I am going to my first horseshow and i'm really nervous. Can i get some advice on what i can do?

I am a gonna do hunters and equitation (flat and jumps). I also get really tired after the barn and i have a tight schedule espeacially on Sundays. And i need some advice on what i can do to help myself before and during the show to calm down. I especially am scared about remembering the courses even though im really good at that anyway.I am going to my first horseshow and i'm really nervous. Can i get some advice on what i can do?
Do the same things you would do before a lesson. If you change your routine completely, it's going to freak you out more. If you usually have lunch before your lesson, have lunch. If you usually don't, then don't. Do something you like to do about an hour before your class. I like to listen to music while I get ready... My team had a team song, so I like to listen to that. If you have a favorite book that will calm you down, read that. Call and talk to a friend on the phone. Play a card game with someone there. Anything that you really like to do. And make sure you're ready in plenty of time. My coach has this really annoying tendency to yell at me to get dressed when I still have a half hour before my class and that makes me really nervous. I've never been late... actually I'm always ready about 20 minutes early. But be sure to be ready so that you don't have someone hanging over you telling you to get ready faster or else you'll just get more nervous. Go over your course... look at it as soon as they post it and memorize it then and afterward tell it to someone. Repeat it at least once an hour and by the time you go in the ring you'll be confident that you know it. Tell it to someone right before you go in too, just to be sure. If you do that, there's nothing more that you can do. If you get really nervous in the ring, you might forget, but I don't think there's anything you can do about that. You shouldn't be nervous once you're in the ring anyway... you've been practicing and riding every week for at least a few months and it's no different than any other lesson that you've done... except you're in pretty clothes ;o)


Personally I have a sheet of pictures I like to look at before I go in the ring. I have a picture of my horse and (this sounds funny... laugh at me if you want to) 2 pictures of my coaches... see I used to go to a different school and that's where i learned to ride, so I'm particularly attached to them and I don't get to ride with them anymore, so I keep them with me in my pocket during shows. So if you have a nice picture of you and your horse that makes you happy, take it and look at it when you're waiting to go in the ring.


Some girls on my team also like a little music when they ride past, so if you have a cellphone that plays music or an ipod or something you can have someone hold it at the rail so you can hear it while you're in the ring.





Just be creative and do something you like. Ride like you always do and you'll ride your best. Of course you want to do well and win blue ribbons, but try and think that it doesn't matter. I was nervous my first year showing because I thought ribbons were the most important things in the world, but after that, I realized there was nothing special about showing and I quit being nervous and I ride better because of it. So if there's any way that you can think of it as any other lesson, then do it.





So be creative, do something fun, stay relaxed and remember it's just like any other day that you've ridden.





And most of all: GOOD LUCK! :o)I am going to my first horseshow and i'm really nervous. Can i get some advice on what i can do?
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Think about why you are entering, what you want to achieve and always keep this at the forefront of your mind. Visualise a goal and aim for this, as it will build your confidence. Think about the way you are breathing. Deep, relaxing breaths help your muscles relax and make your movements consistent. Encourage and compliment yourself more. Criticising your mistakes less will help you to improve your confidence. Focus on the things you need to do in order to achieve the goal you are aiming for. Remember at the end of the day you are competing for yourself and should enjoy it. Concentrate on the horse and the ride rather than the show. Get help from your instructor so that you feel as though you are ready for what you are doing and that you are at the appropriate level. If helpers are overcrowding you explain to them that you need time to yourself to go over your dressage test or remember the jumping. To help calm your nerves, there are a number of Bach Flower Remedies you can try.





If all else fails, SMILE! I always enter the ring with a big grin on my face and it works!...
First of all, you have to remember that the key to success is being able to stay calm!Make sure to have all your gear ready the night before, this always helps me, because it means you don't have to worry about forgetting something on the day, and you don't have to rush in the morning of the show. Give plenty of time to get to the show too,again, so as you don't have to rush.walk your course two times, and watch someone else ride round it before you jump, then you'l be sure of the course. warm up over a fence, at least as big as the ones in the arena,then you can be sure that you're ready for the track..and finally, breathe!!!Good luck, I'm sure you'l be fine!
The best thing you can do is enter classes that are one level below what you're schooling at home. For instance, if you're schooling a horse over three foot fences at home, you only want to show him at 2'6'; or maybe 2'9';. That way you go into the ring knowing you can do what's in front of you because you've already done more than that in the past. As for remembering courses, if you're doing hunters in the lower levels, most of them are pretty basic. You'll probably see some variation on outside line, diagonal line, outside line, diagonal. When you do medal classes or jumpers, they tend to spice it up, but for the plain hunters classes its very basic.





A week or so before the show, make a list of everything you need to bring with you. Get it all together in one place where you won't forget it (preferably some sort of small tack trunk). Leaving yourself this much time allows you to go and buy anything you don't already have. By the night before the show, you should have everything you need. Double check it and make sure you really have everything. Go to sleep early. If you're trailering out the day of the show, you'll probably be up early. I remember those days with early classes where I was up at two, at the barn by two-thirty and on the road by three-fifteen to make it to the grounds by five-thirty because I had a seven or eight o'clock class. Getting up early goes with the territory, so really allot yourself enough time for sleep. You'll probably be thinking of the show for a good hour or two before falling asleep, so remember to factor that in to your sleep time. Set two alarms just in case, because otherwise I know I personally will wake up checking to make sure the alarm is set every thirty minutes or so.





At the show, remember that the most important thing is to have fun. Get there so that you have plenty of time to warm up in the ring and over fences. Don't rush yourself. If you have a tight schedule, you tend to get nervous and then your ride nervous. So always try to leave yourself plenty of time. Don't worry about making an error or not pinning, because that's not what matters. It's your first show, it will give you some experience, and you'll soon learn what to expect at other competitions. Have fun and good luck!
do not use caffeine,stay calm,drink little water,and concentrate on doing your best.and breathe.do not drink water an hour before you start except for sips and do not eat for at least two hours before.
just trust in you're horse and in you're self, if you don't trust in him/her theres no point on riding, you should enjoy the show, its one of my favorite things, I've been showing for 7 years now and I've learned that trust is everything, count you're steps when you go and se the course, breath and relax, you are showing because you know how to to it and believe you can, if you se the obstacles high just imagine that you've already jumped that high or higher. BUT Trust IN YOURSELF. AND GOOD LUCK