You could always braid the night before if you don’t think he’ll rub them out at home. I’ve done that for a schooling show. I get stress dreams where my horses are not braided before my class! If his mane is thin then you should have no problem morning of. I have one that takes me 20 min to braid and the other is 30- 35 min because he’s got so much mane. I also do sew in braids so they keep while we’re at a multi-day show - so it does take me some time to do two horses.
I think your warm up time of 30 min good. Is that how long you normally ride him at home? I would practice your warm up at home and then ride your test and see how it goes in a known environment. That may help you tweak the timing or focus on something in your warm up to make sure it translates into your test. At each level with my two horses that I show, there was always something I needed to ride through in the warmup to make sure we had that box checked. Like a canter trot transition in a weird spot, or the canter transition after the walk. It was almost like a poke to them to be like hey we’re doing this test, this part is still included - make sure you’re with me. I think your planning and expectations are great! Good luck!
Thank you!
I rode him today to run through all the tests. I actually didn’t worry about correct riding as much as just remember the test. There was once I caught myself merrily trotting when we were supposed to be medium walking. But it was good to see that I recognized the error within a letter.
By the third practice test he was offering more forward and better transitions so I do think I’ll stick to my 30 minutes and perhaps just walk for a bit before the test. Make sure I’m ready to get a good trot going before entering the ring.
This is all just stream of consciousness typing at this point 
Supposed to rain tomorrow so bath today, tack and trailer tomorrow and fingers crossed for the next two days.
Have fun!!
If I’m showing early I put in the braids the night before but don’t sew them up. If you have a sheet with a neck piece that can help keep them intact and free of hay and shavings.
Timewise, if he is easy, the main thing as you say will be for you to get your bearings and not feel frazzled getting ready. It might take a little time to go sign in and collect your number, etc. Have fun!
Oh, that is a great though @outerbanks77. They probably won’t itch so much, and are certainly less likely yo get rubbed out. And you can just fix a couple, if needed!
Good luck and have fun!!
As somebody who has shown alone quite a bit before, don’t be afraid to ask somebody for help. People at horse shows generally are very friendly and willing to help but you have to ask. That is whether you need a reader, or somebody to hand you something to drink, or even fix the keeper on your bridle so you don’t have to dismount. Make sure you stay hydrated. If you don’t have a lot of time between classes you might bring a water bottle or something to drink and you can just ask somebody to hand it to you to get a drink between classes. You will know more when the ride times are up. Good luck and have fun!
Do you know the OPS horse (and are giving better advise than us strangers)? I would not automatically assume a “former roper” would be fine for 15 minute warm up in a different style of environment for a different style of riding. The western people often lope their horses for 15 minutes plus at events.
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I offer input based on my lived experience. Just like you. Those two don’t have to align. Every rope horse I’ve handled is broke to the Nth degree, and headers and heelers are averse to the right lead. If your mileage varies, that’s ok.
Well now, I know nothing about rope horses but while his left lead is the challenging one for me (though his old owner can do flying changes bareback in a halter and lead rope…) he does have a harder time tracking right at the trot. I wonder if there’s something to that.
He definitely has me considering looking at similar horses for my next horse. Younger, with fewer put away wet miles perhaps, but he’s such a trier. Honestly tries hard to do it all correctly. It’s just unfortunate that I didn’t find my current coach until now, we could have been much further along.
But I just overheard someone say, the teacher appears when the student is ready. So probably this is how it was supposed to be.
Best of luck to you!! Sounds like a great guy!
I like the plan for a 30 min warm-up for the first test. If things are going well you can always take a nice long walk break and then pick him back up. Then for your next 2 tests, you will need less and less time, depending on how close they are together maybe just a walk break and then a few minutes trot to loosen him up. I’d rather have extra time in the warm-up and take a longer break than run out of time I wish I had.
I have found that for a rider who’s new to showing on a horse with a unknown reaction to a dressage warm up, more time is better the first time. You have to get into the warm up ring, visit the steward to give them your number, what if the ring is running ahead or behind, is a trainer going to coach you and do you have to wait for that, is there a set ring to practice your test and do you have to wait for that, is someone there on their 17 hand Friesian stallion that is spinning on the end of a lunge line while screaming and snorting like a train, etc.
What i need to figure out is how to go from riding in the warm up, getting nice transitions etc, to the show ring without losing him, if that makes sense. Keep him switched on. It’s one reason I was so hot to get to some shows, to figure all of this stuff out.
Yes, a walk break can cause you to lose him. He doesn’t need training, he needs a warmup. How long do you warm up at home before getting to work? Add 10 minutes to that and, for a lower level test, that should be fine.
At most show venues, there is enough space to ride around the outside of the dressage court before your test. You should be allowed to do that once the previous rider does their final salute. Then it takes the judge and scribe a couple minutes to finalize that score sheet, so use that time to keep the horse moving and on the aids. My mare will tend to suck back at show situations, so I will try to canter down the long side each direction before entering if at all possible, or at least do a lengthened trot.
“screaming and snorting like a train” got me 
! I can SEE that stallion!
I hope you have a wonderful time! Maybe con someone into taking a picture for us to see. Good luck 
!
How long do you usually ride, each day?
That’s the thing a lot of people run into - they usually ride for 30-45 minutes a day with lots of walking (and don’t realize it). But then they get to a show and do a full 30 minute warmup, a test, another warmup, another test, ANOTHER warmup, and a third test where the wheels fall off because everyone is exhausted.
Remember that trailering and being in a new place takes energy, even if the horse is chill. Focusing on a test and being “on” takes energy. Dealing with a stressy rider takes energy. Three walk-trot tests shouldn’t be a huge ask by themselves, but think about how long you are usually asking this horse to be working vs how long you expect him to do so at a show.
You can always scratch your last test if he’s being really good but you think you’ve run out of gas. Or, maybe you usually actively ride for an hour or two a day he’s got the fitness to do this no problem!
Whatever you do, go have fun! Drink water. Eat something substantial. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, and err on the side of earlier vs later so you have time to relax and orient yourself.
Yes to all of this. We’re 40 minute riders. An hour at our 2x weekly lesson. Because of his age I’m always cognizant of not wanting to do TOO much.
Still, 3 tests at 4 minutes each (something like that) will add maybe 20 - 30 minutes of ride time so hopefully he’s good with that. If not, I won’t hesitate to scratch the 3rd test.
And… our braiding trial was a disaster. Looked like a 5 year old did it. So I went back to my aqha roots and while I didn’t go so far as banding the mane, it looks very QH appropriate. His mane is thick then thin and has so many flyaways in the braids. This way suits him better anyway (imo)
Well we done it. 62s across the board. “Needs to track up more” was the repeated comment.
He was a good boy. This was EXACTLY what I needed. Now we have concrete things to work on and work towards. And intro was perfect. If we’re not tracking up well enough and our departs after x are a bit crooked… it follows to me we should perfect those things before moving on. And if they don’t get perfected then we’re just done and that’s ok.
This little club is awesome. Friendly, good facility, well run and organized. Super glad to have found it.
