# Experiences of First Ridden



## HunkyDory (2 May 2017)

My RS does a couple of benefit 'one-day events' for their pony club charity during the May and August bank holidays.  I've been back riding for a year and thought it would be fun to join in.  Last year was a bit chaotic because people could choose three horses to ride in different events.  In the events they included a dressage test and a jump off with the fences getting higher and higher, which was really entertaining for everyone watching.

This year they didn't do dressage, which I wanted to do, but did a first ridden event and the jumping was clear round A and B, against the clock and an accumulator. However, instead of choosing different horses they ran it like an 'own your own pony for the day' doings and charged £45 instead of the £30 they charged last year.  I was the last to sign up because I felt sorry for the horse who was left unchosen  He's a 16h2 warmblood who must be at least 20 but everybody loves him because he's a sweatheart.  The thing is, he's probably the laziest horse in the school    We get along well though and I have him working just fine lessons. 

I'm Level 3 beginner but for fun I entered tack and turnout, in hand, first ridden, and level B clear round. The problem was though that they had about 20 entries for First Ridden.  They split us between the two arenas, one of which is smaller than the other.  I was in a group of 12 in the larger arena.  We all warmed up then lined up in the middle.  The exercise was 2 figure of 8s, the first in trot, the second in canter, trotting across the centre through a gap we had left between one lot of 6 horse and riders and the other, coming to a halt in the centre.

From the first rider setting off, to me setting off was 45 minutes.  The ponies and horses at the back end of it were literally asleep, so the exercise was rubbish.  I just wondered about other's experiences with this.  For £45 we were responsible for our horse or pony all day which is fine but I don't think many of us got the most out of the day because of they way that event was organised.  It might have been better to keep us all in one group and send us all down one by one to the smaller arena to warm up then come up individually to do the exercise and line up as we each finished.  I realise they have rosettes to give out but it was frustrating to have sat there for that long on a horse that had cooled down and nodded off. 

Any thoughts based on other experiences


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## Morgan123 (2 May 2017)

sounds like a pretty accurate representation of what showing classes are like in competitions to me!! In some local shows you'll have over 30 horses and it's a real snooze fest waiting for everyone to go. I don't bother for this reason. Obviously you can treat it as a learning experience from watching the other riders.

Are you in the US? In the UK first ridden are usually under 12.2, but you sound like you mgiht be in the States.....

I'm sure your riding school would appreciate your feedback though! But do bear in mind it's really hard to please everyone at these things.


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## HunkyDory (2 May 2017)

HI Morgan123...I support it is hard to please everyone.  I'm in the UK.  There are all sizes involved in these one day events at my RS.  It's to give riders and idea of what events are like and raise money for the pony club charity.


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## Shay (2 May 2017)

To be honest it sounds like the RS met at least one of their objectives - to give riders a taste of what competition is like!  For some low level competitions I have seen class sizes of 40 or 50.  If you are showing you are going to be in the ring for all that time and the horses will fall asleep.  Part of the art and ring craft of showing is to be able to wake the horse up quickly once you reach your turn.  (The other part is getting in the right place in the line so you don't have to wait that long!)  Showing classes at low levels can sometimes go on for hours.  45 minutes is actually a pretty average wait; especially as presumably you were not also doing conformation and trot up in that gap.

As has already been said I'm sure the RS would appreciate your feedback.  Organizing any event is quite a feat and I've run a few of these charity fun show type things over the years - both in an RS setting and in a PC setting.  Be gentle with them - it is immensely challenging and not everything will have gone to plan.


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## HunkyDory (3 May 2017)

Showing won't be my thing, then!  lol  They all worked really hard and it was a Bank Holiday so they were all volunteering.  Think I'll stick to dressage if they do it again and some low level jumping, unless I manage to reach advanced rider stage before the next one in August.  Unless there were monsters about to eat the horse I was riding, he wasn't going to break into a canter for all the carrots in the world   I know, if I have him again in a lesson next week, he'll be working like a dream because he'll be awake and listening.  

Oh well.  It was lovely for the littluns on the Shetlands and ponies.  They were very cute.  I loved watching them.  Some ponies were still caked in mud but had very pretty plaits and ribbon, as did their dinky riders who were chuffed to bits to get their rosettes


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