Experience! Once you do this more than a few dozen times you will have more self confidence and ability. The warm up will be easy for you. Forward, with your eyes up and left hand to left hand is usually held to. When things go funky is when a person is working on a half pass, or a diagonal, those take some head’s up riding. LOOK before committing to any lateral exercise. I am pretty sure the major problems arise when one is a newbie and you ride with your chin down, with too much eye on your horse instead of the surrounding area. Think “Yoda”, be the force! :):):):):):):)
At a recognized show, I always try to go left shoulder to left shoulder, but it doesn’t always work out. There’s nothing more nervewracking that seeing someone coming at you crossing your path from the rail to the inside just so that they can pass you on your left shoulder. As loong as people are looking up, you can go smoothly with the flow.
So I always say keep your head up, look around for the horses/riders who are a) out of control and b) upper level riders who are practicing pieces of their test. I steer clear of the out of control ones when I can, and I watch the upper level test practicers because you might THINK they’re cantering across the diagonal but next thing you know they are pirouetting into your path.
If you are walking on the rail, people passing at faster gaits should be in the inside.
I also always look around before I start a circle or half-pass to be sure I’m not cutting someone off.
Like someone else said, at a show, people can be nervous in very much in their own world. To be quite honest, I don’t care how many dumb/dirty looks I get, when in doubt I ALWAYS call outside or inside and look into the oncoming rider’s eyes that I’m talking to. I’ll call “heads up” if I see someone riding into my path. And if I’m cantering past someone walking and can’t give them lots of room, I call “coming up on your inside”. Most of the time, people thank me, and I always thank others who call their direction around me. I’d MUCH rather look stupid than collide with someone or get kicked by a horse who didn’t see me coming. 
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At the shows here, most people in the warm up try to be considerate, there is not alot of calling out direction but people would appreciate it if needed and not look at you cross-eyed, and apologize if they know they cut someone off.
Apparently the walk on the track or walk off the track “rules” are different by region. I’ve always seen that walking is to be done off of the track to give those that are schooling the faster gaits the advantage of the rail.
Starting with that attitude of warm up as not being evil, you do need to acclimate your horse to riding with other horses in the schooling ring; it is as much a part of the competition as the show ring, judge’s boxes and flowers. Many submissive horses (esp mares) are very intimidated by the other horses and can be dangerous for both themselves and others in the ring with their tendency to stop and whirl suddenly when a horse is coming at them.
I’d like to see schooling shows (or separate schooling clinics) offer orchestrated show simulation events like a controlled warm-up area for those of us who tend to ride alone or with only one or two other horses at home.
Of course there are the ones who you can’t decide are really clueless or the world’s snobbiest. Last fall I was cantering on the rail for the entire long side on my stallion and such a person (who is not a dressage novice) completed a 20m circle right in front of me and halted right on the track! My stallion was pretty interested in having his nose up a mare’s butt. A good rule of thumb: don’t halt on the track! Corollary to this rule: don’t stop on the track and then stand there to talk to your trainer for 3 minutes or to put on your coat!
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As far as yielding when walking on the rail, I was taught to do so by staying off the rail and doing a circle or other figure, not to move over when I hear someone coming up behind me. For that matter, since I have a hearing loss, people definitely shouldn’t depend on me to do so!
I try to watch out for and yield to anyone coming toward me (preferably l-to-l, but if they’re on the rail and seem to want to stay there, I’ll move to the inside instead). I try to keep my peripheral vision going and not look down at the horse.
Petitefilly, you mean we should pretend our dressage whips are lightsabers and thack anyone who breaks the l-to-l rule or gets in our way?
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Yeah, I’ve run into some confusion as to the ‘rules’ even at home when there’s five or six horses in the arena. I know left to left and I’ve been well warned by instructors that if I’m walking, I ought to be off the track/on the inside. (That always seemed counter intuitive though… it’s easier to do a circle, canter to the inside and overtake someone who is warming up on a loose rein walk on the -rail-…)
Staying on the inside stresses me out when I’m just walking… people are often going in -both- directions when it’s busy… so if you’re on the inside, someone is coming up to overtake you on the rail and someone else is circling towards you, do you try and cut into their circle and make a bitty little 10m circle inside their 20m circle? It gets difficult to know where to go when one person is using half the arena to lunge (so on a circle) and thus if walking you must go on the rail… and the other half of the ring is occupied by one person moving the opposite direction to you and one moving the same and both trotting or cantering.
If you’re on the inside track walking on the left rein and someone is coming towards you at a canter, should it still be left to left? Or does walking on the inside ‘win’ over left to left here?
If someone is cantering a 20m circle, doesn’t it make more sense to walk on the rail outside of their circle rather than nearly spinning on the spot inside of it?
- sigh- I just don’t want to be -that- person. I mean rule of thumb is left to left, walk on the inside and keep your eyes up/be aware of lateral work or upper level movements… but there are some cases where I’m just not sure where I ought to be. In the hierarchy, is left to left always greatest? Being on the inside if moving more slowly?
Zimmerpflanzen,
I think that in those unusual times when people aren’t sure “where to be”, as long as you keep a predictable path everything is just fine!
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Darlink! you need a bigger horrrrse! Then you can cope with the warmup ring! Blinkers (for the rider) do help.
I have one horse who is totally scared of the warmup ring. Heaven help if anything bucks, or if a pony comes in. And if a small, or multi-coloured pony, or anything with a magnificent white tail (yes, he IS particular) enters the warmup - he’s outa there! So I guess you’d be fine.
My other horse, hey, he just lurves the warmup! Sidles up to potential new playmates, tries a gentle, playful kick to get the party started…you get the picture? Such fun!
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Not necessarily. Little bay alpha mares clear their own paths quite well, I’ve found. :winkgrin:
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Was this the Sienna Schooling Show in Missouri City?
[QUOTE=Wild Oaks Farm;3035825]
Help!
I went to a schooling show this weekend (the first one I have been to where everyone there actually rides dressage most of the time…a little more competitive than the previous ones I have been to where everyone pulls their backyard horse out of the pature, memorizes the test, and then saddles up their muddy horse the morning of the show for the first time in months and rides the test!).
The warmup ring was pure and utter chaos! To make matters worse, I have a smallish pony who gets very nervous and claustrophobic around other horses and riders, and this is not helped when they have big giant whips bouncing around as they trot straight at us or canter up right behind us. I don’t know if it is because I am on a pony, or what, but it seemed like I spent the entire time just trying to stay out of everyones way.
One lady told me “left shoulder to left shoulder,” so I assumed she meant that was the general way it should be, so I tried to do that, but that didn’t seem to work either as people were all over the place.
It wasn’t just me…two horses actually crashed and someone fell off because of it, which my horse saw, and I swear that made him more nervous. :eek:
Now, I know that he will get better and better the more we get out, but in the meantime…what is the proper warmup ring etiquette? Or do I just need to get used to getting run over because I have a little pony in a sea of warmbloods ridden by riders with their eyes on their horse’s necks? This warmup ring is scary business!![/QUOTE]
Was this the Sienna Stables Schooling show? I was there - the warm up ring was indeed scary! The 60 mph train was also exciting. My barn mate’s mare was not happy wih the warm up ring collisions or the horse eating train.
I have shown in multiple A shows as well as schooling shows and this was by far one of the worst situations I have observed. There was on very aggressive experienced rider that was literally running horses over. 
Not a friendly situation.
Most of the time if you stick with l shoulder to l shoulder and communicate you will be ok. That said, I still struggle with trying to focus on my warm up and stay out of the way of “movements”. But it is getting easier - they say practice makes perfect. I just hope I am never the rude thoughtless rider that others are complaining about.
Warm up areas can get wild - Left sh to left Sh is the norm - but try to anticipate problems. Many times in larger shows when there are just too many people in the warmup ring I try to find any other open area to warm my mare up - including LY’s between trees, 10 meter circles around trees, etc. Better to keep BOTH of us concentrating on our work versus trying to avoid collisions.
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other issues
my problems with warm up rings are people who are not warming up. You get people having lessons, people showing off their mounts for sales purposes. People just working their horses that are non competing. Some trainers warming up a few of their clients stake out an end or a corner, cirlcing around, which cuts off a lot of space for the others.
At one show I went over to the lunging ring, and a VERY BNT was giving lessons to 5 students. He actually asked me to leave. I stood my ground and lunged my young horse but one girl, terrified of him, left. After that I spoke to all who came to use it and told them it was ok and that they where in the correct ring.
If warm up rings are used just for that purpose, and all the other activities take place early morning or late afternoon I think a lot of the confusion would be resolved.
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I’ve always been told left shoulder to left shoulder, faster horse to the inside. There’s a good reason for it- the slower horse can’t get out of the way as easily as the faster horse can go around him. Another good reason is if the faster horse spooks or gets too strong, it’s easier to circle him to the inside. Many warm up rings don’t even have fences, so if the horse spooks or something it’s better to circle him than have him head for the hills.
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This was at Las Colinas. And THANK GOD for that, I don’t think we could have handled a train!!!:eek::eek::eek:
I show regularly in the Los Angeles area, and the rules are always left to left, and yield the rail. i.e., if you’re walking on a long rein, stay off the rail.
I think the idea is that the rail is essential to practice some of the test movements and if you’re just walking on a long rein, it’s better to give the rail to those who actually need it. Of course, this applies mostly to areas where the warm-up ring has an actual arena set up.
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No wonder schooling rings are a PITA, if we are all practicing different sets of rules, lol ;).
I was always taught:
Left to left
Walking on long rein or halting is done on the 1/4 line
No walking 2 abreast to chit chat
Lateral work has the right of way.
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Dragging this up from the depths 'cause I have a question. First show of the season - great facility. There is a warm up arena next to ring 3, and it had letters set up the night before. There is also a large ring available to warm up in as well, usually used for show jumping. I LIKE the first warm up arena - it is a serene, setting and I need help focusing. I am warming up and happy with my horse, getting ready for a few circles to work on connection when a rider appears and starts to actually ride a test. Nothing said to me. So, I head to other ring to finish warmup and there the mare decides the judge’s box does not belong in the air and takes severe umbrage at the watering equipment next to it behind the fence. I lost focus and you know where this story goes… Should I have challenged the rider who started riding the test - which is quite different from general warmup? Should I have just stood my ground? I have never seen dressage warm up arenas set with letters, so I thought I was in the wrong. I can handle typical warmup. I have actually tried out a sales horse in the small warm up at a hunter show at Lamplight, so I’m no pansy. I just was sort of gob-smacked - not something I would do.
If the show did not specify any additional rules you had as much right to be there as she did, and you would be OK to continue your warmup while she worked around you. Sometimes the extra ring is reserved for people who are on deck/ due in the ring within a certain number of rides but if so that should be stated in the program and enforced by a steward. There was no reason you couldn’t have worked out a compromise with the other rider.
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Another vote for passing L to L and faster work on the rail, walking in the centre. Logic? Canter is easier on a bigger circumference. Walk is ok on a smaller circle.
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My little 15h Morgan gelding thinks he’s the biggest thing to ever hit the warm up arena. He threatens to kick and bit any 17h+ warmblood that gets near him. I have had to warm him up for a para rider and it usually overlaps with the upper level riders. I don’t know how many times I’ve been cut off and had to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision. At one show, I told another rider that I would meet her outside for a few fisticuffs after she cut me off twice to do her tempis on the diagonal and I had to do a reining stop to avoid her. No advice from me. Just commiseration.
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I ended up playing a game of Chicken with one girl. All she was doing was cantering around and around on the rail and I was trying to practice shoulder-in. We headed toward each other and at the last second she turned off the rail but I really thought we were going to crash. She wasn’t happy about having someone make her move as though it were her right to commandeer the rail for her schooling. All she did was canter, from the moment she entered to the moment she left. I had always heard that faster gaits take the inside too.
