Show Stories- The good, the bad, and the ugly

[attempting]

Tell me your show stories!

Today I went to a low-level horse trial that was also being offered as a dressage show. It was a haul in show, and horse & I were doing two dressage tests. I had just finished tacking him up, so I walked out to the warmup and got on. Boom. Suddenly there is a horse in front of us, spooking at a tree. My horse feeds off of this energy and at that exact moment the tree is blown by the wind. Since the mounting block was right by said tree, my horse jumps about a million feet forward, kicking at air as he drags me right under the tree. Suddenly we are bucking, and I am hanging on for dear life. Luckily, I stayed on, we got over our fear of the tree, he got into frame, and we put in two pretty decent dressage tests. I honestly wasn’t expecting it to be great, as it’s the first show of the year. However, I am perfectly happy with a 61% and a 63%. :))

[Sleipnir]

It was my first little showjumping show and I was very stressed. After the 5th jump I realised that I had forgotten where I was meant to go next, and neither was I able to see the 6th! So I sat up straight, smiled with confidence and steered my very confused horse in the opposite direction of where we should have been going, until I finally found the jump, made a sharp U turn and returned to the course successfully, finishing it slow, but clean.

By then I was also confused why I wasn’t hearing the bell, as this for sure called for a disqualification! A friend who had been sitting near the judges’ booth revealed to me what she had overheard - the judges had also been confused, but decided between themselves that, as I was sitting up and smiling with such confidence, I must have some witty strategy in my mind to cut the course short - so they didn’t disqualify me for going off the course!

Lesson learned - if crap hits the fan, sit up, smile and pretend to know what you’re doing.

[2DogsFarm]

Showing my Hunter with a friend/trainer - wearing his Trainer Hat that day.
I showed my horse in the unofficial “Pros Only” 2nd Year Green.
We placed 2nd. Out of a field of Pros riding clients’ horses.
Scandalized other trainers kept asking friend “Why is she showing that horse?”
His reply: “Because it’s her horse”

[anon40672407]

@Sleipnir

Lesson learned - if crap hits the fan, sit up, smile and pretend to know what you’re doing

I did that at my first “big” event at Ram Tap. Went into dressage phase on a miserably hot day, smiled brilliantly at the judge for my first salute, and my upper lip got stuck on my dry teeth. I had a big rictus grin on my face until the very end of the ride when I could finally use my hand to unstick my lip.

[Paint_Party]

@anon40672407

…my upper lip got stuck on my dry teeth. I had a big rictus grin on my face until the very end of the ride…

I have a treasure trove of stories, but I gotta say, this cracked me up. It’s like something that would happen to me, for sure. Glad we can laugh at ourselves!

[quietann]

Way back when (2009) I took my mare to our first recognized dressage show. It was held at a private barn and was kind of a last-minute thing. My trainer came with me, and I trailered a more advanced horse for one of her clients, who got the last of her Bronze medal scores that day.

I was not quite so successful. The tests were held in the indoor arena, which was the size a full dressage court, so we were allowed a minute of warm-up in the arena before the bell rang… To one side of this arena, there was an aisle and a bunch of stalls, and a wash stall just across the aisle from “E”. Several of the barn people were showing, so the wash stall was getting a lot of use. There was a door to the arena there that could have been closed, but it wasn’t.

My mare became absolutely 100% convinced that there were Monsters at E. She has never been fond of wash stalls, and there she could see, 20 feet away, a wash stall with a horse she didn’t know being hosed down. Her response was to teleport sideways any time we got close to E. Or start to rear and then teleport. Or spin and teleport. So our “circles at E” all resembled horseshoes, and the entire test was very tense.

After complaints from off-site competitors, they closed the door for her second test, and then she was upset because she couldn’t see the wash stall. It wasn’t as bad a test, but certainly had its moments.

[Foggy]

I was riding my mare in a 2’9 adult am hunter class. To say it was a disaster would be an understatement. I forgot my course. Proceeded to jump an oxer backward. Mare didn’t appreciate it, over jumped, I was launched, somehow in the process my stirrups came off my saddle, BOTH stirrups. Horse is now at the far end of the ring. Pick myself up, grab the one stirrup leather I can see nearby, the judge kindly points out where the second one is located, and then I get the horse at the far end of the ring.

We did return and complete our second course and made it around.

In the undersaddle we actually pinned. The horse was a lovely mover but had no presence in the ring so rarely was noticed as a bay horse in a field of bays. I guess she was noticed due to our earlier performance or it was a pitty ribbon, either way it improved the day.

[skydy]

Here is an old thread from the Dressage forum; Spinoff - Crazy Things That Have Happened To You In The Show Ring

[danhelm441]

Here is an old thread from the Dressage forum; Spinoff - Crazy Things That Have Happened To You In The Show Ring

The fact that it’s called a “spin off” just hits a little too close to home for me to venture that click

[skydy]

It was a fun thread.

[Paint_Party]

@Foggy

I forgot my course. Proceeded to jump an oxer backward.

Years ago I was competing at an annual charity show. It was kind of a social affair combined with a horse show. After the flat portion of the hunter hack class, I lined up alongside one of my old friends and we were yakking while the judge was explaining the routine for the jumping portion of the class.

As luck would have it, I was first to go. I trotted out of the line-up, picked up the canter, turned into the line of jumps and… jumped them the wrong way, including the oxer, which I jumped backwards.

I was so embarrassed.

[Heinz_57]

Eons ago, I was at an event, all by myself. There were multiple dressage rings being run right next to each other, so I was already nervous about hearing the bell (or whatever noise it was that was assigned to my particular arena). I thought I heard it, so I trotted up the center line, made my turn at C, came out of the corner and promptly trotted right back out of the arena. I was convinced that I’d heard the wrong bell, because the judge absolutely never looked up throughout my entire centerline or the turn at C.

Said judge called me over and asked why I had left. I explained, slightly horrified, that I thought I had entered in error since they never looked up through the entirety of the first two movements. I was allowed to re-start my test (to the tune of an abysmal score).

[Xanthoria]

Most recent dressage judge comment: “you know you can’t just circle wherever you want!” Said in an exasperated tone after I went off course. With a reader. Exit at A, tail between legs…

[TwiSedai]

A few years ago, I was doing an Intro A test with my 4 year old (his first test) at our in-house schooling show. The barn owner asked if I wanted her to read the test for me, but I was all, no way, it’s just Intro A, it has like five movements. And then proceeded to completely wander off course after turning off the centerline.

[Obsidian_Fire]

The first “event” I ever went to, a little schooling thing… I started out great in the dressage test. Then the ‘cross country’ - this was a baby event so you didn’t even have to jump anything out there. I am on a horse that is dead broke to anything you want on the trails. And I mean anything. But! there are people (judges) lurking in the trees. And when we got to the water, forget it. Then, the show jumping phase. All the poles were painted colors, and at home they were only white. Mare refused every. single. one. Needless to say we ended up DQ’d.
Another show, another horse. Outdoors, dressage test. Train goes by the back of the property, so far away why it should even be noticed is beyond me… but horse sees it and does an exit stage left and I end up upside down on my head. On video, of course. Schooling show, allowed to restart test. Get to that same spot and horse flat plants feet. Ended up having a friend come in and grab bridle and lead us past “that spot”. Then horse was fine.
Another show, same horse, took down the dressage court. Balking and being an idiot and got too close to the rope and down it came.
Yet another show… got on, could not get off. Seriously. I was better off just trying to ride it out, wouldn’t stand still anyway. By the time it came for our test, we rode into the aisleway to the arena, to find a group of turkeys!!! OMG I think my life flashed before my eyes… and horse just stood there like yeah so what?
Honestly I don’t have any good show stories. Had a little fun here n there but mostly they were all bad or ugly.

[2DogsFarm]

@Foggy

or it was a pitty ribbon,

After a particularly bad Hunter round at a schooling show, Friend/Trainer grabbed a blue, handed it to me & said “Just go home now!”

[anon40672407]

@Xanthoria

Said in an exasperated tone after I went off course. With a reader. Exit at A, tail between legs…

hahaha!

Having tests read:

Not me, but I recall watching the dressage test of a young gal who asked her parent to read the test for her.

Clueless parent started reading and just kept going without any pauses. By the time the kid had halted at X for first salute, parent was completely done reading the test.

Opposite problem, a parent reading and coaching thru the test. “Enter, halt at X, Salute. Halt at X. No, all the way up to X, then Halt.”

I was running that event and had to DQ the rider because of the parent. Ouch.

[Xanthoria]

I was doing a test on an OTTB once and really focusing, head down, staring at his head willing it to stay down as one does as I trotted across the diagonal I felt him stiffen and the head raise. Dammit it’s all falling apart! Look up finally and there are three deer in the arena right in our way. Judge commented “distracted ”

[Sleipnir]

Two more:

I was doing my first 2.6’’ show on my trusty gelding, but he for some reason felt spooked at the unfamiliar (to him) showgrounds, so, when we got to the arena, he was balking like his life depended on it. He jumped every jump clean, but no matter how much leg I put on, he did it slower than the paint dries. As I was slo-mo cantering by the spectators, I, to my utter embarrassment, heard them cheering us up - “Faster, horsie! You can do it! Faster!”

We finished last. Clean - he didn’t touch a single pole - but last.

And second one did not directly happen to me, but to a close friend who got to ride her trainers’ young and very nervous mare at the mares’ first Dressage show. Everything went relatively normal and they even got placed. So, the time comes when a ring person comes up to attach the rosette to the mares’ bridle, asking if she would be okay with that. Sure, my friend answers with confidence.

Well, as soon as the wind blew the ribbons into the mares’ eye, she freaked out and went spinning, galloping and bucking right down the centreline. My friend valiantly held on, but soon hit the dust, and…it was all documented. Because she had given me her camera and I was bound to document every single moment of it.

The mare proceeded to gallop all over the grounds with people shouting to shut the gates, dismount and hold their horses, and I had not realized my friend was capable to display such a intense shade of red on her face. Coincidentally, I was finally the one who caught her mare when she was going her ump-teenth lap around the grounds and I started crinkling the plastic packet of rubber bands I had in my pocket. She thought I had snacks.

[sportyspicepony]

I have sooo many bad show stories, I have terrible luck at horse shows lol.

One time my poor mother was watching me warm up and decided to try to sit on the (pretty low) fence and it SNAPPED and broke super loudly, spooking multiple horses & resulting in me and at least one other person falling off luckily everyone was fine, though I did decide to skip the jump round I was warming up for after falling off lol.