Getting nervous!!! 1st competition in 5 years!!!

[welsummerchicks]

You will do super, the 3rd level tests are real flowing, nice tests to ride, and it sounds like you have worked really hard and know the work really well. Sounds like you have a good horse to ride too! Is that the show in Coupeville or Spokane?

The link you gave was Jhesika Wells? That was a really well done test...she has been getting some supah scores...some over 70, I think quite a few over 68...all really good!

Don't worry about the changes - they are just canter transitions...just pretend you are at home.

 

[jettgirl24]

We're headed to the one at Coupeville, along with half of the dressage riders in Washington... Lots of people trying to get those last minute qualifying scores! I'm feeling good about things, especially after my ride tonight, but I still can't help be a little nervous after all this time

Jhesika has been doing great and Intrepid is such a wonderful horse! She's a great rider and works so hard. It's awesome to see it paying off!

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Quote:
The way I see it, if you don't get nervous or get an adrenaline rush from it...you need to stop competing in it.

 

[welsummerchicks]

Coupeville! It's so nice to show at a facility like that.

Tension before competition is pretty natural, especially after not competing for a while.

I think over time, people learn to match their level of excitement, tension to the level that is ideal for the sport. Every sport has that - a level of tension that makes the best performance, kind of a 'zone'.

I think the hardest time is the slower paced days leading up to the competition, when there's too much time to think, that most people worry and need encouragement. Once they click into their routine, things fall into place.

Everyone is different. As people get more time in the saddle and number of shows, they tend to get calmer and calmer...hm! kind of like horses!

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

But do the people completely lose the jitters or the adrenaline rush? I've shown birds for quite awhile and still can't shake the jitters before the show or adrenaline rush that comes from a judge handling my birds.

 

[welsummerchicks]

Yeah, I can recall in sports when some were barfing their guts out before we went out to play(grin).

For some people, they are tense and are highly effective nevertheless. As the saying goes, 'blood and fur was every where, but he got the job done'. Most people, though, I think tension keeps them from doing their best.

Sports therapists now have an impressive toolkit for fixing performance anxiety. What they can do for people is truly amazing. People really can train themselves to relax and enjoy.

Perfectionism can eat away at a person's competition performance, or in some people, it simply makes them ride better and better.

Many people in all types of competitions, have unrealistic expectations, so they ride an emotional roller coaster at competitions - expecting great things, and always disappointed after the competition. In dressage, unrealistic expectations usually equals inexperience and a lack of good quality instruction.

I think in dressage, what is the best remedy, is to show a horse they feel comfortable on, and have good help, someone who gives them realistic help and shapes them toward realistic expectations.