This year, I entered Perdido for  the GBPRE Show at Hartpury. I have always dreamed of   riding a Spanish horse in Spanish costume in classical dressage, so I was determined to make a return to competition after many years out of the scene, but my aim was to have fun!

Show Preparation

As I have not competed for a few years, I took time preparing- a whole year, in fact, working with Perdido, gradually improving his trust in me, his relaxation, and my own fitness. We have both been stymied by niggling injuries  over the last couple of years, so this was about slowly piecing ourselves together as a riding partnership. I had not planned on a competitive career again, having retired myself from dressage shows after losing my dear Lipizzaner/TB, Amadeus.

But along came Perdido. He is such a lovely horse, I felt I owned it to him to show him off. He has such presence, I felt I had to up my game and get back out there!

So off we set in our thirty-year-old lorry to Hartpury. My husband would be joining us the folowing day, complete with more food supples, and wine, of course.

Day One: Thursday

I allowed plenty of time to off-load horse and all that goes with him, before transforming the lorry into my bedroom. I brought along creature comforts such as a cosy duvet, pillows, gin and nibbles. I used to get very nervous at shows, never performing at my best, so my goal for the weekend was to stay calm and focused, and give Perdido a positive experience of his first foray into dressage.

Day Two: Friday

The following morning, the nerves kicked in. The advantage of being a psychotherapist is awareness of my nervous system. As my heart thumped in my chest, and my breathing became fast, I felt myself ‘losing it’. I knew I needed something to focus on to calm me down, so I plaited Perdido’s mane, brushed him till he shone, and I felt calm again. I went off to get myself ready, and was delighted to see my husband arrive as ‘team support’. By the time I mounted Perdido for his first test, my old ‘confident self’ had returned. I told Perdido I had done this hundreds of times, and calmly familarised him with the warm-up arena. We have trained on our own, but this was his first dressage warm-up, which he coped with admirably.

Getting used to the Show

We were familiar with the main arena at Hartpury, having done a dressage to music clinic there the year before. Circunmstances prevented us from entering this show last year, so it was a real joy to finally ride down the centre line. I was delighted that we calmly  completed the Sevilla test. I rode him in his snaffle bit to see how he accepted the contact. Sure, there is room for improvement in the future, Perdido coped brilliantly with the going in and out of the arenas, with other horses, and on his own, and walking to and from the stables. For me, this was just the best start to the weekend.

Bitless Dressage

A couple of hours later, we rode the same test, but in a hackamore in the bitless dressage class. Having had previous issues with his mouth in Spain, I have ridden Perdido without a bit quite often, as he is more relaxed through his poll, which impacts on the relaxation of his whole body.. With some wizard dentistry  and chiropractic treatment from our vet, he was ace- really relaxed, and I was delighted we came third.

Dressage to Music

This experience did him the world of good. In the evening, we donned our Spanish gear in preparation for the Flamenca class to music. It took me ages to do up shirt and jacket buttons, and strap on my chaps. I gave up with pinning on my Catite hat, plumping for my crash hat, seeing as I was riding bitless: just in case!

My husband was amazed how heavy the saddle was, and how long it took to tack up! It was lovely to have a second pair of hands, with strong fingers to do up the buckles!

I rode Perdido in his double bridle, and he was pretty calm and relaxed throughout.I am sure doing the previous test bitless really helped him to relax in the arena.  True to my old ways, I was having so much fun that I forgot the test half-way through, but, diffently to past experiences, I didn’t panic. A bit of ad-libbing got us through, though the judge noticed the movements were ‘not clear at times’, a very valid observation! Next time, I will adapt the movements to simplify the routine, and make the elements more obvious. I did enjoy dressing up in our Spanish gear, and have waited a long time to ride to music again. I think Perdido enjoyed it too!

Day Three: Saturday

The next day, after a reasonable sleep, we were up early to prepare for the ANCCE stallion class, in-hand Morphology, where conformation and movement are judged. . This was new to me, so though I had practised a bit, I was rather un-prepared for the standard of the others , making a mess of the trot-up. I obviously needed to work on my own ‘way of going’ as well as Perdido’s!

But in the standing still bit, we managed to seem proficient, and learned a lot from watching the professionals do it. I was so glad the in-hand outfit was comfortable, and way quicker to put on that the Alter Esquela get up.

Though we were last in the line-up, I was not disappointed. Perdido behaved so well, and I know we can perfect the show for next time.

In the evening, I was the only competitor in the Alter Esquela class, another occasion to dress up in costume. I worked out that I could get my Spanish trousers on and off without undoing all the buttons, so this saved ages, especially when going to the loo!

 I felt confident with this test , as classical dressage is my passion, though this was our first attempt at Spanish Walk. Bless Perdido, he gave it a go at the end of the test, but it was ‘rather modest’ (non-existent). It was a real treat to perform in front of a Spanish judge, and we gave it all we had. We were presented with a rosette and a medal, and had our own lap of honour- a really special ‘show off’ moment.

Day Four: Sunday

On the final morning, I rode Perdido in the dressage test required for the Functionality part of the showing class. We were both a bit tired, but I felt the test was competent enough. Having made a hash of the trot-up the day before, I was determined to show the judge I could ride, at least. Anyway, he did smile at us at the end of the test, so don’t think it was that bad.

Going into the arena for the final prize-giving entailed another change into my in-hand outfit. By this time, I had got ‘doing the buttons up on the trousers’ to a fine art, even managing a loo- trip, in record time, just before the class.

I really enjoyed the show, and my husband did too. It has been many years since we went to a weekend horse show, and by the end we slotted back into our old routine.

I am so pleased for Perdido, having a good experience bodes well for future shows. I may even venture out again soon for the odd dressage test!

Here’s looking forwards to going to Hartpury again next year: it was such a well-organised show, and so lovely to part of the Spanish vibe!

© Claire Lilley