Nimbus65
16th Oct 2006, 08:13 AM
Our RS runs mini competitions from time to time and this weekend they ran a dressage competition for the kids at the "lower" end of the school. Two tests - Class 1 (just walk and trot) and Class 2 (walk, trot, canter).
A bit of history about the school and the way it works. While I love riding there (nice horses and some really good teachers), there are challenges (which I suspect we would find anywhere). The woman who runs the place (her parents own it) is rather tactless, a bit of a snob and tends to favour both the kids she teaches and owners. They have a "helpers" roster too that kids can sign up to when they turn 10 - my almost 11-year-old daughter is STILL on the waiting list and because helpers hang out with the Manager and are visible, they tend to get preferential treatment too.
We are not owners and my kids don't help, however, I ride 2x a week and the girls ride either once or twice, depending on schedules/what's going on.
So (per or instructor) I entered them for the Class 2 test. They both canter regularly in the school (indoor arena, outdoor arena and the mini cross country field) and are both jumping (fixed fences and showjumping). They're 8 and 10 and have both been riding for at least 2 years and have both done at least two prior dressage competitions (one with canter) at the school.
Last weekend - one week before the competition, the Manager tells me that she's bumping both girls down to Class 1 because "they're babies, not very experienced and won't get canter." I was livid but figured they'd have a better chance of placing so swallowed it and promptly booked for them to have two more lessons so they could practice the test. Thursday of this week (two days before the competition), they call to cancel the girls' Friday lesson because they had a ton of birthday parties - when I threw a strop because the girls had only practiced the W/T test ONCE, they reinstated the lesson but they cut it short by ten minutes (I wasn't there or I would have made a huge fuss).
Saturday - the day of the test - we pitch up to find that my older daughter's allocated pony was lame and she was on another pony she had never ridden before (he's lovely, but he's bigger than she's used to and - well - she's never ridden him before). Two minute's worth of warm up and she's in the arena on a strange pony. I thought she rode really well - accurate, good position, rode deep into the corners, nice straight lines, accurate circles but the pony wasn't going forward because he needed to pee (he always pees in the arena). Second daughter rode and also rode well and we watched the rest of the Class 1 riders, most of him were little 'uns who looked extremely cute and rode very well for their age (6 and 7 mostly) but were wide on ALL their corners, rode wibbly circles, forgot diagonals, etc.
Guess who placed and who didn't? Those who placed? Owners, helpers and cute younger siblings of both. Oh, and there was a girl in the Class 1 test who was only there because her pony is a stresshead in canter but she is about four lessons above my girls so, of course, she won.
You know, I didn't expect either of my girls to win it, but I really felt like they should have placed this time. I'm NOT a pushy mother (at least I don't think so) - I know when they could have ridden better and they didn't deserve to place in the previous tests - but dammit, I'm fed up of seeing the same kids win and I'm fed up of my kids being dissed by the damned Manager. She doesn't teach them. I think she underestimates my older daughter (who's desparate to help) because she's small for her age but in the same breath she'll say that the helpers are so much more confident and win all the awards.
She does the same thing to me but I don't mind so much. I've been riding one of the better school horses recently - Rocky - who's also something of a stresshead and I've been learning counter canter and flying changes on him. The other day she said (in a very condescending tone) "so have you managed to get canter on Rocky yet, you have to sit VERY quietly?" Silly cow.
Rereading the above it sounds like so many sour grapes - it isn't intended to be. Two of the girls' friends placed (one in Class 2 and one in Class 1) and were were thoroughly thrilled for them because they deserved it/rode really well (they're also both helpers, coincidentally). I was just really disappointed for my girls - what message did that send? Ride really well and accurately and you won't get a ribbon because the judge can't see past the cute 6-year-old brother of one of the owners? He was very sweet but my daughter's both rode better than he did.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh.
N
A bit of history about the school and the way it works. While I love riding there (nice horses and some really good teachers), there are challenges (which I suspect we would find anywhere). The woman who runs the place (her parents own it) is rather tactless, a bit of a snob and tends to favour both the kids she teaches and owners. They have a "helpers" roster too that kids can sign up to when they turn 10 - my almost 11-year-old daughter is STILL on the waiting list and because helpers hang out with the Manager and are visible, they tend to get preferential treatment too.
We are not owners and my kids don't help, however, I ride 2x a week and the girls ride either once or twice, depending on schedules/what's going on.
So (per or instructor) I entered them for the Class 2 test. They both canter regularly in the school (indoor arena, outdoor arena and the mini cross country field) and are both jumping (fixed fences and showjumping). They're 8 and 10 and have both been riding for at least 2 years and have both done at least two prior dressage competitions (one with canter) at the school.
Last weekend - one week before the competition, the Manager tells me that she's bumping both girls down to Class 1 because "they're babies, not very experienced and won't get canter." I was livid but figured they'd have a better chance of placing so swallowed it and promptly booked for them to have two more lessons so they could practice the test. Thursday of this week (two days before the competition), they call to cancel the girls' Friday lesson because they had a ton of birthday parties - when I threw a strop because the girls had only practiced the W/T test ONCE, they reinstated the lesson but they cut it short by ten minutes (I wasn't there or I would have made a huge fuss).
Saturday - the day of the test - we pitch up to find that my older daughter's allocated pony was lame and she was on another pony she had never ridden before (he's lovely, but he's bigger than she's used to and - well - she's never ridden him before). Two minute's worth of warm up and she's in the arena on a strange pony. I thought she rode really well - accurate, good position, rode deep into the corners, nice straight lines, accurate circles but the pony wasn't going forward because he needed to pee (he always pees in the arena). Second daughter rode and also rode well and we watched the rest of the Class 1 riders, most of him were little 'uns who looked extremely cute and rode very well for their age (6 and 7 mostly) but were wide on ALL their corners, rode wibbly circles, forgot diagonals, etc.
Guess who placed and who didn't? Those who placed? Owners, helpers and cute younger siblings of both. Oh, and there was a girl in the Class 1 test who was only there because her pony is a stresshead in canter but she is about four lessons above my girls so, of course, she won.
You know, I didn't expect either of my girls to win it, but I really felt like they should have placed this time. I'm NOT a pushy mother (at least I don't think so) - I know when they could have ridden better and they didn't deserve to place in the previous tests - but dammit, I'm fed up of seeing the same kids win and I'm fed up of my kids being dissed by the damned Manager. She doesn't teach them. I think she underestimates my older daughter (who's desparate to help) because she's small for her age but in the same breath she'll say that the helpers are so much more confident and win all the awards.
She does the same thing to me but I don't mind so much. I've been riding one of the better school horses recently - Rocky - who's also something of a stresshead and I've been learning counter canter and flying changes on him. The other day she said (in a very condescending tone) "so have you managed to get canter on Rocky yet, you have to sit VERY quietly?" Silly cow.
Rereading the above it sounds like so many sour grapes - it isn't intended to be. Two of the girls' friends placed (one in Class 2 and one in Class 1) and were were thoroughly thrilled for them because they deserved it/rode really well (they're also both helpers, coincidentally). I was just really disappointed for my girls - what message did that send? Ride really well and accurately and you won't get a ribbon because the judge can't see past the cute 6-year-old brother of one of the owners? He was very sweet but my daughter's both rode better than he did.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh.
N