Baby Boomer Dreams - Dandy's Story - Dressage

Part 1

I had a couple more weeks of lessons on the Arabian horse before the weekend of the dressage schooling show arrived. We didn't work on anything different that we had been. I rode the horse on a circle and asked him to flex to the inside and to the outside at all three gaits. That was about it.

The horse and I were getting better and better each ride. Even when I wasn't taking my weekly lesson, the horse was schooling well. I felt like we were coming along well with this new discipline.

I didn't really think about exactly what I should be preparing for the dressage show. Obviously, Tom didn't either. I assumed if there was something I needed to know that he would make sure that I did.

I had never even seen a dressage test written or ridden. Dressage was just something I heard talked about. I saw a couple of people school their horses in dressage but those people were not good riders and the horses looked really unbroke to me. There was nothing to learn by watching them. I had no real frame of reference. I trusted Tom's judgement.

So I guess you could say I was really unprepared for this "thing" I had said I would do. All I knew for sure was that I was going to be riding my horse alone in the ring. There would be letters posted on the walls and I would need to "do" things at those letters. How would you like to ride your first dressage test under those circumstances?

In case you are wondering, I'm not really a risk taker, not in circumstances like this anyway. I'm known more for doing lots and lots of research and not starting something I can't do and do well! What I was thinking about this dressage schooling show, I can't begin to tell you. I still can't believe I agreed to ride in the darn thing.

If my memory serves me, there were not a lot of horses at this show. I'd like to say maybe forty, but I could be way off base. Small would be a safe description, of that I am sure. It seemed quiet but still intimidating to me. I didn't have any idea what to expect nor what I was doing. Being there didn't make me feel better.

How many rides each horse did, I haven't a clue but I think that good old Tom Morgan signed me up for two. He said that they were appropriate for my skill level. Even the sound of those words made me what to run to the bathroom and puke! I felt so NOT prepared!

I did get a chance to school my horse first in the ring. That made things a hair less intimidating. Dandy really didn't seem to mind the white rails or the letters on the wall. The table where the judge and scribe sits wasn't in place yet at the time we schooled. It was basically the same old arena that we always rode in. At least that part was good.

Then there's the matter of the "test." You know that thing the rider and horse are supposed to do in the ring. Since I had never even seen a dressage test, I didn't have a clue what kind of components there might be. The very idea of that "test" had me terrified.

Tests are things your study for. You practice and prepare. Tests are things you are graded for. Tests are things you should not fail. Tests are something I have always done exceptionally well, at least the tests in school. Somehow being at a show and being expected to complete a test when I didn't even know what a "test" was just didn't seem to make sense. But here I was none the less with my horse saddled and ready to ride. What was I thinking?

All I knew was dressage tests was they are kind of like a trail pattern. They tell you what to do when and where and you do it. Simple.......right? In trail it's important to do it in the order expected or you are disqualified. I figured it was probably the same in dressage. I needed to learn the pattern and then remember it. I was starting to sweat! What if I didn't know how to do things in the pattern? HELP!!!!!

Tom said not to worry, it would be ok. There wouldn't be anything on the test I didn't know how to do. As for remembering, I could have a reader. He would get the tests and he would read them to me. I would be fine. Not to worry.........I'm now sweating profusely!

Is anyone getting the picture here how unprepared I was? OK, I know walk, trot and canter, I can ride a decent circle BUT what in the heck else is there going to be on that dressage test! I wasn't even sure about the placement of those darn letters until I saw them on the wall when I schooled my horse. Yet those letters were an important part of the test somehow. My gut was screaming as me.....This was NOT going to be pretty.

While I sweated, Tom went to find me the copies of the test. He came back smiling telling me not to worry, I was going to be fine. The tests were simple training level stuff. Again, I would be fine.

That's easy for him to say. The man rode on the US Army Equestrian Team until it was disbanded. He has trained at the big schools in Europe. The man gets dressage. I don't even know what training level is! I'm just this dumb Arabian owner (riding amongst all the warmbloods) wanting to learn enough to show my horse hunter pleasure. Riding dressage at a show, even a schooling show was never my intention. It was looking more and more like a very stupid idea. Then Tom starts explaining the test.

To be continued........

The Test

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