Preparing for your First Show

when Preparing for your First Show

By Lisa Wieben and Birgit Stutz Photos by Marc Lavigne, Rider Birgit Stutz

Trailer loading

Over the past year you may have been lucky to still have a place you could haul out to ride, even if it was to get out on a nice trail. If not, your horse may not have been off the property in a while. Taking a few days to practice trailer loading will pay off on show day. When those first show nerves are taking hold, or we are running late with last minute details, our horse picks up on those emotions and picks that moment not to load. Being confident your horse will load will make all the difference as you are departing for the show (trailer loading could be a whole other article, but for now we will just say… ‘be sure to practice before the big day!’ If you need help with this be sure to find someone - a coach/trainer/qualified friend or neighbour) - so that your horse has a good experience and builds confidence.

Prepare your horse to ride past the judge(s) table, flower boxes, letters

The first time out to an event your horse may be more aware of his surroundings than you are used to. Be prepared with a plan. When we are getting our horses used to a scary object or area we usually start on the ground with a simple exercise.

Lead the horse past the object/ area with you between the horse and the area. By doing this the horse can look at the object, but still bend away from what he is worried about. Putting yourself in the middle shows the horse there is really nothing to worry about as you are not bothered to be beside it.

Lead the horse from the offside of the object, but keep your body ahead of the horse to allow the horse to look at the object and bend his body away if he is still worried. The handler will keep his or her core in front of the horse’s nose, turning in the direction the horse is looking, drawing with an open inside hip (the hip closest to the horse’s head) to keep the horse moving forward. The leading hand will remain back under the horse’s throat to maintain contact guiding the horse in the direction you want him to move.

Lead past the object asking your horse to stay in correct bend (not bending into you). Leading your horse from the left side, the object is to the right of the horse. You can use a dressage whip to tickle his belly to remind him to stay bent around you and not look away at the object.

Following this progression will teach the horse that you will not force him into something he is not ready for and build his confidence with an easy progression.

Now it’s time to bring this into riding. When you have a spot that your horse is worried about, allow the horse to bend away from the spot. For example, you are riding along the rail and your horse wants to counter-bend past a barrel in the corner. As you begin to feel him change bend, your aids will change. In true bend you ride the horse more from the inside leg, but when he counterbends, you will then change your bending aid to the outside leg (which is now your new inside leg). The horse will be bending around your new inside leg as he changes bend past the barrel. Your body will turn to be in the direction of the bend. This may turn into a bit of a leg yield off your new inside leg depending on how much the horse wants to move away from the object. Once the horse is past the scary barrel wait for him to begin to change to true bend before you change the aids and your body position. If doing this in a trot you will change your diagonal as the horse changes bend and then change back after the horse changes back to true

bend.

This will keep the horse comfortable as he goes past the object. If we try to hold or force him to remain in true bend while he is nervous about an area he could invert (lift his head and hollow his back), creating more stress in his body. Once you have ridden past in this way a few times then you can start to ask him to stay in true bend as you go by (your horse will

First the handler leads horse past obstacle with their own body close to the obstacle. This allows the horse to bend away while looking at the obstacle. Next the handler leads the horse past from the side away from the obstacle. The horse is allowed to look at the obstacle and bed away, but without the security of the handler between. Once the horse is relaxed the handler can then ask the horse to move past the obstacle in true bend. The horse is bending around the handler and into the obstacle. By going through these stages you can build your horse's trust and confidence.

It may have been a year since you last competed or you’ve been anxiously awaiting your chance to attend your first show. You’ve done the work, you’ve practiced the tests at the level you plan to show, you have all the correct tack and attire, but you may have neglected a few things that could make all the difference on show day.

Repeat the process under saddle. First allow the horse to counter bend if they want to look at the obstacle. Then proceed to asking the horse to be straighter as he goes past. Once the horse is fully relaxed, the rider can then ask the horse to remain in bend as he goes past the obstacle. This will once again build the horse's confidence and trust as he never feels forced to move into an obstacle before he is ready.

let you know when he is ready). The inside rein will block the horse from changing bend while the inside leg asks for bend.

Now how does this help you at the show?

First, do this with as many things as you can to get your horse used to the routine. Set up a table and have your friend sit there and move papers around. When you are at the show, the judge sits at C and will have a scribe with them. Sometimes the judge could be in a vehicle depending on weather or the show will have a box area for them to sit in. Bring out flower pots, white markers, etc. The more you can show your horse prior to the show the easier it will be for them to handle new things. You will have built up his confidence and your own!

Second, now that you know how to ride past ‘scary’ things, when you are in the ring for the warmup be sure to ride past the judge allowing the horse to look and change bend if he needs to. During the test you can use a very slight counter bend, if needed. Doing your homework will give your horse fewer things to be worried about.

Lastly, visualize your test

Even though Western Dressage shows allow you to have a reader all the way up to World level, visualizing the test will prepare your body for your ride. The more you visualize the more automatic your cues will be and you will have more confidence going into the test. Imagine that centreline straight as an arrow, your circles round and your corners as part of a 10-metre circle. As you visualize, ‘feel’ your ride.

Enjoy the process and have fun at your first show of the year!

If you are unsure of where you are heading it is always a good idea to connect with a coach that knows the sport you want to prepare for. We (Lisa and Birgit) are both available for online and in-person lessons.

Be sure to send your questions to nancyroman@saddleup.ca as we will answer another reader question next month.

Lisa Wieben’s passion is empowering women in becoming confident and healthy riders. As an Energy Medicine Practitioner and Clinical Somatics Practitioner she addresses pain, tension, hormones, stress, and the issues that appear as a result. As a Centered Riding Instructor and Irwin Insights Master Level 7 Trainer she works with riders incorporating awareness exercises both on and off the horse. Balance the rider, balance the horse! Book a clinic that incorporates all the modalities! www.somaticrider.com As an Irwin Insights Level 6 Master Certified trainer and coach, Birgit Stutz helps riders of all levels and backgrounds advance their horsemanship skills by developing personal and situational awareness, focusing on in-depth understanding of equine behaviour, body language, psychology and biomechanics. Driven by her passion for both equine welfare and performance, Birgit believes that facilitating effective communication between horse and rider is an approach that fulfills our responsibilities to the horse and elicits great results. www.fallingstarranch.ca.

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