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Competition Rant

16K views 143 replies 47 participants last post by  jaydee 
#1 ·
So went to a dressage competition today, I don't get out much with a 3 month baby cause it's always a big hassle.

So I parked up (the pram) about 10 meters from the arena and we were promptly ask to move back another 10 due to "safety" by the first rider. Judge agrees that we should move back. Next rider horse looked sideways at pram and we were then asked to move back more. 3rd rider comes out asks us to move back further again. 4th Rider comes up she is a good 35 meters from us her horse freaks out threatens to rear and we are asks to "go some place else"

Is this for real! 35 meters away and they still can't handle their horses. Isn't dressage about submission and partnership with the horse (or some such) and we get told to move on cause their horses can't handle a pram....

Ok rant over... I think, still Pretty annoyed!
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#4 ·
It wasn't making a noise and if they don't want prams and other "strange objects" around the horses why make it open to admission??

No they don't have any right to tell me to "go someplace else" The only reason I did go is because I did not want to see someone injured over it.
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#5 ·
Did you pay an admission fee? If you did I would guarantee it wouldn't have been even close to what the competitors had to pay for the privilege to compete.

If I am going to pay a ridiculous amount of money to compete, I would expect to be able to ask a person to move if they had positioned themselves in such a way that made it unsafe, for whatever reason, for me or my horse to proceed with my test, then **** straight I will be asking that person to move.
 
#15 ·
This annoys me more than anything else about show horses and show riders. They ride roundy round in the arena and never get exposed to life in the real world. If my horses don't have enough brain and spine to handle being at a show AND being ridden out on trail or on the street or wherever else I please to go, they don't stay long. My horse would not spook at a baby carriage (pram) for more than a minute before we'd work on that real quick. Unreal.
 
#9 ·
Even the best trained horses can get a fright. They are a prey animal, and have a mind of their own. No matter how much training we put into them, things can, and will go wrong.

My dressage horse spends plenty of time out of the arena. She even chases cows. Just because a horse is scared of a pram doesn't make it poorly trained.
 
#13 ·
lol, I took my yearling to the worlds and she had to deal with baby carriages, bicycles, kids on scooters, loose dogs, camera flashes (during her performance), and god forbid a grandstand full of people and children! And I paid big money to be there!

I don't even think twice about it. The only thing I had a problem with was the small child who tried to run up her back legs.

Sorry, you can't shield your horse from everything in the world. God forbid there's a trash can next to the ring. I've even seen people's horses spook at the judges in their chairs. Then what do we do?!? lol
 
#14 ·
pram (British or in this case New Zealand term) = Stroller (American) lol

I agree with the OP that sounds pretty ridiculous... unless the stroller had flags and streamers and sirens coming out of it!

I haven't been to a dressage show recently but at a few shows and rodeos I have been to there are fold up chairs, banners, flags, coolers, ATVs etc etc all around the ring/ arena and no one asks any one else to move.

I understand the point about the competitors paying more and wanting to have a clean run but part of training in any discipline is desensitizing your horse to distractions. In my opinion a quiet baby in a carriage shouldn't be that big of a deal.
 
#17 ·
That's disappointing. At the "AA" hunter/jumper shows you have to ride by strollers, golf carts, dogs, unattended screaming children, horse trailers, bikes, atvs, etc... I have never once seen/heard of even a Grand Prix rider asking someone to move a stroller. Unless it's a baby green/green as grass class, the horse/rider had better be able to handle it.
 
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#18 ·
Also, I competed in a jumper derby a few years back. There were tents all around the arena where we started that were flapping in the wind. My horse just had to get over it, as did all the other competitors horses.
 
#22 ·
What a ridiculous situation! I've asked somebody to move a little just once, and it was a lady with a huge, bright pink umbrella, which she was repeatedly opening and closing while sitting near a shady corner of the arena - and it was a kiddy show! (I was helping out) - but a seasoned dressage horse and rider pairing should KNOW how to handle something as simple as a pram. If the rider cannot do that, well then - bad for them, should put more training in their horses, not just expect them to behave.
 
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#23 ·
Have to agree with the OP-a bit ridiculous. And, just an observation-at every show I have ever been to there are numerous opportunities for "bomb proofing"…..except the dressage ones. Just an observation. Isn't the horse supposed to be paying attention to the RIDER? Shoot at most shows there are folks right at the rail, hands hanging over holding almost anything….and judges with umbrellas for shade.

Makes me so grateful for my horse-who can go into a coliseum without ever seeing it before, with people, announcers and everything in between…..and NEVER bat an eye. I used to be one of those up tight avoid everything possible types…..but realized it was silly, since no matter how you try-there will always be something unseen (or imaginary)that bugs the horse if you are looking for it. But-if you go around and just do your job……things are usually fine. Trouble will come if you look for it.
 
#24 ·
To an extent, I completely agree with the riders and judges asking you to move.
Not every horse gets exposure to a pram, and some horses are extremely reactive.
Try riding a hot, fresh and very green 3 year old warmblood that is shaking in its boots at it's first competition. We pay A LOT of money to enter an official competition, and yes, if there is someone near the arena and my horse is anxious about them, I will sure as heck as them to move. The competition arena is not the time and place for desensitising horses.

And no, it doesn't mean a rider can't control their horse or never gets it out of an arena, Dressage is an incredibly precise discipline, and a little tension and distraction from the horse can mean the different between 1st and 6th placings.

I always try to take my young or green horses out a few times in a competition environment without actually entering, to give the horse some exposure. I also ride out on trails regularly, partake in clinics, group lessons with beginner riders to expose my horses to horses going left right and centre with no respect to 'arena rules' etc.
But sometimes, your horse may be on edge already and it is one little thing that sets them off. If its a pram and you're about to enter the arena, you're going to tell people to move.
 
#28 · (Edited)
And the discrimination continues LOL.
I agree with Kayty. Number one, these are not quarter horses and number two this is not a barrel race. Apples and oranges.
I was at a competition last weekend on a very spooky, hot horse and it is not fun to be on something you have to get through a test on that you know is going to be flying sideways at least once during the ride. There are also rules about how far from the ring spectators must be. Were there not stands and designated spectator areas?

Yes, I hack and desensitize my horses but it does not change the fact that they are hot, high powered athletes and asking the young ones to focus in a new place with scary things is very difficult on the particularly spooky ones. I would suggest to you next time to go to a designated spectator area and watch from there. Although it sucks you had a bad day, the show was not put on specifically for you and your enjoyment. When you pay for tickets to an event and are in a designated area - then you have grounds to complain, JMO.

If you want I can put you on the hot kid and you can see how much you want to ride around a pram LOL this stands for everyone - I have photos of this horse 6' off the ground :P And that's after desensitizing.


I also enjoy how in the dog thread I'm the only person who has ridden lots with playing dogs in the indoor arena - at home I desensitize so much! At a competition is not the place. My horse could spook away from the pram into you and your child or another person. It is not a controlled environment and not a safe place to be doing desensitizing.
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#25 ·
And to think that when I arrived at the racing yard I work at, the trainer took the pram and wheeled it in to the colt barn and down to the gallops while we walked and talked - yep they looked but they darn well had to deal with it. Ever been to a TB yearling sale? There are prams galore. The horses just have to deal with it.

Liligirl - It can be a PITA being a parent in the horse world. It really can. Those who whine rarely have had the luxury of dealing with life after baby. All of us parents have been there - I was at one 3 day event and told to take my baby home because it was "too hot" and no place for a child.... I was sitting in the shade by a water jump, the child was smothered in sunscreen, a hat and a small umbrella over the buggy. Ignorance. Put ignorance. I won't tell you my response.
 
#26 ·
We do a driving event at a VERY large facility, EVERY YEAR. We have been there with almost every other breed show, and the dressage riders are the ONLY ones who have had a problem. We are ON THE ROAD, they are in the WARM-UP arena (not competition arena), and they are crying foul because we are scaring their horses.

Sorry you could not enjoy your outing with the baby.
 
#27 ·
You must be better people than I am..... I would have moved ONCE. My wifes barrel horses run indoors and outdoors with kids on bikes, golf carts squirrel *** kids on scooters, running around screaming and chasing, and these horses perform. You go to almost any show and there are things there that will freak a horse out. I guarantee if you horse cant handle a baby stroller OUTSIDE the arena, you need to go back to the drawing board. Wow.....
 
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