Those of you without a menage - do you compete?

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Vicki_Krystal

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As question really.
Im moving to my own rented yard in April and it has no school.
It does have a flat, fenced grass field of about an acre that i intend to use as my riding area.
Im used to riding on grass in the summer so it wont be a problem but how do you cope in the winter?

Do you maintain fitness by hacking?
Do you rent local menages?

Ive never been on a yard without a school before and whilst im not overly worried as it will be summer when i move i want to get plans in place for next winter.

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We don't have a school but my daughter still manages to compete her pony quite successfully throughout the year. Our field is not even flat so can't actually mark out a dressage arena but working up and down the slopes is good for self carriage and balance. When the field is too wet to ride in she hacks out or rides to a friend's arena which is about 10 minutes hack away. We also take advantage of the many rallies and clinics offered by the Pony Club and box up and take the pony to them.

Last year they qualified for the PC Dengie Dressage Winter League Final, the BRC National Finals in Dressage, Showjumping and Style Jumping, the Marriage's Riding Club Pony of the Year Final and the Ponies UK Winter Championships, as well as winning and being placed in dressage, showjumping, tetrathlon, ODE, working hunter pony, show hunter pony and hunter trials, so not having a school has not been too much of a hindrance!
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Vicki, I competed throughout my childhood (with reasonable success!) in many disciplines and never had my own manege. I did use a corner of a field in summer but did most of my schooling out hacking. I'm a big believer it doing that anyway, even if you do have a a school. The only time I was in a school was during Pony Club rallies. I found it no problem.
 
Just wanted to add the main problem in the winter without a school is the lack of daylight hours as obviously you don't want to hack out in the dark, so if you work full time and need to ride after work you are a bit limited unless you box out someone during the week.
 
I do local and county level showing, I don't have a school and a lot of my land is on a slope. I do have one flat area that I use for schooling but walking and trotting up the hills is great for hindquarters
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no school but managed to do bsja and ect without easily.

hacking kept my old mare sane anyway so i hacked her 4 times a week, schooled her once and had one day competition. if the weather was bad, id just box up to my trainers menage. only thing is watching the ground. its going to be difficult now i have a youngster but, we hack 3 times a week, have a lesson in a school once a week and jump once a week.

youll be fine so long as you keep an eye on the ground and make sure you keep it well. i actually prefere it because all my horses didnt get strong or silly in open spaces
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I worried about this-(not having a menage I mean )
But I do compete, and atm only have a slopey field to ride in, but I think this makes the horse more balanced, and sure footed when facing tground like this at a competition.
I've also found that I rent the local mengae less and less, as she does just fine in the field!
Years ago, before everyone had a menage, people competed and won at badminton, from just riding and schooling in a field or out on hacks
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Last winter I was at a yard without an arena and compete 2 dressage and show jumping. I would take advantage of PC & RC rallies (so I could ride on a surface) and would school, jump in the paddock when dry. If there was a weekend in which I wasn't competing (v.rare) I would book a local arena and it was only £5 for an hour.
Saying that I don't know how I would of coped this year without an arena with a 4yo!
 
yes.we hack out and either hire an arena locally or use one of the local competitions as opportunity to school and do either dressage or sj on a surface.lack of light is the main problem.my daughter is also in pony club so fromspring onwards loads of rallies to attend.
 
I compete alot, last season 1 horse doing OI & 1 doing Novice eventing. We dont have an arena nor is the ground dry enough to ride in the field for about 8-9 months of the year.

I have use of 2 arenas which are fairly local. 1 is 10 mins away with the trailer & belongs to a friend who will happily let me use it as often as necesary. The other is closer & I can hack there - about 15 mins but can only use it after 4pm in the afternoon when their own horses are not about so obviously not handy in the winter.

I hack alot & when the tide is at its very lowest I can sometimes school out on the shore.

It really is perfectly possible to compete to a fairly high level with no arena at your yard. You just have to be very nice to people who do have one!!
 
We don't have a school, and our fields are too wet to school on so we hack 3 miles down the road to a different field. With this set-up we've competed successfully, and are now in the midst of reschooling a point-to-pointer! Its no hindrance at all- especially since I never school anyway!).
 
ME!
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field is flat, have an arena made of guttering and the jumps just move around....... it is fab right now. Always keep it with sufficient grass cover not to cut up too much. In winter just ride out there in the dark. If it gets very wet at anypoint school round the outside of the field instead to limit damage.

But we have got a flat 4.5 acres for 2 horses.... so our arena moves around a lot. ATM it is in the summer field. and then will move to where they are now until the hay grass gets too long and then will go back there when cut.

In answer to you PM.... nope sorry no idea!
 
I do a fair bit of hacking and I have lessons at my RIs yard twice a month.

If the ground is harder as long as the gras in the aena is longish then I ride in the grass school.

I was doing everything last year and the year before it hasnt stopped me getting out and about!!

Nikki xxx
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I think it depends on your ground really. I've had brilliant fields for schooling previously and prefer them to many arenas.
Where we are now we're really limited as the fields are very hilly, the ground is very stony - which you may also get on the Mendips and our only flat field gets boggy very quickly.
I missed an arena today as I 'schooled' my youngster for the first time in one of our fields - which was a little nerve racking.
We do hack to a couple of local arenas for lessons and have coped ok. I don't really school on hacks tbh, always forget - too busy gossiping
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I compete and I've only got our fields. In the summer its easy because the grounds fine, its a bit more difficult in the winter if its wet, but I always go buy the weather, if its been frosty then I'll wait til the suns been on the ground for a bit then school/lunge/whatever then as its fine then, but I don't go in there if the ground is hard or too soggy - I'll just hack out instead! I do lots of schooling when I'm out hacking aswell! Theres also lots of jumps in the area where I hack so thats handy too!!
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My yard is on a farm in Yorkshire, with no school facilities and about 2 flat areas on the whole place
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. But it's done wonders for my balance and confidence, and Star's state of mind when out in the fields. I also go over to Bretton Park, but again not many flat areas.
Star actually schools better in these areas, than on a surface because she has to think more about her balance and where she puts her feet - and less about evading and pulling crafty tricks.
 
I don't have a menage OR hacking!!!

And I compete County and National level showing!!!!!

I usually give him most of the winter off but I'm riding him at mo!!!

My field isn't even flat either!!!! It is a pain but I have to put up with it
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I have friends with menages and they let me borrow them so I try to do that

xxx
 
I don't have an arena (yet... i've been saying that for years ha ha!) i do have lots of land & lovely sandy soil, which makes a difference, i was jumping this morning on some lovely ground, I haven't competed properly for 3 years, but prior to that did BE, team chasing & some point to pointing, (just getting revved up to BE this summer)

i'd say my horses stayed alot fresher working in different environments all the time, and were alot better at travelling across uneven ground.

i know people who have produced horses to advanced level without thier own arena, so it's not a necessity

as for riding in the dark, i always used to ride in the early morning, as it was getting lighter all the time not darker, so made it nicer, the horses soon got used to bad light
 
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