BIG Lessons Learned In The Show Ring: Spinoff from "Crazy Things"

[arlosmine]

Hello,
We’ve all had unexpected show ring experiences…how about unexpected lessons learned? Here is one of mine:

Early in my showing experience, I was riding my hot, explosive black mare who NEVER made it through as entire test without an explosion of some sort. I was riding for Jeff Moore, whose opinion I was interested in.

We are supposed to do a canter departure at followed by a 20m circle at C, when mare hears a tiny bird somewhere in an outer orbital ring, and storms off bucking down the long side after a “creative” depart. I am determined to keep her on the figure, which in reality is looking like a big potato, when the judge rings the bell. I’m “off course” (?)…in the moment of heightened adrenalin, I was a little miffed…it was just a wonky circle, I was WORKING on it!

We confer with the judge, who tells us where to start again, and since we’ve now had a little chat and a minute to recover composure, mare is PERFECT. The rest of test is lovely.

Returned test has first canter transition and “circle” a 4. Second attempt was an 8…minus 2 being 6. And no freaky domino effect on the rest of the test. We won the test with a 68% even with the -2.

I learned from this experience that the judge is really on your side, and that they can make choices in the moment to assist you in ways you may not understand if you haven’t shown much.
And: Don’t lose composure over a bell!

[right_horse_at_the_right_time]

Calling for a friend.

Her (very hot) horse takes off at C after an epic explosive canter depart. I immediately begin calling test in double time, as he’s now galloping down the long side, and at the same time I’m running backwards away from my spot next to the ring while still calling test :).

I wish that judge had rung her off course

[mtngirl]

Don’t let a mistake carry on

Many, many years ago I rode a Training level test with Edgar Hotze (sp) as the judge. There was a comment that neither my trainer nor I understood and we asked if we could ask him to clarify the comment. We were told to go up to him at the end of the next class (I wasn’t riding under him again, so it was OKd.)

I was terrified, :eek: as he had a reputation as a “no nonsense, chew you up and spit you out” kind of person, and I was a newbie AA. We approached, I described my horse (he was pretty distinctive looking) and we asked our question.

Not only did he clarify the comment, but went on and described things I had done correctly (we had picked up the wrong canter lead and I had quickly corrected that)…saying…do not continue the mistake. You will be scored down for the transition, but you can still salvage the movement and the horse will learn, that it will be corrected even in the show ring.

He was very encouraging and despite a not so great score, he commented that dressage was training for every type of horse, whether he was an expensive purebred or a grade “mutt”. I showed under him again a few years later and he remembered us, writing in the comments " much improvement seen in horse and rider…no missed canter lead, no mistake to correct…but must continue to work hard".

[Bogey2]

A couple of years ago my horse spooked and took off when we started the canter tour…it was my first time showing third level. I kept trying to fix it in the canter so blew my changes. What I should have done is bring him back to a walk, settle him…then continue the test.

[Silverbridge]

My very first time down centerline at a recognized show, I did my halt at the end of Training 1 by coming to a square halt and nodding my head deeply, with both hands still on the reins in their normal position.

The judge stood up and yelled out to me, “You have to take both reins in one hand. You didn’t salute. I have to mark it as an error.” I apologized and told her it was my very first dressage show and that I honestly thought the salute was required only at the beginning. She said, “Well, now you know.”

And I didn’t blame her a bit. And, now, I do know.

The frustrating thing was that I’d done a ride-a-test just the weekend prior and had saluted exactly the same way, at the end, in both my rides there. And the judge had not noticed or said a thing about it.

It was only funny to me because, here I was having just completed something I had long imagined myself doing, a real dressage ride in a real show, and my intention was to ride forward and say a polite, “Thank you,” as I has seen many others do over the years.

And in the moment I started to form the words, she stood up and started yelling at me! I thought, “Well poop. There went that moment.”