Whenever I go into the dressage ring when I’m at a horse trials, my pony starts to completely ignore my aids. In the warm-up ring she’s an angel, but as soon as we get into the show ring she throws her head up and refuses to bend or listen to me. Any tips for solving this?
Do you take her off the farm for lessons/riding with friends etc.? If you can, it may help to travel to a friend's farm and set up a "mini show" environment and see if she does the same. I would guess she's just a little green and excited by new situations.
Disclaimer: I am not an eventer, but I do know Dressage and have been to a few shows.
When you are in the warm up ring, there are typically other horses there right?
When you are showing, you are typically alone, yes? So maybe it's just a case of she needs to get used to that. Is there a way you could arrive really early and practice in the show ring with her?
i feel ya today my horse was actually the best ive ever had him in warm-up...and got into the ring and promtly began bucking and trying to bolt... just sign up for some dressage schooling shows!
Depending on the venue, you may be permitted to hand walk your horse around the outside of the dressage arena before any of the tests start. But that means you need to get there before the crack of dawn I think. LOL
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