Our First Show

Well, Surya and I competed in dressage in the schooling show our barn put on last weekend. It was the first show either of us ever competed in. It…did not go as planned. Before getting into the specifics, let me say, I am so proud to have such a beautiful and talented horse. Our trainer encouraged us to attend the show since we are doing so well in our schooling. Surya has a wonderful presence of mind, and I think we work well together. That being said, my trainer and I both thought she would spook at everything and I did not expect to put in a great test this first time out.

What I did not expect was Surya refusing to go forward to C from X. Apparently, the judge’s box (a parked car at the end of the ring) is very scary. We were doing okay in the warmup until we passed the car at the same time the judge blew the whistle for us to start the test. Holy startling Batman! Cantering and snorting ensued. But, we got it together and trotted confidently and (mostly) straight to X. I got a good stop and saluted the judge. I squeezed my legs and lifted through my body to trot on. Lovely rein-back! Back to X. I took a minute to grin and give up any aspiration to fluke perfection. Okay, this will not be a straight path to the Olympics. Go forward Surya. No, I really mean it, kick. Head tossing. Eventually, I got a decent leg yield followed by a side pass and at that point, because we had moved at least a few feet in the direction of the judge, I declared it somewhat of a win and moved on to circling at E. As soon as we weren’t heading to C, Surya went on the bit (more or less), and we completed the transition to collected walk and then extended across the diagonal. We picked up the trot a little before C (whoops) and then galloped at C. It was short-lived however, as I forced the trot and circle at B. We trotted down to A then back up the centerline and I achieved a very willing stop at X. The judge poked her head out of the car and I managed to get Surya a few steps closer so I could hear her. The judge opened the door of the car and ye Gods!

Whirl and gallop. Stop and return. I guess since we haven’t done any jumping yet it didn’t occur to Surya to simply leave the ring? On the plus side, the judge had very nice things to say about my riding and my secure seat (which she couldn’t have observed had we done the test correctly, so there ya go). Since this was my first show ever, I was very proud of myself for getting positive feedback and upholding my side of the partnership. And everyone said Surya was looking gorgeous and cute.

Actually, I’m absurdly happy with how this went. First of all, as long as there is improvement show to show, I’m happy. Secondly, Surya is a mare. She is also stubborn. However, up to the show, we hadn’t had any serious disagreement. I’ve given her time and convinced her to do what I want without too much effort. As a result, there hasn’t been an opportunity to establish myself as the boss under every circumstance, even if she really really doesn’t want to do it. At the show, Surya wasn’t genuinely terrified. She wasn’t shaking, I couldn’t see the whites of her eyes, and she wasn’t truly trying to put as much distance between herself and the car as possible. Consequently, it was a question of obedience. She was merely unsure about the car and so she took matters into her own hooves. This moment would have come sooner or later, and I’d rather it come sooner than when we are trying to teach her to go over scary jumps at a cross-country course. I’m going to re-create the car situation in my lesson this week and see if we can reach an understanding. Aka, I am alpha pony and the car is not scary.

That being said, while my brother took video of my test, no one will ever see it unless it’s part of a montage of “look how far we’ve come” when we’re celebrating the win of a Grand Prix.