Judges and Competitors - whats the general standard like at Prelim Dressage?

[fluffy_betty]

I'm planning to enter my first prelim dressage test in a few weeks and having never done it or even watched it before, I'm a bit worried about what the other riders in the class will be like.

I have a 16.2hh TBxWB mare, she has a lot of potential to do well - she has nice paces and finds engagement and working uphill easy. On a good day she looks fantastic, works in a lovely outline, does a very impressive medium trot and even a half decent shoulder in.

The thing is, on a bad day she can be very strong and fizzy and bend the wrong way round the corners and all sorts and its very difficult to get her attention. She generally tracks up but she goes hollow and tense.

I'm fairly confident that on a good day we'll be up to standard but I'm concerned about what will happen if its a bad day. So I want to hear from anyone who judges or competes regularly, what is the worst you have seen at prelim level and does it happen all the time??

[Soot]

The worst I've seen at Prelim level is me :) And I still get placed regularly LMAO!

[NoviceNic]

We got placed and our good day is the same as one of your bad days. :p

Just go and have some fun. Compete against your own score firsts. Will give you a boost to see your score improving each month. ;)

[coss]

it shouldn't but it depends on the venue usually. small local places generally don't mind what you do and are there for your horse to gain experience. other places are more "professional" - they generally have better judges who may be more strict when it comes to marking. judges do vary in how they mark things. at prelim some judges don't mind if you aren't in an outline - they concentrate on rhythm and bend, other judges want to see a positive contact and outline.
i've had good and bad tests - motorbiking round corners, disunited canter, passage (instead of walk :o), spooking, lack of bend, horse falling in - which made the judge say that the rider needed to use the school more (i couldn't have asked more with my inside leg if i tried - horse just wasn't having it lol). i've also ridden very accurate tests with not much change in the horse's outline. from the work you say your horse can do, it sounds like she can do novice/elementary moves so should cope with a prelim test and do well (on a good day).
i've seen some terrible tests, circles that look like squares, canter not maintained, squint horses, canter on the wrong leg. its not all that rare from what i've seen :p

[Mehitabel]

if you can go where you want to in the pace you want to then give it a bash! at unafflicted prelim you will find a very variable standard - go a couple of times, see what happens and then decide how you want to progress and what your goals will be.

[coss]

if you can go where you want to in the pace you want to then give it a bash! at unafflicted prelim you will find a very variable standard - go a couple of times, see what happens and then decide how you want to progress and what your goals will be.

unaffiliated? :p that's a similar thing to what i was trying to say - i'm not good at being concise :p

[MelanieD]

Prelim is pretty relaxed, you have to do it properly if you want to win but you won't feel stupid if you aren't a perfect dressage queen :) My lovely pony's first prelim involved plenty of toysoutofpram moments and opinions and it wasn't too embarassing :)

[andreaB]

unaffiliated varies vastly , i have a horse i'm bringing on & we were out last weekend , haven't done unaff for ages

in a class of 19 the scores ranged from mid 50's to mid 70's , some horses went beautifully , rhythm , outline etc , others had little outline & engagement

[Sticky's GF]

I compete at this level and I have been at both ends of the scale!!!

Whilst on a bad day our marks have been poor, i've always found the judges comments at the bottom to be constructive. I.e. our first test (48%:eek:) when we tripped, exited the arena twice, screamed every 10 seconds and cantered on the leg on both reins i got negative remarks for what we'd done wrong but I also go 'Well tried, horse looks young!!'

Some judges prefer certain types, but generally speaking I've found our comments to be fair.

Just remember its meant to be fun! :D