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By Sharon Ridgway - B.H.S.I.I. and N.C.A.S. level II
Hullo again budding Eventers. Having now purchased our trusty schoolmaster,
chosen our coach and hopefully started on our way to getting to know our new
friend, we need to start setting ourselves some goals. Depending on the time
of year, there are several options of where we should go for our first big outing!
In the winter most States have many little unofficial Dressage shows, freshmans
Show Jumping days and XC training schools. During the warmer months there are
plenty of EFA competitions that run Preliminary and Introductory One Day Events.
Scan your local country paper and/or your Horse Trials Handbook for what is
out there and pick a show you would like to aim for. Remember most ODE's require
you to enter several weeks in advance so pay particular attention to the close
of entries date. Try and enter in plenty of time as poor event organisers have
major panic attacks when we all send our entries in the day before the closing
date. Check to see if you have to be a member of the EFA (Equestrian Federation
of Australia) or the ARC (Adult Riding Club) for your chosen event as some events
you do and others you don't depending on the organising body. If you have a
good local ARC then it is probably worth joining as this will give you access
to a lot more competitions, however be prepared to go through a fairly lengthy
process of being graded before you are allowed to actually compete. This is
purely to make sure you are competing in the grade most suitable to your capabilities.
Most clubs also expect you to turn up each month to rallies, so make sure that
you can fit that into your busy social calendar. Obviously this will give you
access to other coaches and at this stage you should be able to gain a little
knowledge from most teachers but be careful not to get confused, if there is
something you don't understand or something that differs from the way your own
coach has taught you, then make sure you discuss it in detail. Your personal
coach will be happy to help sort out your confusion, remember there are many
ways to skin a cat! The main reason to go to rallies is to get out and gain
as much valuable experience as possible. Loading your horse on the float, towing
and all the joys of learning to back a trailer are all lessons you need to learn
to make your day at your first ODE as stress free as possible.
If you choose a freshmans Show Jumping day as your first outing then you need
not enter in advance. You just show up at the required time, buy a ticket for
each round and put your name down on the board, which has the running order.
Most of these competitions start with the lowest height and work their way up,
so I would be getting there as early as possible so you can do a nice low course
for your first go. If all goes to plan and there are not too many hiccups then
you can hang around and attempt the next height. Most organisers are very sympathetic
to people with L-plates and will be happy to lower any obstacles you are having
trouble with. In a perfect world it would be nice if your coach could be with
you to help out at your first show, but they are busy professionals so this
may not always be possible, but there is no harm in asking if you can have your
next lesson at the show. They may have some young horses they want to school
and can kill two birds with one stone.
If you have chosen an unofficial Dressage show as your first outing then there
is a little bit more preparation required. The dreaded PLAITING of the mane
must occur. If you are a girl then you will find this relatively easy, as at
some point in life you will have played with either your own or some girlfriend's
long hair. If you are a guy then you are in trouble! In my experience most guys
are slightly lacking in talent in this department, a bit like ironing or washing
up, a skill they have deliberately declined to learn or practice for obvious
reasons! Have someone help you first time with your plaits and show you how
to do it and I promise they will improve with practice. Make sure your horses
mane is not too long or thick as you inevitably ends up with the golf ball plaits,
not a good look! Why plait at all I hear you ask, well Dressage judges (who
by the way are a breed of their own!) need to think that we have made an effort
to present ourselves in the neatest possible way and for centuries this has
included plaiting. Wouldn't we all love to find the guy who came up with this
top idea in the first place! Now you can get up at the crack of dawn and plait
up, or if you are not a good morning person do it the night before, but make
sure you put a neck rug or hood on your horse to cover the plaits or they will
look very shabby by the morning. 24 hours is about the maximum time I would
leave plaits in as they do become very itchy and uncomfortable for the horses
after that. I have heard stories of guys who's significant other's have done
their plaits before they leave for a three day event and have kept the same
plaits in all week, convenient I'm sure, but very mean to your pony!
The final type of competition you could choose is a proper ODE. This may possibly
be a bit much to bite off for your first outing as there is so much to pack
and so much to remember when you get there, but if you do chose a ODE there
is an important issue to consider. Is your horse fit enough? A ODE requires
a much greater level of fitness as you will be on board at least three times
for lengthy periods and the XC phase takes quite a bit out of them. If you have
managed to ride five times a week then your horse should be OK but it would
certainly be worth doing a little fast work in the lead up few weeks. By fast
work I mean cantering your horse off his back for short periods of time to replicate
what you will have to do on the XC phase. It will also improve your balance
and stamina in forward position, which will help you on the day. One fast workday
a week will suffice for Training level eventing, find yourself a suitable place
to canter. A proper racehorse training track is fantastic but a luxury most
of us don't have, you will find timing a problem as most trainers like to maintain
their tracks during the day as their own horses will have all worked in the
early hours of the morning. A large paddock is also suitable if the going is
ok; try not to canter on muddy or shifting ground or the opposite, rock hard
ground. Keeping an event horse sound is something we will keep for a later article
but it is very important to canter on a good even surface, a gentle slope is
fine but not too steep as anything you canter up you have obviously to come
back down. On your fast workday give your horse a good half hour warm up in
trot, and then depending on his existing level of fitness, you need to build
him up to about three X four-minute canters. I've chosen four minutes, as that
is about how long your XC phase will take at your ODE. In between your four
minute canters you will need to leave three minutes for your horse to recover
but be prepared to take longer if he is still not fully recovered in that time.
Watch his sides to see how he is breathing and if he is puffing really hard
wait a while longer.The speed to travel is important, you should be going at
450 metres a minute, now that may sound a bit technical bearing in mind your
horse doesn't have a speedo but in reality it is just a notch above working
canter, more like a forward show jump canter. You can measure out an area if
you want to get really clever, say 900 metres, just drive around and use your
car speedo, that should take you exactly 2 minutes when on horseback. Two laps
around will complete each four minute canter, repeat that two more times with
your three minute gaps and hey presto, you are an eventing fitness whiz!
Until
next time,
Happy Eventing!
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