Preparing for show

[*Sez*]

I have decided to enter Salsa in a competition in October, which gives us four months to prepare. My RI is totally behind us, and is going to work him once a month for me as well, but I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing! :D I'm planning to enter Prelim dressage class and a tack and turn out class if they have one (I don't think the schedule is ready yet).

What I'd like to know is:
1. Is there a website with example dressage tests on that I can start working on? I'm stoney broke and can't afford to buy any at the moment.

2. What is correct dress for dressage? I know it's a question that gets asked ALL the time, but I keep getting confused about colours of jodhs and jackets. Also, what should I put on Salsa? He'll be wearing his black tack and his best colour is dark green. However, I don't know if he should have a white numnah and girth? I know his martingale won't be allowed, although according to the rules of the club, his boots will be - so should I get him white brushing and over reach boots? (He normally wears black neoprene over reach boots and purple and black brushing boots).

3. Will I need anything different for a tack and turn out class??

4. Tips on plaiting will be appreciated! I understand the theory behind tail plaiting, but they never come out right, so I must be doing something wrong. :p Do you plait a TB?? I don't want to pull his tail, as he has so little of it anyway. I also don't want to pull his mane, so any ideas on keeping his mane plaits tidy?

October seemed such a long way away last night and all of a sudden four months isn't long enough to prepare!

[eventerbabe]

You won't find BD tests on the net, unless you buy them off something like dressagediagrams.com. But if you go to www.eventriders.com you will find the BE dressage tests. Intro equates to about prelim level so that might give you something to get started with.

as for dress, jacket (can be navy or tweed or even black), stock or tie, long boots and beige jods, check the rules if you were going to wear gaiters. i'm sure there is no rule stating that you must have a white numnah and girth, if there is no-one adheres to that up here. Check the competition rules but i've never been allowed to use boots in any dressage, equitation or turn out class. boots certainly are not allowed at prelim BD level in the arena or in dressage classes run by a british riding club affiliated club.

as for plaiting, keep it to an odd number of plaits. gels are useful for taming stray hairs. i used to use the IV Horse Plaiting gel with citeronella in it so it was an effective fly repellent too.

[Lotje]

If you want to just prepare by riding a few tests at home, then the pony club have quite a few on their website that you can print off for free.
That's what we are doing, because we'll not have to do those at competitions it doesn't matter as much f they anticipate slightly and youcan use them just to practise stringing the movements together

[*Sez*]

Thanks for the advice. :D I've found a few basic tests to run through - I'll let you all know how the preparation goes. The comp is specifically for ex-racers, so boots are permitted, but other than that I assume the class will adhere to BD rules, so I'll check out the BD website as well.
Thanks again!