Can I do it?!! I dont understand!

[Kellyamberb]

Hello all,

I am new to this thread and would be greatful for any advice! I am not exactly a new rider, more of one who has always ridden, but never really had much confidence and gets put off easily!

I currently have a 15hh hanovarian x cob on loan. He is really sweet and we are getting on well, been 5 months now. He is 14 years old and has never been to a show in his life. He is kept entirely on his own and we ride out on his own (Amazingly and confident with him out on our own............ he looks after me, I look after him!) and have developed a really nice bond, he follows me round the field and comes to the gate as soon as he hears my voice. He seems really happy with this way of life and is not bothered if we see other horses when we are out, just stops, looks completely amazed that another horse is on his patch, then walks on again!:)

I have done some showing before and used to ride for a lady who held dressage clinics with practise prelim dressage tests which I did loads of in the past, and would love to get into it again. I have been keeping up to date with having a lesson a month to keep me riding as best I can. When ever we hack out I make him trot 20m circles and serpentines and practise our transitions and some leg yielding (I find this helps my confidence as he goes exactly where I want him to and by doing this and making his brain work more, he really listens to me).:)

My concern that 14 years old is a bit late to get my boy started in all this showing stuff! I am really not sure how to go about it. I have a dressage teacher coming to give me a lesson on saturday :o ( he has been schooled, lunged etc before and he seems very collected and together), but I really dont want to seem ignorant.

My questions are the following?
1. Do you think it is too late for him and the whole thing would stress him out too much? He has been kept in a big, professional yard in the past, but is now purely used for hacking and as a family pet? I would hate to put him through any undue stress.
2. What is Trailblazers? There seems to be loads of different types of dressage competitions
3. Do you have to spend lots of money registering yourself and horse to compete? I just want to have a go at a couple prelim tests to see how we get on! (thought I may take him to just a local showing show to see if how he likes it first!)


Sorry for the long post, but please help!!

K and S XX

[bexj]

I say give it a go! You can start local - either with dressage or showing, and that is usually unaffiliated, so apart from making sure you've got the right clothing, it needn't cost a fortune. As for the stress, you may find that it's a bit exciting at first for him, so I would suggest taking him to a couple of events first without competing, school him while you are there, but at least there is no pressure. Dressage comps tend to be a less mind-blowing experience as you don't get millions of kids zooming around on super-speedy ponies. See how he goes, and take a view on it. If possible try and go with one of his friends so he feels like he has some moral support!

Good luck and post piccies!!

[andreaB]

i don't think it is too late at all

trailblazers is an unaffiliated dressage series , venues hold classes that are qualifiers , if you get above a certain score you are able to enter the second rounds , you then qualify for the national finals through these

you can compete at most unaff dressage without registering with british dressage or the competition organiser , you can also compete british dressage at prelim unregistered but would have to be registered to do the regionals/nationals/area festival finals

give it a go:)

[storm35]

I cant offer any advice, but welcome to the forum.

[Kellyamberb]

Excellent, would love to compete again, just not sure what my boy is gonna think of it! Will see how our lesson goes on saturday, the lady is really frank and honest so it will be good to get her opinion!

Thanks for all the advice and info, keep it coming and I will keep you all updated with our progress! :rolleyes:

[Joyscarer]

You won't know if you don't try.

I would say give it a go and see how he is. He may love it, he may hate it but whatever happens I don't doubt that you have his best interests at heart and will be keeping a close eye on how he is coping. :)

Pics from your first show for you next thread would be very welcome ;)

[Thistle]

I bought my old horse when he was 16, he had done a bit of everything but for the 6 years before I had him he was mainly a riding school horse. I started to show him and it gave him a whole new lease of life, he absolutely loved it (he did pretty well too)! So I'd say go for it :)

[Kellyamberb]

Well, just to update you all, we just had our first lesson together. Went quite well, I am suprised to say! Feeling a little bit more positive........ even though he managed to through in some little bucks to show his annoyance at being asked to trot so much! The monkey!

From small acorns grow giants oaks, I hope!!

[calvo]

That sounds positive! :) Before you know you it, you be competing :cool:

an oldish horse I knew (18ish) came back to life once he discovered other horses out there and gave him a more healthier outlook on his life :cool:

[Kady A]

Go for it! We run Trailblazers at our centre - have a look at the Trailblazers website for info (www.trailblazerschampionships.com). Its free to register, if you score 58% and above in a first round comp, you qualify for second rounds - if you get placed second rounds you can qualify for the national finals that are held in July/August every year at Stoneleigh.

To encourage more people to come and have a go we run Walk/Trot tests too - these are proving really popular with novice riders and people bringing out youngsters.

My old lady has done some dressage in her twenties before retiring - only for fun - she definitely enjoyed it, she enjoyed being watched and admired! It helped me cos I can be a bit of a nervous nelly - much happier running competitions than competing in them!

Hope you had a great lesson!

[Kellyamberb]

Thanks all........ am definately keen to keep up the good work and maybe aim to to a couple tests at some point! I am also going to join my local riding club a I have no transport to or from shows for neddy and I!

Keep the advice coming! lol!

xx

[chickyd444]

my boy is 14 and has only just started competeing properly at dressage, i dont think 14 is too old:o good luck and welcome no new rider x

[Lgd]

My questions are the following?
1. Do you think it is too late for him and the whole thing would stress him out too much? He has been kept in a big, professional yard in the past, but is now purely used for hacking and as a family pet? I would hate to put him through any undue stress.
2. What is Trailblazers? There seems to be loads of different types of dressage competitions
3. Do you have to spend lots of money registering yourself and horse to compete? I just want to have a go at a couple prelim tests to see how we get on! (thought I may take him to just a local showing show to see if how he likes it first!)


1. No it's not too late. My friend's old boy was 15yo before he started competitive dressage and he got to Advanced level. He won his last affiliated competition at rising 26yo! He loves going to parties and still does a war dance when the horse box goes without him. :D

2. trailblazers is an organised unaffiliated dressage competition. IIRC You need one or two scores over a certain percentage to qualify for the second round. Those are all held locally. The combinations that get through from the second round qualify for a national final - think it is held somewhere like Hickstead.

3. Trailblazers - think it is free or a small fee for admin purposes (not sure there).

For unaffiliated stuff it is just your entry fees, no registration required.

For affiliated prelim you do not need to be registered - just enter the open section, schedules and entry forms can be found on www.britishdressage.co.uk click on competitions on the menu to navigate to the required bits. These sheets count towards area festival championship qualification if you get the required scores (2 scores over 62%). You do need to be registered to compete at the AFs. Horse registration & rider registration comes to just around £120 for a year.