The new competition season is just around the corner so it’s time to look at some areas you may need to brush up on (or off) such as tack, new rules, transport, training and, of course, your horse
Tack
The start of the year is the perfect time to inspect your tack – saddle, bridle, boots etc to check for wear and tear and get things fixed or upgraded before the season starts in earnest. If you’re in need of a new saddle, check out the features of the Chris Burton eventing or jumping saddle – take out or renew an annual subscription to An Eventful Life and you will go into the draw to win a Chris Burton saddle valued at $4495 thanks to Brighton Saddlery (why not keep an eye on their Facebook page for some great summer season specials if you’re in need of some new gear?)
Don't forget to check your helmet and body protector too - they may save your life
Rules
The new FEI 2015 Eventing Rules are now in force and the new FEI dressage tests come into play on 2nd March 2015. Following some revisions to the original guidelines about bits, eventers will be relieved to learn that the Hanging Cheek (Baucher) Snaffle, Straight Bar Snaffle and Snaffle with Rotating Mouthpiece are now allowed.
Check out the Annex A to the 2015 FEI Eventing Rules carefully for full information regarding permitted bits for the dressage test but, in brief, the Eventing Rules are lined up with the Dressage Rules exclusively and only exceptions are referred as follows:
a) Young Horses bitting requirements of Dressage do not apply to Eventing
b) Allowance is made for sheepskin disc for the Mexican noseband and use of breastplate
c) Bits covered in leather are no longer allowed
d) Wavy plastic bits are not allowed
e) Lunging reins only approved if on triangle rein (Dressage Rules therefore the lungy-bungie is no longer allowed)
To find out more about various kinds of bits and their use, check out our articles on the simple snaffle, Baucher, eggbutt and loose ring snaffle, gag bits or leverage and curb bits
Transport
It's time to give the float or truck a good clean up inside and out. Before you start driving kilometres around the countryside, check all the mechanical essentials, tyres and that all paperwork is up to date. When did you last check your insurance (could you be getting a better deal?), date of expiry of your driver licence or roadside assistance package?
It’s also a good time to stock up with provisions and see if anybody received unwanted Christmas presents! Sometimes crockery from aunties or other homewares given as presents may not suit people’s home interior decor but are perfectly good for the truck
Horse
Hello Trigger – are you out there somewhere? While you have been lazing around and getting fat over Christmas, probably so too has your four legged friend. Ease back into riding gradually with some nice hacks, take into account the weather conditions and alter your training schedule accordingly and book all the necessary people for equine check-ups such as equine dentist, farrier etc
Experienced eventing riders take into account what happened in the previous season and work from there; for example, Mary King recently blogged that she had brought in her Badminton bound horse Tess (Kings Temptress) early “... she was shod 3 weeks before the others, as due to her time off with an injury, I thought it was sensible to do an extra few weeks road work with her”
Assess your horse’s performance from last season and plan what your goals are for the season. One of our favourite quotes from a recent clinic with Sonja Johnson is that ‘Everyone has their own Olympics.’ For some people it actually is to compete at the Olympics but for someone else it may be to just comfortably complete an EvA60 competition. You need to work out what your ‘Olympics’ is for the year and don’t lose sight of it
It may also be time to brush up on your skills. Attend some of those out of season clinics with well-known eventers who aren’t busy competing at this time of year or check out our Training Tips for advice from top trainers around the world
Cross country courses
Talking of skills, this is the perfect time to watch and analyse lots of videos, be it of your own riding of videos of riders at all levels around the world and learn from them. Our cross country videos help you;
- Review your rides and past performances
- Familiarise yourself with cross country courses
- Discuss your cross country ride, fence by fence with your coach
- Watch top riders and observe the lines they take, fence approaches, riding position etc
Visualisation can certainly be important in reaching goals and much research has been conducted in sport demonstrating the power of visualisation. Athletes are encouraged to experience their sporting behaviour in advance to enhance their performance and the use of video in assessing performance and visualising how to approach a certain problem, be it a particular type of fence or a takeoff spot, can be a powerful tool. Watching experienced riders such as Mark Todd, Stuart Tinney, Oliver Townend and Pippa Funnell can provide some great ideas about how you could improve your cross country skills
But above all in 2015, enjoy your riding!
