My Return to Competition

When I first began riding Salvation it was on the lead rein and I managed one circuit of the school before the pain became too intense to cope with. It was that week that I set an ambitious goal to compete in a walk trot test even though the thought of trotting seemed impossible and riding into corners very scary. 
Like any rider rehabilitation programme it is about small steps with a crystal clear pathway that leads to where you dream of going. 

Fast forward to today and I have completed my first competition with Dressage Anywhere and achieved results and feedback that has me smiling and gives me a renewed sense of purpose. To have competition goals again that I can connect with and plan for is to have some of myself return. Serious injury can bring with it pain, uncertainty, fear and loss but when a horse believes in you and you find a connection the world opens up again. 

I thought I’d share my experience of what it was like to compete with Dressage Anywhere. 
First up you need to create an account online and fill in the usual details about yourself and the horse you are going to ride. As usual I forgot my password but retrieving a new one is an easier process than most websites. Choose your class(es) in the same way as any other Dressage Competition. I realised that Salvation (Humpty) would have been eligible for the Veteran class if I’d had his passport to hand to verify his age. That’s something for another show. 
Filming the test needs a bit of planning. You need to set out the correct sized arenas and if you don’t have arena markers you can use blocks, cones, poles whatever you have to hand. Think about where your friendly camera person is going to stand. They need to be in position at the C marker so they can comfortably film all of the arena. Dressage Anywhere asks for the test to be filmed in landscape and that the zoom is used to keep horse and rider in the frame. 
There are clear rules that competition dress need not be worn and if you have chosen to plait your horse then you need to put boots or bandages on so it’s clear that you have not submitted a test that has been judged in competition. All of the competition rules are on the website. If you are not sure about something then send an email to the team who are really friendly and helpful.

I picked two Intro tests for this months competition. Even when I entered I was not confident I would be able to complete them but I was determined to try! I have ridden a lot of tests in my life and it’s safe to say that these two were the hardest for me physically. According to my FitBit I had a great cardio workout. It’s funny how in the pursuit of Dressage our brain registers the workout differently…

I warmed up as usual and showed Humpty the arena. He, I know has competed far greater challenges but he was happy to play. I managed to switch off my critical inner voice and focus on remembering the test and trying to breathe. I knew that there were elements of the test that needed polish but I tried to focus on shutting out the pain and being as helpful to Humpty as I could. To complete the test was one of my greatest achievements to date and I was relieved that we had recorded it. After Humpty and I had recovered it was time to ride the next test and I was as nervous as I would be away from home at a competition centre.
The thing about Dressage is it’s not necessarily the venue that impacts on performance. We all have our favourites of course but fundamentally it’s about you, your horse and the patterns in between the white boards. I think our perceived value of the competition in question is what adds to the energy and excitement.

We made a huge fuss of Humpty and made sure he was comfortable with a selection of apples and carrots. Once home again it was time to upload my entries. I watched the video and cringed a bit unsure if I wanted anyone to see but I firmly ignored myself and began the upload. I choose to upload direct from my iPad. We airdropped the file and it was ready to go. There is a handy upload progress bar that I find particularly reassuring, a click on the upload button and it was pending judging. I made sure to select the correct video for the second class and repeated the process. I’ll admit to sending a prayer to the Dressage Gods that I’d get at least 60% in both tests. This is a habit left over from my early days as a Dressage Rider when 60% signalled a point. It’s a huge psychological barrier to try to push past and funny too because once you are on your way to the scoreboard with all the chatter in your head preparing for the outcome there is nothing you can do.

Dressage Anywhere send an email to tell you that your test has been judged and your metaphorical walk to the scoreboard starts with logging on. If you head to the My Dressage Anywhere Test you can download your sheet and see your score. Old habits die hard though and I went first to the Main scoreboard tab to collect my score before I even thought to find my test sheet. 67. 61%. I had to look several times. I mean just wow for the tougher Intro C. Now it was time to collect me sheet. Very easy to find, download and print for posterity! The feedback was spot on, the marks pleasing. Oh hello 8 for the halt and the final comments were so inspiring. I felt as though the Judge had ridden with me and was willing us to do well. A little later on a second email pinged it’s arrival and again I went to the main scoreboard. Curiosity now wondering how we might fare in the less complicated test. 68.70% and a provisional 3rd. I could not wait to collect my sheet. Soon I spotted that the 1st and 2nd placed riders were in a different section. Could that mean that we had actually won the class? I didn’t dare get excited when there could be more scores to come in so I kept going to the main scoreboard and a little while later the results were confirmed. 
Humpty of course was in his field and I was at home so I reached out and sent him happy thoughts and thanks. I never know if this works from so far away but I like to think he knows and is content to return to the winners circle. I dare say wise horse that he is, he will realise that we are now part qualified for the BD Online Championship which means I want to do a test next month to complete the qualification. I want to enter the Veteran class too which has its own league and a Championship. I will give Humpty the good news whilst he’s munching carrots. I would feed him all the carrots on the world if we didn’t get to do another test because he has given me back part of myself. The competition rider identity that had taken rather a long and unplanned break. 
Dressage Anywhere let me focus on riding and competition preparation at our home stables. I very much recommend adding the online venue to your competition calendar. 
Mum filmed for me. Top of my wish list is to buy a Pivo so that she can stand at K with the mints as we would when we go to away competitions. 
If you long to try this and to keep a record of your training but don’t have someone to film for you why not use my affiliate discount link to buy a Pivo here Buy Pivo

I am not sponsored by Dressage Anywhere but I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity to compete.Visit them here Dressage Anywhere

 


The Scoreboard. Well Done to all the riders.

Riders Compete from all over the world and seeing the flags is a great feeling. Dressage Anywhere is popular and there are big classes. Now capped at 26 before splitting the sections. Let me know in the comments if you compete here. 

Thank you Humpty, Tina and Dressage Anywhere for a dream of a day’s competition.