Esprit Dressage Shows

The typical summer for a lot of people is filled with work, hanging with friends or family and going to the beach or on adventures. For me, however, it’s a different type of summer. Sure I spend a lot of time with friends and family. I work during the hot day so I can seek adventure on warm evenings with some of my favorite people. However, during the summer I also show my old mare, for an old girl she still has quite a bit of sass and spunk. Showing my horse isn’t just work, it’s a lot of preparation that spans the full year. It requires not just knowing how to tack up and ride my horse but also how to execute a unique pattern that lasts about 6 minutes or so in varying ways and make sure that I nail it. It also means that I spend many Friday and Saturday nights in the summer at the barn past 9 braiding their manes into perfection and packing a trailer full of everything that could possibly be needed the next day. Usually, it’s quite the effort to do these things and the barn’s energy is always abuzz the night before a show.

Once we get to the show it’s a bit different, everyone jumps out of their trucks and gets the horses off their trailers to start brushing them up and tacking up and often this is where the stress begins. Horse show days are so stressful for everyone, not at the same time though. Anytime someone is in their dressage whites is when the most stress sets in for that person, some people are so stressed you can’t talk to them. Most horse shows go from 8 or 9 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon and let me tell you, being the last person out of the group to show from your barn is very stressful. The whole barn family gathers together while your many moms circle you and your horse to make sure you’re ready to get things underway. The warm-up is possibly the least stressful part of actually beginning to show. However, when your number is called into final warmups is when the anxiety starts to boil.

Then, a little doorbell rings and you have 30 seconds to enter the arena to begin your test. When beginning your test, is something that usually you have practiced for months and months, maybe even years. It’s about 6 minutes of anxiety and intense emotions as you do your best to look calm. You must also keep your horse under control and maintain elegance and the best execution you can manage while still having some pep in their step. Leaving your test should be something to laugh and smile about, especially when it went well, however, I rarely feel like I can laugh after my tests. Typically, I perform two tests, and I can almost never laugh at the mistakes of the first one, the second one is a little easier since a bunch of my anxiety is starting to pass. Although post your second test is when things start to feel intense again, waiting for your scores to come out is bad enough. But is even worse when your whole family is waiting for you to get your scores so they can leave since everyone is usually beyond exhausted at this point.

Typically once I get home, I can laugh more about my mistakes and flaws of the day. As soon as I get home, all the stress dissipates once I take a step out onto the dirt driveway of the barn.I can finally laugh at my stupidity and anxiety when I remember that I haven’t been riding nearly as long as any of my competitors and that are between twice and 4 times my age. Then I know yet again it’s all over until next time.

Photo by Five Furlongs on Foter.com / CC BY-ND