Coping with Show Jitters for Dressage Riders

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Show Jitters - They Can Make or Break You 

Picture this… It’s the big day. As you tack up your horse, a rush of nerves comes flooding in. What if, I forget my test? What if my horse spooks? What if…? You mount up and head out to the practice ring. You feel sick to your stomach and you begin to question your decision to enter a show. Your test time approaches and you make your way to the show arena. As you ride the perimeter of the show arena, you hear the bell ring. Your heart begins to race, your palms become clammy and your mind goes blank. What is going on?

Show Jitters. 
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Toby Update

Ok. So I've been a bad blogger lately. Toby and I have been working really hard. And I have been working a total of 5-6 different horses for the past couple of months. That has left little time for blogging. So sorry.

But here is the latest on Toby. We have been working diligently on his relaxation. He has become really consistent and the spooking has become minimal, if at all. Yay!!

So we did a schooling show to see if the work in our practice sessions was legit... Guess what, it was!!! We did Training level tests 1 and 2. He scored 71.66 and 69.28 respectively. Go Toby!

Well, I'm off to the barn. More to come soon. Happy riding.

Another good day

Today, I came to the barn with a new found confidence. Since I rode yesterday without my instructor, I hoped today's lesson would be equally as good. I explained to my instructor what we had worked on it yesterday and the results that I had with my "Good Boy's" and psychological support. She seemed interested in seeing how this effected Toby.

We started by lunging, but Toby wasn't too excited. We started riding. I spent a little more time working at the walk than normal because I needed to loosen up myself. After our warm up, we started in the rising trot. Again, Toby was relaxed and moving rhythmically. We even managed to travel across the diagonal to change rein without losing rhythm. "Good Boy."

Are you kidding me? 2 days in a row. This is Waaaay Coool.

Laura (my riding instructor) wanted to see our leg yields on the center line. Our last attempt with her was not the greatest. We went down the long side and turned onto the center line. Toby was straight almost immediately, so I asked for the leg yield (albeit in the wrong direction). He willingly obliged my request. It was a little disjointed, but it was better than before. We continued leg yielding. Every leg yield got a little better. On our last attempt, we made it from the center line to just past the quarter line without losing rhythm. WONDERFUL!! GOOD BOY TOBY!

Another horse joined us in the arena towards the end of our lesson. Toby didn't even seem to care. A large chunk of ice fell off the roof of the arena and crashed outside. Toby didn't seem to care.

Was this really the same horse?
Could he really be this calm right now?

This was amazing. I couldn't contain my excitement anymore. I patted him lovingly and told him what a wonderful boy he was being.

We finished our lesson with some canter work on the 20 meter circle with no trouble. Complete with another horse lunging at the other end of the arena.

I have vowed to Toby that I would not leave him hanging psychologically anymore. Toby is the type of horse that will give everything he has to make his human happy. I happen to be that human. Laura has repeatedly told me that I am the only person that Toby will allow to ride him. That I am his human. I need to take that role seriously. From this day on, Toby will be praised for his good work. For his commitment and for his heart. Here's to understanding.

Lunging for fun and profit

Yesterday was my first day back to the barn in about a week. Due to some conflicts and limited time, I didn't have time to ride Toby. I got him out and got him ready to lunge. We were able to go into the outdoor arena. He started out really forward in the trot, but things went pretty well.

He started to canter and spooked himself. Obviously, this wasn't going to go much better than our ride last Thursday. I ended up having to bring him in on a 10 meter circle before he would stop cantering.

After we lunged both directions, we spent some bonding time walking around the outdoor. He did relax and seemed to really enjoy it. Hopefully, our ride tomorrow will be better than the last.

New Career - Vaulting

After another 2 absolutely amazing lessons on Toby, we had a back slide. Things continued going well after my last post until our last ride. We finally had some warmer weather. Consequently, Tobs was feeling really, really good. We started our lessons with several transitions in the leg yield from walk to trot. Everything was going well, but he was a little tense. We started the canter work with a buck or two and a really nice flying change (totally by accident of course).

Trot transition, re-group, canter depart. Much better.

Well, we got through the right lead complete with a few "ride 'em cowgirl" comments from my riding instructor. Now, we are ready to reverse.

The left lead canter was not so good. I asked for the canter depart and received a very energetic series of bucks. I sat the first ok, but on the second I became too un-balanced to hang on. Of course, we were heading into the corner of the arena when this happened. I bailed into the corner with quite a bit of hang time (17 plus hands is a long way up. LOL). Miraculously, I landed on my feet and was able to stay below the flying hooves.

Apparently, my vaulting skills were quite impressive, because my instructor said that I could head up her vaulting team if she starts one.

I re-grouped on the way back to the mounting block and climbed back on. We spent the next 20 minutes on the lunge line doing trot canter trot transitions. We only managed to get one clean canter transition without a buck in that time. UUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!

We called it a day with only one clean canter depart.

Surprisingly, I wasn't that sore afterwards. Just extremely frustrated with the way Toby acted. I'm hoping that we can pull through Toby's little Diva-tude. It is so frustrating that he has the talent and physical ability to go so far, but his mental state is not there yet. Will ever get the Relaxation part of the training pyramid? Time will tell.

Diary of a Dressage Rider

Ok, I contemplated doing this for quite some time and have finally decided to give it a go. I have been working for nearly 10 months now with an absolutely amazing horse with a troubled past. We have made great progress and I am hoping that our efforts will inspire others to strive to achieve harmony with their horses. This first post is a bit lengthy. It is an introduction and history lesson. It will outline my background and the background of this special horse. Future posts will be an ongoing "diary," if you will, of our training and progress.

The Intro...
In April of 2010, my position at a therapeutic riding center was abolished due to lack of funding. Losing the job of my dreams, left me feeling totally empty until a friend of mine contacted me about starting a therapy center of her own. She asked if I would be willing to help her. Horses and children being my passion, I said I would... And so my adventure began.

The Cast of Characters...
My friend is a Grand Prix Dressage Rider and USDF Gold Medalist, who spent 2 years in Germany training under Conrad Schumacher. She has competed worldwide and has determined that her passion lies in helping people with disabilities to achieve their greatest potential through equine assisted therapy. She and her mother (also a USDF Gold Medalist and Olympic level judge) operate Hobby Horse Hill Equestrian Center (more info available at www.hobbyhorsehill.com)

I am a former hunter/jumper turned dressage fanatic who specializes in turning troubled horses around. My love of horses started before I could walk. My mother was a riding instructor and avid horse woman. Consequently, much of my time was spent in a baby carrier beside the pasture or barn. I started riding at the age of 3 and never turned back. I spent every spare moment with my horses. Having managed several riding facilities since graduating with my MBA, I have found that my passion is in educating people about horses and horse behavior in order to develope synergistic relationships. Now married to the love of my life and mom to two beautiful, horse crazy little girls, I am also dedicated to teaching children the benefits of riding and encouraging their enthusiasm and love of learning through equine assisted learning.


Toby is a gorgeous 12y.o., 17 hh Hanoverian gelding. He was imported from Canada at 2 as replacement for his new owner's FEI horse. After some basic training, Toby was turned out to pasture when his new owner lost interest in Dressage. There he stayed with his pasture buddy for nearly 10 years. During his pasture time, he was used occasionally as a trail horse, but nothing more was done with him. When his owner's parents (the people financially responsible for Toby) decided that it would be best to sell him, they contacted my friend to see if she knew of anyone who might be interested. Given his temperament and his lack of training, she knew that it would be a hard sell, but she would see what she could do. Soon after, Toby moved into her barn and has been in training ever since to try to make him saleable. Unfortunately, Toby is very nervous and very, very particular about his riders. Few people were able to ride him because Toby simply turns his brain off and melts down when he becomes too stressed. Then, let the spooking begin.

A little history...
Toby had been at the barn almost 6 months when I started helping my friend with her therapeutic riding program. He had stressed himself into losing quite a bit of weight and was not taking to his new environment very well. My friend asked if I would be interested in riding him (not mentioning much, other than he was "a little nervous"). My friend knows that I like spirited horses, especially big red-heads, despite my small (5'3") stature. When I saw him for the first time, I fell in love with his expressive eyes. You could see into his very soul. He has a heart of gold, but fear that goes deep.

Our first 6 months were spent just trying to make it through 30-45 minutes of riding without his brain shutting down. We worked through spooking at shadows, at himself in the mirror, even at sand that would hit the kick boards when he would trot around the arena. Toby even successfully executed 1/2 pirouettes in three strides or less. He even seems to grow about a hand when other horses enter the arena. It has been quite an exciting ride so far...LOL.

We participated in our first schooling show after only 2 months of riding and scored in the mid-50's at Introductory level (a huge fete given we couldn't even walk or trot consistently without spooking when we started). Initially, he had a lovely habit of evading the bit by pinning his chin to his chest.


And now, on with the story...
After 10 months, we are developing a solid rhythm in his walk and trot. He has a beautifully relaxed and swinging free walk that overtracks by over a footprint. He is leg yielding along the rail, turning on the forehand, executing 20-meter circles (instead of amoebae) in all gaits and has limited his spooking to only truly scary things like cats or birds in the arena and those ever dangerous, horse-eating shadows. We are also able to re-engage his brain after spooking and continue our work as if nothing happened. Although, I have been unable to purchase Toby at this point (due to my lack of employment), our relationship continues to grow. He looks forward to me coming to the barn and will turn down grain, hay and treats for one of my neck rubs. All in all, I'd say we're making great progress.

Future posts will include video clips, pictures and some quick notes about our rides. I invite comments, critiques and insights (disclaimer: constructive or positive only. Not nasty or derogatory, please). Barring any major catastrophes, this will be an ongoing diary of our quest in the hopes of achieving our USDF Gold.

HoofBeats Newsletter - September 2010

Dressage Academy has posted its September newsletter. Click Here to View.

Hoof Beats Dressage Newsletter - May 2010

Dressage Academy's Hoofbeats dressage newsletter is now online at http://www.dressage-academy.com/newsletters/hoof-beats-5-10.html

Dressage Newsletter - April 2010 now online

After some technological issues, the April edition of Hoof Beats is now online. Click here to view.

Dressage Newsletter- March 2010 now online

Dressage Academy's March 2010 Hoofbeats dressage newsletter is now online. View Dressage Newsletter

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