All equestrian sports rely on a ever decreasing number of volunteers to keep them going. From the judges to the arena party, the sheet collector to the steward we have to have this band of people help us do what we enjoy. 

As some of you know, apart from running TestPro, I am also a non executive director of British Dressage with my specialist area being Para. It is a voluntary role, yes we get mileage expenses to attend meetings and a night in an hotel when on duty for 2 day meetings but that is it. Yet, and this is not a moan by the way, I put in about a day a week of my time. I am very happy doing this and get a lot of satisfaction on helping to shape the sport I love and be involved and give my expertise in so many ways. But I can’t help thinking that with the very busy lives we have that the volunteer role is gradually dying out. 

Not only are our judges a more committed and professional bunch than they have ever been with many hours of online training, in person attendance and exams behind them but now our stewards go through training and assessment to be the best that they can be. This again is all voluntary and for the bare minimum of recompense. Is this right? As competitors should we put our hands in our pockets to start paying more to cover these roles? As we demand better run events and increasing levels of knowledge from the volunteer is the unpaid helper a dying role?

If I am totally honest I am happy with the status quo on paying people however it does mean that more people need to put their hand up and take a role in driving our sports forward. I realise that this makes it difficult when money is tight and if you judge or steward you potentially lose money from your regular job. It also means that as we progress to a more diverse sport that we may find it difficult to encourage everyone to join in and feel that they too can become judges or a youth rep at regional level or a sheet collector and mark checker.

How do we encourage people to take part? I would love to hear your thoughts. Could you give some time at a local level to help out? I would urge you to and next time that one of the equestrian organisations puts up an advert for a role on a committee or your local event needs help, please put your hand up!

Much love and thanks to all the helpers out there that so selflessly give their time. 

I have ridden in many warm up areas over the years, I’ve ridden on grass in a huge field, in a tiny indoor smaller than a 20×40 and equally in a big outdoor arena but with loads of people at regional championships. They ALL have their challenges and the most important piece of advice that I can impart to you is to prepare and plan!

So what does that look like and involve? Let’s take the two extremes the tiny arena and the big one filled with loads of people as our examples.

Tiny indoor arena

No doubt on the door of the arena will be guidance as to the maximum number of horses in the arena at one time, this is basic risk assessment territory. If there isn’t then we could be entering a scene from the Calgary stampede! 

If you know the venue and this is not a surprise to you then you can do a couple of things. 

Option 1 – if on a young or nervous horse, you could ask to be put on first or second or after a break of some sort. That will ensure slightly less people in the warm up. 

Option 2 – check out the number of people in the arena, try to do your walk work outside before you go into the arena then proceed to go in. 

Option 3 – put a red ribbon in your horse’s tail or wear a hi viz jacket. Most riders will try and give you more room if they spot a red ribbon, there are other ribbon colours for young horse etc., but I find people are not aware of them

Option 4 – as you go into the arena shout loudly to the other competitors that you are on a young/nervous horse and to give you some room, some will help, others will probably have their ear pieces in and ignore you!!

Whatever your option you need a plan for your working in. So get the basics done, walk, trot and canter on both reins. Start on the right rein if you do not want to be hemmed in. Put in a few circles, get some trot walk trot transitions in (be aware of who is behind you) and if you can try a centre line. 

If you are on the right rein this can be a useful time to practice straightness, a little leg yield and your transitions as you will not easily bump into anyone. 

If I am on the outside on the left rein and someone is walking but on the inside I often shout ‘coming on your outside’ just in case their horse is a bit tricky or they start drifting onto the track, this can also happen if they are leg yielding to the track and haven’t spotted you. 

Large outdoor arena with lots of people

So what happens when you make it to the Regionals or a National Championships and the arena is huge but there are still loads of people? 

This is where you need to know your horse well and how they will react. Hopefully you have had a chance to work in a similar environment before, if not, in the run up to the competition try to go to a local riding club event and have a group lesson or ask a few friends to do an arena hire with you and try to recreate lots of horses whizzing around. Some venues do arena hire with all the boards and flowers so that would be a great opportunity to get together with friends.

Now we just have to tackle our nerves about walking into a busy warm up and trying to get ourselves prepared. Make sure you have a plan that works through the exercises that you need to do, your trainer can help you with this in the run up to the competition. The more you know your routine the better! You might have your trainer with you and ‘in your ear’ so they will be able to keep you calm and get the most out of you.

Remember the warm up is not the time to be practising everything, it is for ensuring that you are mentally and physically prepared for the test. By all means do a few movements from the test but if a half pass is sticky in training the previous day it isn’t going to change massively once you get inside the boards! 

Hi-Viz or wearing something distinctive can definitely be of help in a large warm up arena, especially for your connections there to help you. As I said for the small arena, those riders going around listening to music will see you a bit better. 

Sometimes it can be difficult, bizarrely, to make space to go sideways or ride a circle in a big and busy arena. So when you go in, try to spot a piece of the arena that no one seems to be using. It is normally the bit furthest away from the entrance/exit and consequently the stewards (sorry!!). If you need room go to that point and start riding some circles slightly off the track, it can help you to ‘stake your claim’ and settle your horse. 

Horses being the predictably unpredictable beings that they are, will do stuff! I have seen people fall off, horses charge across arenas, dogs running across the warm up and a few interesting shapes thrown with riders clinging on. Stay in your zone, come back to walk, try to stay out of the way until everyone is safe again, then carry on as if nothing has happened! What other people are doing does not have to affect you.

So recap

Prepare! Before you go acclimatise you and your horse to the situations you may encounter

Plan out the warm up routine with the exercises that you might need. Helps to have a couple of plans depending on how you are both feeling on the day.

Remember you have as much right to warm up your horse as anyone else! Try not to be intimidated by any big names, and also don’t watch them or change your routine!

Lastly know the arena rules 

• • Left to left 
  • Shoulder in, travers and counter canter take precedence on the track (so ignore left to left in this situation) 
  • If walking get off the track
  • Do not halt on the track
  • Do not stop and start chatting to your mates/helper you could be blocking someone trying to go across the diagonal
  • Do not ride too close to another horse’s bum or hem them in on the track or let your whip touch another horse
  • Politely shout/make them aware of you if you are coming up fast behind them and need the outside track 
  • Be aware that riders with a white armband are visually impaired and those with a blue armband are hearing impaired so give them a bit of space.
  • When entering an arena, in particular indoor or where the gate/entryway is in a difficult position announce that you are coming in so that riders can circle away. 
  • I always say I am leaving if there is only one horse left in the warm up just as a courtesy in case it might be an issue. 

Hopefully I will see you all in a calm and organised warm up soon! 

When you compete do you focus on the negative or the positive aspects when you reflect on you and your horse’s performance?

Equestrianism is a tough sport, anyone who has had a horse for a significant amount of time will know that it is easy to get disheartened by horse accidents, human accidents, large bills and difficult competition experiences. So a pattern of negative thinking can creep in and influence your mindset. 

What can you do about it? 

Identify areas where you want to become more positive. For example if you are struggling to be positive about your competition experience then think of what you can do to make the experience less stressful, and more enjoyable. It might be taking a supportive friend with you, getting help from an NLP practitioner or having a plan for the competition. All things that can help you to start in a positive way from the moment you get up to the moment you leave the show ground. 

Check your mind and how you are feeling throughout the day. So every now and then throughout the day, stop and evaluate whether you are feeling positive or mainly negative. Turn the thoughts around and find a way to put a positive spin on things. Why did you start thinking negatively? What changed your mood? How can you stop yourself from going down a ‘doom loop’? 

You are allowed to have fun! Laugh, crack a joke, watch some dogs ‘doing silly things’ videos or tiktoks, it really helps with stress. I can’t remember who said that ‘Laughter keeps the doctor away’ but I definitely feel it!!

Trying to stick to a routine of some sort both food, sleep and exercise wise. This is an aspect that I have learnt really helps me. We all need chocolate and wine in our life but sometimes food can bring feelings of guilt and self loathing if we eat the wrong thing and feel lethargic or have sugar rushes. So  if at all possible being sensible with food and drink habits makes a massive difference to mental and physical health. I really wish we had more healthy food at competitions as opposed to stodgy, carb heavy offerings!!

This next one is something I totally and utterly believe in. Surround yourself with positive people. You want ‘Radiators’ in your life not “Drains”. So radiators are people that exude warmth and positivity, they help and assist you. These people do have down days as they are human but they predominantly are positive mindset people. Drains are the ones that suck the life and emotion out of you! They are always seeing doom and gloom everywhere, they drain you of your positivity and always need propping up emotionally. I am not talking about when a friend is going through a rough patch, these people are always having a worse time than you, worse ride, bigger vets bill etc., I am sure you know the sort!

Finally practice being positive and talking to yourself. So when you are thinking or listening to your inner voice do not say anything to yourself that you wouldn’t say to anyone else. Try to encourage your inner self with positive affirmations and encouraging thoughts. Evaluate any negative thought rationally and check the positivity aspect. Be thankful of what you have in your life, be grateful of the people and animals in your life and keep working on that positive mindset. 

I look forward to hearing about your positive thoughts and riding experiences. 

All competitions involving animals are under scrutiny from political groups, whether you show dogs or compete your horse in a riding club event you need to be prepared to have your motives questioned. 

On the one hand it seems dreadfully sad that it has come to this and that we can no longer be carefree when competing our horses but on the other hand I totally get where some of the groups are coming from. No longer do we tolerate a circus with lions or elephants ‘performing’ for crowds and confined to small living conditions. It will not be long before the binoculars are well and truly focussed on all horse sports. 

So what should we do as informed and empathetic riders and horse carers? First step is to educate ourselves and keep up to date with the research and science about good husbandry and the impact of our tack and training methods. 

You may be aware of the five freedoms which are the basis of how we should look at our competitive lifestyles

• Freedom from hunger and thirst
• Freedom from discomfort
• Freedom from pain, injury or disease
• Freedom to express normal behaviour – think socialisation, movement and happy horse
• Freedom from fear and distress – think about mental and physical health and tailoring the environment to suit the horse you have. 

On a day to day level we can all help our horses to lead a happy life by covering off the basics. To me gone are the days when it is acceptable to keep a horse in a stable 24/7, they need to have exercise, time out to roll and socialise, time to graze, time to be away from humans and just be a horse. Within this generalised care framework there is plenty of room to cater to each horses needs and wants. Some prefer more turnout, some less particularly if they are not fond of rain and wind!! Some like to have a paddock on their own but have a neighbour next to them, others like a herd to play with. At this stage no one is saying you have to follow a certain path, you can manage your horse’s life within the basic five freedoms. 

Where I think this gets complicated is when we add competing into the mix. Some horses drag you up the ramp and adore the competition environment and I wouldn’t dispute that they are happy. For others it might be a more stressful experience or they might take some time to understand the whole concept and this is where horse welfare might be compromised. No one would argue that horses need to go on a horse box or trailer, it might be a necessity due to veterinary issues. But what is a sensible distance to travel on a regular basis? When is it too hot or too windy to travel? How can we prepare our horses for a stay away show so that they remain calm and happy? You need to ask yourself these questions and think about the parameters that you will compete within.

I see plenty of people taking their horses/ponies to shows and they are out every weekend sometimes both days expecting that horse to perform to their best. You can cause a horse to go stale and down tools! They do get fed up of yet another competition and yet another situation where they are on the lorry for the day – remember they do not get much out of competition! To me over competing is not acceptable and puts undue stress on the horse. 

So all I am asking is for you to consider and plan how and when you are taking your horse to a competition, how you make their life as lovely as possible at home and how you can continuously improve yourself and the welfare of your horse. Because if we don’t step up then we may be forced to stop competing in the not too distant future.