My First Horse Show on Campus

As many of you know, I am an equestrian student at my college. I am taking a hunter/jumper class and a dressage class (trust me when I say double seating is not an easy task). In the number of years I have been riding, which is only about five, I have only competed in one dressage show. That is another story. However, it was a good experience for getting me into the show ring. The story I would like to share is the story of my first horse show on-campus. (By the way, both of the shows I have competed I have been schooling shows, which means they are not recognized shows.)

For those who aren’t familiar with dressage, I will take a few moments to explain how showing works. 
Dressage riders have to ride patterns referred to as tests. The United States Dressage Federation regulates these tests. At the national level, you have Introductory tests, Training level, then First-Fourth level.  There are three tests per level. After Fourth level, you get into the international level tests which includes Prix St. George and Grand Prix.
For my previous dressage show, I rode Introductory Tests A, B, and C.  My dressage instructor suggested I ride Intro Tests B and C for show since I am not ready to move onto Training level yet.  We spent a few weeks of riding class preparing for the show.  Rocky was my trusted steed that I was to ride in the show. He has his difficulties but we made a fantastic pair.
The Friday before the show, which was taking place on Saturday and Sunday, everyone was schooling their horses. By the time I schooled Rocky, there were no other humans in the arena and the arena rules are that there has to be at least two humans present.  So I asked my friend Jennah (who also writes on this blog), come to the arena with me.  Well of course, on that day Rocky decided he wanted to buck and carry me across the arena. The first time he did that I lost my stirrups but managed to stay on. But apparently, my luck had run out because the second time I fell off and managed to break my reins in the process. I was uninjured, just a little bruised but we called it quits after that.
The next day was the show. I had to be up bright and early since the Introductory tests showed first. I made a minor mistake in Test C where I missed one of the movements. But otherwise, we did really well placing in second and fourth in our tests. The next day we did much better much because I was as nervous. Showing in the same tests, we place in second and third.
Overall, this show was a fantastic experience. Compared to my first show, I’ve made a lot of progress in my riding. I am excited for the day when I show in my first recognized show. Likewise, I am excited to move up through the levels of dressage.


Any firsts you've had in college?

~Victoria