again. Give it a couple of weeks and we will be competing too!!

 

[SaffronWelshDragon]

LOL - this reminded me of the other week when i was riding someone else's horse and i asked how it looked (meaning the horse) and my friend said it would be great if I just stopped looking like I was reading a book! Yes; looking down again! There always seem to be something we need to focus on, but fantastic news that you got the relaxation right and that you kept breathing too!!!
Regarding correcting the bend in the test, you need to practice the aids for shoulder in; it doesn't matter whether or not your horse can do a proper shoulder in or not, but the aids will help straighten her. The key is to not try to pull her head round to make her bend, but to use the inside leg to outside rein contact. It takes a bit of practice, particularly in a test situation where there is so many other things for the horse (and rider) to think about, but it does help.
In the meantime, well done and good luck for next time too.

Thanks We're just starting shoulder in so I will bear this in mind next time.

Hi Saf. Well done.

I saw you warming up on Saturday (the quiet period) and thought how well you were doing. I have recently moved Charlie to Bluegates so will see you again. Give it a couple of weeks and we will be competing too!!

Hi Dreckly haha small world - how odd! I'm wondering who you were now. You'll have to say hi next time, I'm there again in two weeks.

 

[Kati*89]

I suffer with the same, and I can honestly say the best thing that helps is going out lots and really trying to remember that nothing bad happens when the scores aren't the best!
We are still cracking it, but I really do feel so much more positive, I am remembering to ride during the test not just steer...that seems to have made a huge difference, don't be afraid to correct your horse during the test, I used to just end up sitting there when he would spook at the judges up the centre line and he would ignore me completely, so in the end came him a flick with the whip a few outings and he now realises that he isn't going to get away with it..I still have to remind him every now and then
Your second outing sounds so much more positive so well done...it took me a while but we are getting there..I found Rock Rose better than rescue remedy, apparently rose quartz is good to settle your HR/breathing, someone recommended getting a piece and having it in your bra next to your heart.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I am really glad you had a good time out after your wobble, I am just terrible now the thought of shows makes me feel sick especially the bigger ones, I did quite a few small ones last year and didn't feel to bad, I pay someone to ride mine at the big ones now as I am not doing the horse any good, you have been given some really good advice that seems to have worked and I may even try some of it myself good luck x