When a horse is unsettled and is misbehaving it is simply not coping with the environment. The better the horse goes at home the more likely it is to behave when out. Horses learn by what they do. If a horse is not settled and working correctly you can do permanent damage to its future behaviour by taking it in the ring where you have to follow the pattern of the test. It is disappointing to decide to scratch from a test but one disappointment is far better than establishing tenseness and having years of unsatisfactory competition.
When taking out an inexperienced horse plan to compete but only if the horse is going to gain confidence by the experience. It is mentally stressful to ride an uncooperative horse and one is not necessarily thinking very clearly. Having a black or white answer to one question 'yes or no, is the horse going to gain confidence by going in the ring' makes it far easier to make a rational decision in a stressful situation.
It is so common to hear 'oh my horse warmed up beautifully and then the test was a disaster'. This is always followed by a lot of reasons why the horse went badly and was disappointing. Usually the excuses do not personally involve the rider!
There are two categories of 'influences' that affect performance: the ones you have no control over; and the ones that you can totally control. If the environment at the competition has too many negative elements then it is 'luck' if everything goes well. Luck is helpful but it is inconsistent and unreliable! Good competitors develop techniques to cope with the influences they cannot control. Here are some examples:
The dressage tests may be on sand surfaces but the warming up is on the grass which is not flat and is slippery. The horses do not need studs for the dressage test but they are an important element to successful warming up which, in turn, leads to good performance.
Dressage judges do not always stay on time. You cannot control this, but you can find out if there are scratchings or if the judge is late. Check how long the judge takes between horses as this is likely to be consistent. Then you have a rough idea of how long you have before the judge rings the bell. Identify the horse or horses that are immediately before you so you know how much time you have.
Dressage judges do not always think before turning the windscreen wipers on and your horse may just be going down the centre line towards the car. How many riders practice with a car at the end of an arena? It is a really good idea for the horse to become accustomed to car doors and windows opening and shutting, car horns going off and windscreen wipers being used. With the initial training for this the horse does not need to be tacked up as it can just be beside a car. Once a horse has become used to the windscreen wipers and realises that they are not a threat and are not going to pounce and devour it, the horse can be ridden beside and towards them. Then that is one possible uncontrollable problem that will not affect performance.
Loud speakers often excite or frighten horses and particularly ex-racehorses. Ride at home with a radio on and have someone change the volume and the channel so the horse becomes used to sudden crackly noises similar to loudspeakers.
Riders in the practice ring can get out of control. Always be aware of where the horses that are behaving badly. You only have to give your horse one fright with another horse and it may become horse shy.
When I worked for Baron Hans von Blixen-Finecke (who won a gold medal eventing) he did not like to travel to a competition the day before with the horses. He used to drive us, squashed up in his sports car, to walk - and then run around the cross-country course. We then went home and left early the next morning with the horses. Of course this is not always possible in Australia with the huge distances but it may well be possible with a horse's first competition. do not lock your young horse up in a yard the night before a competition if it is not used to being in the yard as it will be stressed before leaving home.
Plait your horse prior to the competition day so it becomes used to the feel of the plaits.
You can control your own timetable. If you are going to control a horse successfully you first have to be in control of yourself! Arriving in plenty of time and riding to a organised plan allows the rider to function effectively.
When you warm up for a test you are not 'schooling'. You do that at home and at lessons. You are getting the horse ready to do its best possible performance. If the horse is not doing something at home, such as lengthening at the trot, there is no point trying to achieve this in the practice ring.
You want your horse to go obediently, in a relaxed way and with confidence. Then you have done the preparation for a 'performance'. Once a horse is listening to the rider and is warmed up the more you ride it the closer you will come to the horse being 'over the top'. Then it is all downhill! The horse becomes tired and is no longer in self-carriage. A horse that is not super fit can probably stay at its peak of performance for about 12 minutes maximum. Riders tend to keep riding for no particular reason and then, when it is their turn to go into the arena, the horses are past their best.
Working a horse hard and without a break before entering the ring seldom results in a good test as the horse's neck is tired and so it is unable to keep a steady outline.
Most riders over-ride their horses before a test. Disorganised ones under-ride them, and the winners do it right - unless they are using up their 'luck'.
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