Well I have finally done it - first prelim planned ...

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melv1lle

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Not sure if anyone read my various emails end of last year when I was worrying about going to my first prelim (basically have big black TB with all the snazzy gear cos I love buying him stuff
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but he is an ex racer who my teacher describes as "entertaining" when we do dressage). Anyway just to say that I have finally bitten the bullet and am going to do my first prelim dressage test at the start of Feb (prelim 17). It is only a show at our stables but seeing as more than two horses makes him think he is going racing I thought I should start small. I wonder if there is a record for the worst dressage score ever??

Sam looking the part
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but trust me it only lasts for about 3 seconds cos then we go back to this ...
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Oh don't worry! We'll be terrible together! I'm taking my ex-racer in his first dressage test at the beginning of Feb too, except I'm being a wimp and doing a walk-trot test. I don't have high hopes for us staying in the arena otherwise! Good luck! They have to start somewhere...
 
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Ahhh you'll be fine
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My personal worst....

42.1%
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Ooooh I can beat that. I got 35% once. I went wrong 3 times and cried and everything!
 
You'll be great...good luck!

We got 44% once as Louis decided to do the whole test in collected canter and knocked over the A marker on the way in
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When things like this happen you just have to see the funny side! The judge wrote dissobedient in massive letters across my test!!! That was quite a while back though when Louis thought being cheeky was the main goal!
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You'll do fine. You've worked so hard that there's no way you'll let yourselves down.

Anyway, you might worry about having 'all the gear, but no idea', but at least you'll look good, which is more than can be said for me!
I've yet to get a jacket, and havn't seen my cream jods in years, they probably don't even fit anymore!

Me and pony are off to party at the end of Feb, doing Prelim 10.
He's not done anything other than race and play polo, and it'll be my first dressage test since I was about 11, when i had to do dressage as part of being on the PC event team. Dressage was the necessary evil!

My only ambition is to get 40%!
 
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Ahhh you'll be fine
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My personal worst....

42.1%
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I think I got 40% once.......thought it was a good idea to do a test at a new venue the night after the yard Xmas party (got in at 3am), with a filthy hangover, on a freezing December day, with a very fizzy and daft TB........we did the test wrong twice, I argued with the judge (to my shame, but he was VERY rude), my horse spooked at the same flowerpot four times, and I nearly threw up at C...........not one of my best days to say the least.......
 
I wouldn't bet on it
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My main goals are a) to stay in the arena b) not to shy hysterically at something that only he can see and then go careering round the place like he has been shot and c) to make my canter look like a canter and not a barely controlled gallop.

If it is all a bit of a disaster though, I like the idea of the judge writing something rude in big capital letters across the points sheet (as Katiejaye had). I have never heard of that happening before!
 
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I nearly threw up at C

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Pure class, Twigs
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Yes, that was my one and only experience of Woodlands dressage comps and I've been too ashamed to go back there ever since in case I'm recognised as the wino who abused the judge......
 
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do you get the very heavy snorting as well whilst doing it? I'm not sure if one gets marked down for sounding like a dirty old man (the horse not me
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)

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Lol no, he just goes around as if his way of cantering is the only way, he can't possibly canter any slower without going back to trot! He looks so sweet when he does it though, so naive...
 
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Yes, that was my one and only experience of Woodlands dressage comps

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Ooh I went there on Sunday!

Do you remember who the judge was.

I did a truely stunning test on the Fat One and got 59.1%. Think judge was watching someone else
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Just so they don't think i'm taking this dressage lark too seriously I'm thinking about doing it on my old timer too.

She thinks she's far above the demands of prelim, and does perfect walk to canter transitions... the problem is that its pretty much all she'll do! She'll throw in flying changes too, but if you ask for anything else you get semi-bronked with. Also, she only neck reins!

I'd love to see the test sheet for that, it'd be worth the £8 entry!
 
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Yes, that was my one and only experience of Woodlands dressage comps

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Ooh I went there on Sunday!

Do you remember who the judge was.

I did a truely stunning test on the Fat One and got 59.1%. Think judge was watching someone else
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Um..... I think it was a man......but that's about as much as I remember - see previous comments re: filthy hangover.

I remember the box parking being dire though, we got blocked in by about 3 lorries.

59.1% is pretty respectable - which test?
 
Parking was terrible as always. Luckily test wasn't until 2.45 so by the time we were done it had cleared out a bit.

Wasn't an awful score but he was amazing to ride. Lots of 7's brought down by the odd 4!
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I got 30% once............in a walk and trot test
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That is very impressive.......what happened?!

OP, sorry to hijack your thread, but I hope our tales of woe have made you feel better about your first test?!
 
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I got 30% once............in a walk and trot test


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That is very impressive.......what happened?!

OP, sorry to hijack your thread, but I hope our tales of woe have made you feel better about your first test?!

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It was Axey's first ever time out ridden and he was so scared of everything that the majority of our test was done sideways and he wouldn't even go down 1 side of the arena! In the end I forgot where I was even supposed to go and just trotted around until he settled. The judge gave me mostly 2's but what I actually rode didn't resemble the test in any way, shape or form!

I was just grateful not to be eliminated
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funnily enough I didn't come last someone else did get eliminated lol

Sam x
 
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