I plan on taking my mare to a dressage show at the end of the month and I’m debating how many tests to enter her in. She’s going because while she schools very well at home and reasonably well in the warm up her dressage ring performance can vary depending on distractions and we don’t get the chance to do multiple tests as she’s an eventer. Although she focuses in a ring when there are horses around her she goes on alert when she’s alone and not jumping. To add insult to injury we trotted down X at the exact moment the barrel racers the next arena over were doing a trick riding display and her lack of focus on me became apparent.
I was planning on entering at least two tests but thought about doing three. One or two at training level and one or two at first level. I am allowed by the rules to enter three, four if I’m doing a rider class. My goal is consistency, obedience, and relaxation and not necessarily a brilliant test.
I’d consider her pretty fit. Yesterday she spent 25 minutes warming up for dressage, a dressage test, a short break, a short warm up for show jumping, a show jumping round, a slightly longer warm up for XC, and then 6:47 minutes at 275 mpm for XC. I had plenty of horse left at the end of the day. She can come off a 15 mile trail ride without breathing hard.
Her second time out of her stall she’d probably need 10 minutes warm up give or take a few minutes, she’s neither young nor green but she just doesn’t go enough strange places.
