Rose’s rules: Little and often
1. Be organised. “Horse shows are stressful enough without running late! I do my best riding when I’m relaxed so it always pays to be nice and organised! If you think you’re on time, you’re probably late! It’s so much easier to be early.”
2. Don’t rush your warm up. “It’s nice to warm up slowly. Give the horse a chance to loosen up its muscles before starting to jump. I also like to be able to have a breather before jumping my last two jumps before heading to the gate.”
3. Use your head. “When I am walking the course, I try consider all the possibilities. What rein am I going to start on? What could my horse spook at around the ring? Are there sponsors’ flags or a crowd that could distract my horse? Are there things I should show my horse inside the ring, like spooky fillers? I also like to go over all my striding numerous times so I not only know how many strides a line is but how it will come up, long or short.”
4. Little and often. “I love to train little and often. Pole work, small jumps and exercises help train rideability without wearing your horse out. When jumping at home, I like to train around the level my horse and I are comfortable with, and then finish with a vertical and an oxer a couple of holes up, training towards where I want to go.”
5. Do the work. “If you don’t put the work in at home, don’t expect to get results at the show. Patience and consistency in your training pay off in the long run. One of my favourite quotes is: hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard!”
Brooke’s rules: Keeping it simple
1. Get lessons. “Find a trusted coach or trainer who you can work with. Having regular lessons shouldn’t be determined on whether you are going well or not. All too often I find people come to me for a couple of lessons when things are going badly, and as soon as they’re going well again, I don’t hear from them. But even when you are going well, having lessons can be hugely beneficial.”
2. Straightness is key. “When I’m training, I like to focus on straightness, especially with the young horses. I use guide poles on the ground to encourage them to jump straight. There’s nothing worse than a horse that jumps crooked, and it’s one of the hardest things to fix later on.”
3. Walk courses strategically. “When it comes to walking the course I tend to break it up into sections to make it easier to remember. I also like to identify areas on the course where I can regroup and organise the horse, and where to make up time – like coming inside a jump – if I feel the time might be tight.”
4. Keep it simple. “After you’ve walked the course, make a plan and stick to it. While it can be helpful to watch other riders go, watching too many people can get confusing. If I am going to watch someone else go just to see how the course is riding and the stridings, I make sure they have a horse that’s similar to mine. No point in watching someone on a tiny thoroughbred if you’re riding a big striding warmblood. But at the end of the day, you just have to jump the jumps. Try not to overthink it.”
4. Don’t go overboard in the warm-up. “Don’t over-jump the practice fence. Your horse should know how to jump before you get to a show! With an experienced horse like LT Holst Andrea, I don’t jump a lot in the warm-up, but I always like to make my last practice fence the same kind of jump as the first fence we’ll come across in the ring. So, if the first fence is an oxer, then the last fence before I go in is an oxer. And time your warm-up carefully. The last thing you want to do is be waiting around the gate for ages before you go in.”
5. Ride economically. “When it comes to the jump-off, it’s about keep your track as tight as possible, not going as fast as possible. Make sure you get a good forward canter going before the flags and maintain that throughout your round; keeping the same tempo and keeping the lines tight. Avoid the temptation to go faster as you get further through your round. The last thing you want to do is fluster your horse, as that’s when the errors occur.”
6. Take it easy. “If you have more than to compete, plan the day to suit the horses, rather than rushing from one class to another. You want to ensure each horse gets the time it needs in the warm-up arena. When you get rushed, you get stressed, the horse gets stressed and the wheels start to fall off. And if you have have a bad round on one horse, don’t dwell on it. Just put it behind you and get on with the next one.”
Tegan’s rules: Plan, plan plan
1. Know your plan.“Before you go into the ring, it’s good to have a clear goal in mind. Are you going out to win the speed class, or to have a clear round no matter what the end placing is? Are you letting an inexperienced horse learn how to do his job even if it means potentially having a couple down? Depending on your answer, this will change the way you ride the course and the risks you’re willing to take in terms of approach, turns and distances.”
2. Think ahead. “While walking the course, look for anything that may be a distraction for your horse. Whether it’s a fence with a scary filler, the judges boxes, or grandstands; if you know your horse is likely to shift towards the in-gate or shy away from the distractions, then make a mental note of where they are and be ready to correct the behaviour before it happens.”
3. Save your best jumps for the ring. “So many riders go into the warm-up area and do a good flatwork session and then jump their horses multiple times over cross-poles, verticals and oxers of varying height and width. While you do need to make sure that your horse is listening, feeling good and is sufficiently warmed up, you don’t want to make them work so hard in the warm-up arena that there’s nothing left in the tank for when you’re in the ring. The horse isn’t going to learn anything new in the time it takes you to warm up before you compete, so there’s no need to jump practically a whole course before you go into the ring.”
