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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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#68 ·
I do agree with the OP, for the most part.

Not gonna lie, I've told people to move at shows. During a green ranch pleasure class I was in, some girls were running up and down the bleachers 1foot a way. My horse is generally chill about everything, that he wasn't. Jolted to the inside of the arena and was a nervous wreck the rest of the class. They were not there the next class.

I've had to tell spectators to get out of my way. I was riding a very hot mare who was extremely nervous around crowds. It was the state fair, I was there for a drill team Comp. Naturally, as I am tacking her up in her stall, like 15 people crowded around her stall (can we pet her? She's so pretty I bet she's an appaloosa. Can we feed her? What's her Name? OOOOOH easy girl eeeeeeeasy).

I worked with KC Montgomery (the official photographer for the AQHA world show) for two weeks, and if somebody says "don't take pictures of this horse" or "please keep your camera out of sight while this horse is on pattern", he gratefully will. They spectators are their for enjoyment and watch a horse perform to it's best. If they are preventing that in some way, they need to leave. It's show etiquette.

I'm not afraid to tell people to move. If you are unknowingly spooking horses, putting riders in danger, or even yourself, I'm going to tell you to move (not saying you were). I'm paying hundreds of dollars everytime I go to a show. I prep my horses as much as I can, there are only so many things you can prepare for! My horses are essentially boom proof, but everyone has off days. I'm not there to make friends with spectators (although I am very nice and courteous to everyone, on a horse or not).
 
#72 ·
I do agree with the OP, for the most part.

Not gonna lie, I've told people to move at shows. During a green ranch pleasure class I was in, some girls were running up and down the bleachers 1foot a way. My horse is generally chill about everything, that he wasn't. Jolted to the inside of the arena and was a nervous wreck the rest of the class. They were not there the next class.

I've had to tell spectators to get out of my way. I was riding a very hot mare who was extremely nervous around crowds. It was the state fair, I was there for a drill team Comp. Naturally, as I am tacking her up in her stall, like 15 people crowded around her stall (can we pet her? She's so pretty I bet she's an appaloosa. Can we feed her? What's her Name? OOOOOH easy girl eeeeeeeasy).

I worked with KC Montgomery (the official photographer for the AQHA world show) for two weeks, and if somebody says "don't take pictures of this horse" or "please keep your camera out of sight while this horse is on pattern", he gratefully will. They spectators are their for enjoyment and watch a horse perform to it's best. If they are preventing that in some way, they need to leave. It's show etiquette.

I'm not afraid to tell people to move. If you are unknowingly spooking horses, putting riders in danger, or even yourself, I'm going to tell you to move (not saying you were). I'm paying hundreds of dollars everytime I go to a show. I prep my horses as much as I can, there are only so many things you can prepare for! My horses are essentially boom proof, but everyone has off days. I'm not there to make friends with spectators (although I am very nice and courteous to everyone, on a horse or not).
I would agree, there are times when it is appropriate to tell people to stop doing certain things. Running up and down bleachers is rather obnoxious and just plain disrespectful! I think it somewhat goes out of the scope of acceptable behavior.

Over the summer I was at local western show. Two boys who had shown in the peewee classes were plays with large plastic dump trucks in the sand right next to the area rail. They were runnings back and fourth pushing the dump trucks. The ring steward politely asked them to stop and redirected them to a better place to play.
 
#69 ·
It seems a bit ridiculous to be asked to move so far away. I think it was more the riders were worried their horse might spook rather than the horse actually being frightened of the stroller.
How many of these riders would have an arena with boards and markers and flowers decorating their arenas at home? Yet they ride not expecting the horse to spook at them so it doesn't.

I should the horses from nothing, children in prams, on skateboards and bicycles, playing soccer, ATVs tractors, dogs and so on. They get use to it from the start so when they go out into the big wide world they just accept it all.

One Welsh pony I had for my nerve was a good example of well versed in all things spooky. At a major show the first ridden were in the arena being judged. In the adjoining arena they had a dressed up farm tractor class, one was made to look like a swan, and must have taken hours to do! When it drove past the ponies all but Rain took off, she looked but continued on her way totally unglazed by this strange monster. There were children on the floor bawling their eyes out ponies having a great time charging around the ring, all chaos. Fortunately no one was hurt, child or pony.
Rain won the class just because she proved to be a totally safe forts ridden pony.
 
#71 · (Edited)
Get yourself a bike, too……and tie balloons on it.:)

All just makes for fun stuff to work on, IMO. No, you cannot bombproof any horse, but the more you work on "scary" stuff and get them to trust you the better off you will be in the long run.

Helping mom pick up after a fun session…..:wink:

 
#75 ·
Getting your horse used to things is great - but I can tell you now that I can throw my jacket over any of my horses heads, throw it over the doors in the barn but I bet if I let if lying on the filed or hanging over the rails in the manege without them seeing it there most of them would give it a very suspicious stare
Until you actually take a horse to a show you have no clue how its going to react not matter how may hours of desensitizing you put in - and no two horses are ever the same in the way they will react at their first competition
The horses Anebel showed in those videos are seasoned dressage horses ridden by experienced capable riders yet still went into a meltdown moment for no obvious reason.
 
#76 ·
The horses Anebel showed in those videos are seasoned dressage horses ridden by experienced capable riders yet still went into a meltdown moment for no obvious reason.
Those horses didn't look spooky to me, they looked stressed. Maybe something spooky set them off (like the one horse didn't like the people in the rain ponchos) but it's not like they were calm and then spooked. They were stressed and had a mental breakdown. To me the obvious reason was the horses couldn't take the stress on that particular day.

Maybe that's the difference......it's not that dressage horses are ubber special and more sensitive than other horses, they just have so much stress during competition that any little thing can set them off?
 
#77 ·
I would agree that it probably is unlikely that the horse was actually spooking at the buggy - we weren't there so don't even know if the horse was even spooking at all but just having a bad turn for some reason and so presented a danger to onlookers that couldn't move fast enough.
I wouldn't say that dressage horses are under more stress but they can't have a good gallop around to blow off that surplus tension and energy because the nature of the competition demands a lot of control
 
#79 ·
I would agree that it probably is unlikely that the horse was actually spooking at the buggy - we weren't there so don't even know if the horse was even spooking at all but just having a bad turn for some reason and so presented a danger to onlookers that couldn't move fast enough.

No we weren't there, but I am guessing that it was a rider issue rather than a horse one, as it often is.....How often would a horse totally ignore something like a pram way back from the arena if the rider wasn't getting stressed about it.

Those scary boxes of flowers around the arena however, that riders are totally cool about, but the horse can see the invisible dragon that you missed, yeah they shouldn't be allowed.
 
#78 ·
I'm not bashing dressage, I just switched over to it myself recently, but what is the deal with everyone being super silent while someone rides a test? When I rode jumpers, the spectators would be screaming, yelling, and shouting as you rode through your jump off course. Even at the Grand Prix level. The horses never mind and in fact seem to enjoy the attention and applause. I know that riding a test takes a lot of concentration, but I don't see why people shouldn't applaud a pair when they have a really nice moment as they are going through their test? Or why can't people cheer and applaud the pair after they finish their test?
 
#80 ·
I honestly don't like making assumptions that blame a horse or rider in a situation like this based on no first hand personal knowledge of what was going on
If it was a really small show that's aimed at novice horses and/or riders you don't usually get much in the way of spectators at all other than interested 'dressage' people that are generally sympathetic to the temperaments of the horses and go out of the way to help as much as they can when they see someone having a problem
The first show I took Flo too - even though she'd been safely riding around the roads for 6 months including through a busy village with all sorts going on - she was so badly behaved I walked her round the grounds and stuck her back on the horsebox and took her home rather than risk having her or someone else injured, but while we were doing that everyone had the common sense and courtesy to give us a wide berth. The next show she went too she behaved perfectly.
Given that the OP mentioned that the rider was carrying a whip it wouldn't have been an FEI competition so could just have been a low key training show - I have no idea and so don't feel that its fair to judge either the rider or the horse
 
#82 ·
At all the indoor show venues I've been to in the UK and in the US there's a solid wall that divides the spectators from the competitors so any buggies are hidden from the horses view and no one is allowed to walk inside of that area other than actual competitors and show officials
 
#83 ·
This is why I'm quietly thankful for my coach's 5 year old boy that drives me bonkers when I ride. Zooming around with his toy trucks and dragging the stall forks around right at the rail and sometimes throwing dirt and toys around as you ride by. He'll rip by on his bike in the summer and play just outside the stalls under their noses. All our horses learned to deal. We always joke that we'll have the best broke horses around! When he was a baby and she was starting my gelding, she would tack him up and walk around with him (or whichever horse she worked) and the pram. They're all well desensitized to young kids and scary things like that. We own the stable and run the bobcat and quads for maintenance while people are riding (obviously outside the rings in a safe area), sometimes even down the driveway past them! At shows, they don't look twice at bikes or prams or quads or tractors etc.

Even with that all my horse is exposed to at home, I took him to one show and he lost his marbles. He was spooking at spectators outside the ring like crazy and then in our test we didn't even get down centreline because he was spooking at the judges booth and were excused - two tests in a row. I never asked someone to move. If I can't ride my horse past whatever is around, I consider it my problem. Maybe not all riders are brave enough to just ride through (or at least try), but I would never dream of asking someone to move unless they were creating a legitimately dangerous situation. Most of the time, he spooks the hardest at the things in the ring like the judge's booths and I sure can't get them to leave! As someone else said, my coach would probably drag me off my horse and beat me to death if I asked people to move because my horse was in a tizzy haha. Horse has gotta learn to deal, imo!!
 
#85 ·
While I understand that we cannot take away everything that a horse might spook at- a show and a training session are two different things. If a horse was spooking at your "pram" they had every right to ask you to move. Its not only about your safety, but the safety of the other people involved. If a horse were to spook and bolt in the other direction, or anywhere- he could likely hurt someone else. Or someone else's child.

You should be more understanding of the fact that everyone has a job to do- and when it comes to safety, no one is sorry that they inconvenienced you.

Yes, people should teach their horses to get over it and continue to do what they are told... but show grounds are not the place to be training your horse.
 
#90 ·
First, I agree--show horses should be desensitized to the as much of the world as possible before they compete in the ring.
BUT, I also am glad that they moved you back. No telling what a freaked out horse can do and your baby didn't get stomped on while the horse panicked and bolted.
Secondly, learn from this. Train YOUR horse to be able to handle the everyday flapping of plastic AND garbage cans AND people walking around them. People just assume that horses won't ever hurt them. I almost lost it one time when I was sitting in my tent at a CW event and a couple decided to put their toddler on my horse (Corporal), who was on a picket line sans halter, but still saddled. I KNOW that he wouldn't have done anything wrong. Still, he might have side stepped and the kid would have fallen off. I ran over to lecture them about the possibilities, and that this was MY horse, my property.
 
#91 ·
Strawberry-we all know that the world would be safer if everyone (not just babies in prams) keep a certain distance and maintain a certain level of noise, etc during a show. However-the OP was asked to move, as I recall, 3 times, and about 90 feet. That is ridiculous, IMO. I don't think anyone minds moving once perhaps, so that baby is not right next to the ring….but 90 feet? Seriously?
 
#92 · (Edited)
Yes I did explain that in my original post. However I can't stop people from reading what they want to, which is this:

I was standing right next to the arena with my pram. Which by the way is covered in many coloured flags that flap around and makes loud strange noises. I also refused to move when asked by the officials. Therefore I am putting the life of my baby and all the innocent bystanders in immediate danger! I should be ashamed of my behaviour and disregard for the safety of the entire human race!!!

Edit: forgot to add something about how these highly trained horses displaying thier obedience and submission and how the riders are judged in thier control... Oh well just pretend I did.

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#94 ·
I think there are REASONABLE things to ask a person to do. Asking her to move back would have been reasonable. I gave another example of two body running back and forth with plastic trucks. They were asked to move to a different location. But being asked to leave?? I think that is to far!
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#96 ·
I suspect there was an attitude when asked to move- being asked to leave was probably warranted.
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#97 ·
The walls are there to protect the spectators in Indoor Shows (where they have them)
At most outdoor shows they have ropes around the rings - though I've seen plenty of horses go through them or over them so not foolproof
The small training type shows might say 'Auditors welcome' but essentially they are all about the horse and helping riders prepare them for the larger shows so the riders do get given preference over the people who've just turned up to watch at no charge
I was surprised that the horse would have been concerned about the buggy since they see wheelbarrows around the place all the time so I'm not sure it was even spooking at all. The horse could have just been having a meltdown and the rider might have been concerned that her horse was going to bolt out and saw the child in the buggy as being more at risk of not being able to get away as quickly as people on their own two feet can
There was a child in this buggy that miraculously escaped injury in this UK incident - but the owners of the vehicle that got slightly damaged were suing the show organisers for allowing them to park there
 

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#99 ·
I still don't understand how a show is not an appropriate place to train.

I don't know about dressage horses, but I can't just turn off "training mode" when I get to a show. The whole deal is about training, and at the same time, showing what you have trained. If I see something that is scary to my horse, I'm not just going to let them freak out because "I can't train I'm at a show". You either blow the class because your horse spooks or you blow the class because you have to fix your horse's attitude. If anything the show grounds mean more work than home. It's not a vacation.

If my horse was scared of baby carriages, I'd rather throw a class at a lower level to get my horse over it. Then when you get to a big show that has baby carriages the horse doesn't think it can take advantage of the rider just because it's at a show. Several times I go to local shows to throw classes on purpose to keep my horse from making assumptions for when we get to the big leagues and the stakes are higher to not make any mistakes.

To me it's money well spent.
 
#101 ·
I was standing right next to the arena with my pram. Which by the way is covered in many coloured flags that flap around and makes loud strange noises. I also refused to move when asked by the officials. Therefore I am putting the life of my baby and all the innocent bystanders in immediate danger! I should be ashamed of my behaviour and disregard for the safety of the entire human race!!!
You should be ashamed of yourself!!! ;) j/k
 
#102 ·
Ahhh…Oh Vair OH….I think that is the feeling of many of us. I am one who doesn't care where my horse is. If he acts like an idiot, he will be disciplined. I paid my $$ just like everyone else, and I can hear the ***GASP*** as I do it, but who cares? I do NOT want a horse who learns that when he is in a show he can do what he wants because I am not supposed to discipline him.(AKA school) I have done it MANY times over the years. I for one don't really give a rats behind whether someone likes it or not, including the judge. But, then, I go to have fun and learn, and am not one of those who has to win at all costs.
 
#103 · (Edited by Moderator)
It was never a question of not training at a show, it is a question of desensitisation work - and yes, you still train that to an extent but when you are about to enter the arena it is not the time or place to hold up the entire days class timetable to get your horse over an object that can easily be moved. If we're talking about the judges or arena settings then you just have to deal with it yes. But if it's a person who can move back a little I don't even see where the 11 pages of discussion stems over other than a chance for a few people to dig their boot in on a personal level? I do think being asked to leave is excessive on the proviso the OP wasn't gobbing off about being asked to move.
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#105 ·
I think the key wish desensitization and exposure is the more they get it the less and less likely they are to keep a level head. Don't you think a horse who is ridden into town or trailered out to trail ride is going to be less spooky then one who is kept in the same location with the same ring and the same objects around?

The more you get them out there the more their not going to care what's around them. And if they are going to get frazzled they are going to trust their owners to keep them safe.
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