Saturday 4:00 – 4:30 AM Breakfast

Now with most of the preparation completed, the morning goes by fairly quickly with breakfast for both horse and rider and any last minute things that must be finished up.  

Saturday 4:30 – 5:00 AM Trailer Loading 

Now the truck and trailer can be brought down to the barn and load the horse into the trailer. Now one area to consider is that because my horse lived on my property this is a very simple step but for many riders this includes an additional hour or two depending on how far their barn is from their house and having to wait for their horse to have some breakfast before loading them into the trailer. Another aspect to consider is that while most horses are surprisingly willing to step inside a metal box with no inkling for where they will be taken or the duration for which the metal box will continue to shake, some horses can take a lot more patience in order for them to enter. With such a large creature that you are working with, there is no rushing their timeline.  If they feel rushed, it is likely that the whole process will just take that much longer. 

Saturday 5:00 – 6:00 AM Travel

Now it is time to drive to the competition, look over the tests to make sure everything is memorized, and mentally plan and prepare for everything to come.  

Saturday 6:00 – 8:00 AM Tack Room Set Up

Once at the fairgrounds, it becomes all hands-on deck to prepare as quickly as possible before the official competition begins. This means filling up water buckets, setting up the tack room (which is basically a canopy with all of the equipment for every rider organized in a neat fashion), and labeling last minute items as anything that is not labeled will be a reduction in points for the team once the show begins.  

Saturday 8:00 – 8:30 AM Morning Briefing

This is when every competitor’s helmet must be checked in order to make sure that it is safe and meets the minimum requirements. This is also the time when the coordinators running the event let everyone know how the day will run and if there is any knowledge that the competitors should be aware of regarding logistics. 

Saturday 8:30 – 8:45 AM Finish Grooming

Before the competition, each rider knows exactly when their ride times will be as well as when their formal inspection will be. This means that each rider will have a slightly different day but for this post, I decided on the ride times of 10:17, 11:30, and 1:55. To be on time, before the morning briefing this rider probably would have started grooming and then finished right after the briefing. 

Saturday 8:45 – 9:05 AM Tack-up and get dressed 

Now that the horse is clean, time to put all of the equipment on accept for the bridle. This is because for these types of competitions it is common to tie horses to trailers but a horse cannot be tied to a trailer with a bridle as it is very dangerous (curious why? Ask in the comments). Now the rider needs to get dressed. What many riders do is put layers overtop of their show clothes so that they do not get dirty and then it is faster to remove these layers of clothing. This is again because horses are essentially large toddlers, so they slobber, get mud, and hair on everything. 

Saturday 9:05 – 9:17 AM Finishing Touches

This basically means wipe all tack, rider, and horse with a clean rag to make sure they are as clean as possible before going into their formal inspection. This typically happens at the stations for inspections as if it is done too far away, walking there can lead to mud in the rider’s shoes or horse’s feet.

Saturday 9:17 – 9:37 AM Formal Inspection

Formal inspections are always one hour ahead of the first ride to give the horse and rider enough time to warm up afterward. What happens during an inspection is a horse management judge walks around the horse and rider to check that there is no dirt, dandruff, or hair on the equipment or the rider. The horse itself also must be extremely clean. If the horse and rider do not meet these requirements, then their horse management or HM score will increase which is a bad thing. 

Saturday 9:37 – 10:17 AM Warm-Up

This is different for every horse and rider pair, but this is the time to check in and make sure that both horse and rider are ready to compete and are on the same page. A trainer can also be present to help coach. During this time, the rider must also check in with the ring steward to make sure that they are not skipped over during their ride time. 

Saturday 10:17 – 10: 22 AM Ride #1

Now just think, the preparation for these first five minutes of competition is about 19 hours.  

Saturday 10:22 – 11:00 AM Short break

Because the next ride is fairly close, there is not really enough time to do anything besides get off and offer the horse water and hay after taking the bridle off. 

Saturday 11:00 – 11:30 Warm-up (again)

Now the bridle needs to be put back on and then a safety check by the HM judges has to happen so that the rider can remount and prepare for the next ride. Then a quick warm-up will happen just to check in again but not nearly as long as the first one. This time could also be used to check of the next test to make sure the rider knows it flawlessly. 

Saturday 11:30 – 11:35 AM Ride #2

 

Saturday 11:35 – 12:00 PM Untack

This time all of the equipment will be removed so that the horse can have a break. 

Saturday 12:00 – 1:00 PM Lunch and Cleaning up

This is the time where the rider can finally eat or get some water and have a small break for themselves. This could also be the time where the rider reviews the steps to their last ride as the final ride is a free style that is timed to music. This increases the complexity of the ride. This could also be where the team captain reviews the scores of their team and either signs off or refutes the score that the HM judges are currently giving the team. 

Saturday 1:00 – 1:25 PM Tack-up

Now the rider must tack their horse up for the third time to prepare for their last ride.

Saturday 1:25 – 1:55 PM Warm-up 

Before mounting, there must be a safety check and then the rider will have some time to warm-up any parts of the tests that they want to make sure they are again ready to compete.

Saturday 1:55 – 2:00 PM Ride #3

This is probably my favorite ride as it is very exciting to ride with music but can also be very nerve-racking if there are any technical difficulties or you cannot hear the music at certain points in the ride. 

Saturday 2:00 – 2:30 PM Untack

Untack for the final time

Saturday 2:30 – 4:00 PM Clean-up

Now that all three rides are complete, all of the tack can be cleaned and repacked into the vehicle. The rider can also take off their show clothes and change into something more comfortable. Once all riders of a time have completed their rides, the team can begin cleaning up team equipment as well. 

Saturday 4:00 – 5:00 PM  Awards Ceremony

This is where all of the awards will be presented. The typical awards include a cumulative score of both riding scores and HM scores, and each team will be given ribbons from 1st through 7th or 8th. There are also ribbons for how the teams did looking solely at their HM scores. Individual categories include ranking the freestyle, the third ride. Riders with a ride percentage over 70% will also receive a medal as this is a very good score. The top rider (the one with the most points by combining all three rides together) will also be given a trophy.

Saturday 5:00 – 6:00 PM Travel

Now that the competition has ended. Everything can be packed up and the travel home begins. 

Saturday 6:00 – 7:00 PM Unload everything 

Once home or at the barn, everything must be unloaded and sorted through. All of the equipment will also need to be cleaned and washed but after a long day, this can usually wait till Sunday. 

 

While this may seem like an exhaustingly long day, it can be very fulfilling especially when the competition goes well and you realize just how much you have learned and improved.