Dressage Test Panic

[OverandOnward]

A trainer once told me something that made all the difference to me -

• Forget about the judge and everything else, and focus only on giving your horse the ride he or she needs in that instant.

• Accept that your test is not going to be quite as good as it is at home. That’s normal, don’t stress over it, especially not during the ride.

The horse tends to have a bit of anxiety of his/her own, regardless of the rider. Horses are aware they are by themselves in a new open space, and that people are looking at them with a fixed stare. That’s an instinctive predator alert, to a horse. It can take a couple of minutes for the horse to remember that this is ok, it happens all the time.

So accept that your horse is not quite what he or she usually is. Give the horse the support to help them perform this little exercise well. Just think about your horse and what you are doing for him or her right now.

That’s been the key for me - tune out the show, and accept that the horse is being a horse, and that’s what good riding is really all about.

[Eventcrazy]

Another one here with horrible dressage nerves!

It’s not uncommon for me to make it to just about dressage warm up and have to tip over the side of my horse to vomit. Sounds gross and totally silly to get that worked up over the little white square box. Once I’ve made it to warm up the nerves go away. When my number is called as on deck, the nerves hit again.
It’s all wrapped into being judged. I know this is a mental issue with like anything surrounding unexplained nerves. Over the years I’ve improved to the point taking deep breaths before entering the scary white box to clear my mind. Zone into the moment and ride each movement to my fullest. Almost tricking my mind into thinking I’m at home and want to get the most out of each moment. Otherwise what’s the point! If you ride the test in fear of making mistake then you will make a mistake.
Can’t say that the nerves are completely gone…as I still vomit heading down to warm up. Can say I don’t let them take over my dressage test anymore. Still working on the pre-nerves!

[Carol_Ames]

try doing a sequential br:)eathing meditation in the warmup

[aAeforme]

I’m notorious for getting anxiety and panic attacks for just about anything. I have two strategies that have worked for me for showing (Dressage or jumping).

First is singing silly songs. It doesn’t make me that much of a better rider. but if all I need to do is sit still and not eff everything up, I like singing “I want to ride my bicycle” in my head or just under my breath. It keeps me calm and a little giggly.

If I really need to concentrate and ride. I have this weird way I handle it. I pretend that riding my horse is a video game. And I need to win this video game. It makes everything seem so much less serious, and let me use my competitive streak to my advantage. It’s not real, it’s just a game. with buttons to press and strategies and if you get the right combination, you get a powerup and you can win the level! (keep your leg on, relax your hands, button B, Button X, ooo horse puts its head down, thats like a mushroom in mario, lets kill as many bad guys while mario is still big!)

I know thats a wild stretch, but its really worked for me.

[tpup]

Read, study and practice the exercises in Jane Savoie’s book ‘That Winning Feeling’. I didn’t show much but developed some general anxiety after a car accident that morphed into my riding. This book helped ALOT. I still refer to it when I feel myself starting to get stuck. Also a few sessions with an anxiety counselor so they can provide you with TOOLS. Mine taught me to number my anxiety on a scale of 1-10. (a.e. before a show, mine would probably be a 5 at home, a 7 when I arrive and an 8 or 9 in warmup). I then implement my tools with a goal to reduce the number down to “x”. Tools including breathing, visualization, and other relaxation exercises. Good luck!