Still not good enough

[Jessie_grll]

I started horse riding when I was 20, I'm now 23, so have been riding pretty much every week for the past 3 years with a few little breaks here and there.

I have recently started working with a new trainer and I said I was interested in doing an unaffiliated intro dressage test in January on a horse I ride fairly regularly. I had a pretty bad lesson on this horse with my new trainer, lots of spooking bucking etc. but I think I held it together despite being a nervous rider.
The issue is that my trainer has just said there is no way I'm ready for an intro dressage test, and I feel like whats the point in carrying on if I'm not ready for something that should be so basic after 3 years? Anyone else had a situation like this?

 

[splashgirl45]

of you are a nervous rider, you need to get more confident before doing a dressage test. i used to ride ok in a lesson and wasnt at all nervous, competing made me really nervous and i rode like a twit the first few times as i was so nervous...your instructor may just mean that you need to get a little more confident before trying to ride a test in front of people. dont be disheartened, perhaps ask trainer if you could ride a test in the lesson so you can get an idea of what is required..and trainer can advise on the basis of seeing you ride the movements...of you rode every week for 3 years that would be 156 times without any breaks, most people that compete ride their horses much more than that so your experience would equate to about 6 months experience, so not 3 years...

 

[be positive]

I would expect to be able to get a beginner ready to have a go at an intro test within a couple of months, which is what you are aiming for, as you have been having lessons for 3 years you should easily be ready to take part with the right encouragement/ instructor, it is probably not going to win but I honestly cannot see why you will not be ready to do 4 mins of basic walk, trot and halt without falling apart, confidence takes time to build and without getting out and trying you dont really know how you will cope, even if it all goes wrong there is no real harm to be done and if it goes well it will be a big boost..

I am currently preparing 2 young girls to do much the same during the xmas holidays, they certainly will not be ready to win but will be well prepared, know how to ride the movements fairly correctly and I will read the test to take the pressure off them, if your "trainer" cannot do the same with you I would be moving on to a more supportive trainer/RS, I would feel I was failing if I could not have you doing a basic intro test after 3 years of lessons, it is different when you dont have your own but some support and encouragement would not go amiss.

 

[Leo Walker]

When I was teaching about twice a year I used to do a month of flatwork lessons followed by a dressage test. So 4 lessons then the test. Admittedly it wasnt leaving the yard competing but everyone took it seriously and dressed up etc. The more competent riders did a novice test and then we scaled it down for the more novicey people. Even the lead rein kids had a go. So there is no reason at all why you shouldnt be able to do it after 3yrs on and off!

 

[Red-1]

Going against the grain, I would agree with the trainer in that if I were teaching a new, nervous client and the horse was being disobedient in his own arena at home, spooking and bucking, then they are not, on the face of it, ready to travel out to somewhere different and do the warmup with others.

Lots of spooking and bucking, a nervous rider and the trainer is new to you. I am not sure how she/he was meant to think you were confident and prepped.

The mark of the trainer being right for you would, to me, be whether they helped identify what may be the issue. The first things I check with a spooking/bucking horse are tack fit, feed, exercise regime. If that was all OK, did they give you a plan of action as to how to gain the horse's focus? Help to put him on the aids?

 

[Leo Walker]

Going against the grain, I would agree with the trainer in that if I were teaching a new, nervous client and the horse was being disobedient in his own arena at home, spooking and bucking, then they are not, on the face of it, ready to travel out to somewhere different and do the warmup with others.

Lots of spooking and bucking, a nervous rider and the trainer is new to you. I am not sure how she/he was meant to think you were confident and prepped.

The mark of the trainer being right for you would, to me, be whether they helped identify what may be the issue. The first things I check with a spooking/bucking horse are tack fit, feed, exercise regime. If that was all OK, did they give you a plan of action as to how to gain the horse's focus? Help to put him on the aids?

I thought it was the trainers horse. Its not really clear in the OP now I've re read it though

 

[Red-1]

I thought it was the trainers horse. Its not really clear in the OP now I've re read it though

I don't think so as the trainer is new, yet OP has been riding the horse "fairly regularly," but you may be right.

However, if a rider was supposed to be riding my horse at dressage but was not in control at home, and was nervous, then I would still say it is fair enough that the trainer does not think they are ready to go into a collecting ring.

I do agree that if the rider has been having lessons, they *could* be ready after just a month of riding, on a steady horse. But this was not what the new trainer was presented with on this lesson.

 

[Vodkagirly]

Would it be possible to get a video of you riding? Things often look different to how they feel when you are riding and watching a video of yourself and comparing it to ones on YouTube may help you look objectively at your riding. It may be something like fitness or relaxation techniques that you could work on outside lessons would help.

 

[Shay]

There seems to be a fair bit between the lines here. Trainer is new. Horse isn's. Its been ridden "fairly regularly", although also on and off, for the last 3 years. But no indication of what regularly is or what instruction has been given. BP is absolutely right in principle. Riding at a reaosnable riding school or with a decent instruction (and a not unreasonable horse) an intro test should be possible within a few months. But Red is right too - we don't know the situation of the horse or why the bad behaviour. A horse behaving like this at home could be seriously difficult in a competitive environment, putting both OP and others at risk.

OP - can you find a reasonable riding school which holds dressage comps in house? Train on one of their horses for a few weeks and see if you can get up to standard? This isn't likely to be down to you alone. It sounds like your mount might not be entirely suitable for you at this stage of your riding and isn't entirely helping your confidence or your goals.

 

[HashRouge]

We also don't know if the horse is regularly like this - the OP described it as a bad lesson, which suggests not. If it's usually better behaved, then that might explain the OP's belief that she could take it out and the RI's scepticism (bearing in mind she's only seen it in the bad lesson).

 

[be positive]

I thought it was the trainers horse. Its not really clear in the OP now I've re read it though

I guessed it was a RS situation as the OP only seems to ride once a week and was using the term trainer rather than the more usual instructor, the horse misbehaved but we have no idea of what really went on it may have had a rare off day, like many OP's it is a bit short on detail and they have not come back yet to fill in any more.

 

[Jessie_grll]

Sorry I've taken so long to reply!

The test would be at the stables where I ride

The horse doesn't belong to my trainer she belongs to the lady who owns the stables. She isn't usually like this, I've been in group lessons with this horse where 3 out of 5 people have come off as one of the horses has spooked and she's just stood there and not really cared. A lot of people describe her as a "bomb proof", so her behaviour was really weird, but I feel like thats just making excuses for myself :/

I'm at uni at the moment, this is the horse I ride at uni. Back home I've been working on leg yields and turn on the forehand (albeit on a very experienced horse), so I'm just a bit confused as to why I can do stuff like this but I'm not good enough to do an intro dressage test on a horse I regularly ride, at stables I regularly ride at

 

[DressageCob]

I'm surprised they won't let you try an intro test at the stables where you ride. It's a good way to get experience and to give you something to work towards. Have you spoken to the lady who runs the stables/owns the horse? Surely it's her call.

 

[JFTDWS]

I think it's pretty bonkers that any rider wouldn't be able to stagger round an intro after a few months - provided the horse is basically compliant (and if it isn't, I'd expect the RS to find a more suitable one - it's not like you're needing to train your own). To go out with a good chance of winning is completely different - but if you can trot a few circles and have basic control and balance, you're most of the way to getting round an intro. You can also avoid the warm up entirely if it's busy.

I'd wonder about the quality of the instruction, or the suitability of the horses, if you genuinely couldn't get around a test by now. Equally, the instructor could have just seen you on a very bad day (though for it to be that bad, again, I'd think the horse would be unsuitable), or just be cautious with a new rider. She could be more positive and encouraging though

 

[Rowreach]

She isn't usually like this, I've been in group lessons with this horse where 3 out of 5 people have come off as one of the horses has spooked and she's just stood there and not really cared.

Good grief. Have you thought about finding somewhere else to have lessons?