“Winning starts at home”

I am a firm believer in preparation. The old adage ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’ comes to mind whenever competition riders tell me “oh I just get to the event see the onsite farrier and then get my competition head on”.

My checklist starts with the horse. Good food seems obvious but your horses’ health depends on it when in competition. Physical fitness comes from long walkouts, dressage with a very small amount of lateral work initially, then long trots and finally hills. Good shoes are as important to your horse as they are to you. Aluminum shoes are lighter but don’t last long. It can be a good idea to re-shoe them with aluminum close to the competition but always make sure the horse is familiar with the lighter shoe first by trying them well before the competition.

Are you free from injury? A helpful addition these days are body protectors for women, they allow more room for the chesty rider and offer more protection.  They can start from as little as £90 and can be purchased from reputable outlets like Stockley Online. You can visit their website to see their range at http://www.stockleyonline.co.uk.

Is your horse well and free from injury? If there is ever the slightest doubt get the vet to check it out before you travel, if there is any uncertainty, always err on the side of caution and don’t go.  If you think as I do that a human sportsman or woman needs to be in the peak of physical fitness to perform at the highest level, then there is no difference at all with an equine sporting entry – you will be asking a lot of it so your horse must be physically well and free from injury.

If you are taking a lot of horses to the competition make sure they don’t get too warm or cold on the journey. If your horsebox holds for instance six horses, their comfort getting to an event is important – you wouldn’t like to be in a mini with seven others (if legality allowed) on a long journey.

If you are going to be doing three day eventing, what are you trying to achieve prior to the event? The answer is to build up safely the optimum endurance, power, speed and fitness of your horse. The way this is achieved usually involves a baseline (where your horse is right now in fitness, endurance and speed) and then gradually building and charting increases in these areas.

One of the most important pieces of advice is always recovery. Allowing your horse time to fully recover from strenuous exercises is again no different from your need to recuperate. I often think of a professional boxer entering the ring and expending energy for twelve rounds. It would be unthinkable to suggest that tomorrow his next twelve round match is against the champion who holds a different governing body’ belt.

When clipping I always think it is a good idea to avoid any nasty surprises. When you or I go to the dentist if they were to rev the drill up in front of you tension is the standard response. Therefore I suggest showing the clippers to the horse whilst they are switched off, then hold them away turned on so your horse gets used to the noise and then allow it to feel the vibration through its coat at the shoulder so your horse knows exactly what to expect. The blades should be sharpened regularly, if they are powered an electric cutout switch is always advised. If you are clipping outside - do it in an area where your horse is most comfortable, if you are clipping inside again find a suitably comfortable location. You clippers should be in good condition, free from hair and oiled down. If they get hot which they probably will stand them to one side to cool down naturally, using water is not recommended – electricity and water is a poor marriage. When you have finished make sure any excess hair is removed from your horse with a damp sponge or something similar. The groomer should be wearing a riding hat and protective boots in case of unexpected movement from your horse.

And please remember not to over comb tails throughout the year, as with humans overcoming can result in hair loss, and a thinning tail on a horse can look unsightly at competition.

Does stress in the rider transmit to the horse? I often think it does, dependant on how well the pairing is. When a rider is going to competition and has either not prepared sufficiently or has overriding worries about getting things ready when they get there, the horse may feel the atmosphere between the people taking it to the event. Snappy comments “well you should have seen to that” or “I hope the onsite farrier can fit this shoe quickly” may be felt by your horse. I have seen people arguing about remaining fuel for the horsebox as they are bringing their equine hopeful down the ramp.

Horse heart beat monitors and other equine well being monitors can be a very big help in gauging physical fitness and accessing appropriate training programs in line with your horses current level of fitness. Where can you buy this type of equipment? A visit to BHIP Ltd (Horse Beat) is a good starting place as they are an established company (since 1999) and they offer a wide variety of equipment at very reasonable prices starting from as low as £65, so pop along to http://www.horsebeat.co.uk/ to see their range.

The use of nutraceuticals in equine feed is now commonplace and offers an easier way to good equine health. You can read more about this in the book by Eleanor M. Kellon called Horse Journal Guide to Equine Supplements and Nutraceuticals. It is available from Amazon and has an R.R.P of £19.99 but can be bought from as little as £11.00 from some Amazon sellers. Nutraceuticals target equine muscles and joints and promote well being and are particularly suited to building health before a jumping or three day event competition where the discipline demands the best possible physical fitness for the event.

Dress for competitions should not be overlooked. Presentation to the public and judges alike is not purely limited to your horse. Immaculate boots (two pairs are a good idea, one for competition and one for everyday) are a must, a presentable jacket at lower level competitions or top hat and tails at higher levels are required dress. Spurs are compulsory at some higher level events. When wearing top hat and tails several riders will wear a stock and pin. However these can be uncomfortable in some circumstances when all that may be needed is a white tie that draws the eye. Top hats in upper level competition again can be uncomfortable, leaving red lines on the forehead if incorrect fitting has occurred. Top hats can be expensive but a headache after a tough dressage competition can also be undesirable. A good choice for dressage outfitting and top hats like the Christys Fur Dressage Top Hat which is much used in high level competition and is reasonably priced at £110 from sellers like Dressage Deluxe Ltd, a highly reputable source for all competition outfitting. You can visit their website at http://www.dressagedeluxe.co.uk/index.asp to view their extensive range of products.

A pristinely presented rider will impress both jump judges and the public by their commitment. Dress is of course very subjective however the idea is to present a clean outline to all, colouring may be a symbol of your independence as was Lucinda Greens canary yellow. Photographers at these events are always looking for a more striking image coupled with good presentation; strong colours stand out in their photographs and help to sell better and in turn this helps you promote your business.

Failure to have vaccinations in line with F.E.I regulations (The International Federation of Equestrian Sport) can mean your have the expense and disappointment of getting to an event and the F.E.I vet does his job and in so doing eliminates your horse from the event as it does not meet the stringent but important criteria that must be met. I have seen it happen and people are devastated and even critical of the checks being carried out. It is for both horse and rider safety and is totally necessary.

F.E.I guidelines indicate clearly that your horse must be vaccinated against flu every six months. Depending on when the competition is taking place, this may mean you need two vaccinations per year. When riders turn up at a competition in October and say the horse had its flu vaccination in January you just know the story doesn’t have a happy ending – so don’t get caught out!

If the competition is abroad, your horses need passports too. The horse passport consists of diagrams, microchips and barcodes amongst other things. Diagrams quickly show identifying white markings on the horse and the barcode along with the microchip helps to identify the horse as being who it says it is. This system again is stringent but can prevent theft as well as other things.

These guidelines sound very obvious however you might be surprised at how many entries fail to take heed of them and cannot compete. If you think about it the checks that apply to athletes or other sports people equally apply to equine entries. The checks are looking for best possible condition without enhancing performance.  You can be almost certain that the winner of an event will be checked by both blood and urine laboratory tests for performance enhancing agents. The F.E.I vet will usually be informed before the event that a horse is under treatment or has had a particular treatment recently and has been taking a supplement for it. In the horse racing industry no one is surprised that a selection of horses are tested after the race for performance enhancing agents and so it is with other equestrian events. The F.E.I vet is looking for signs of which horses can compete and which ones are not physically able. The urine test after four and a half miles round Badminton may appear to be nearly unachievable. When humans have to give a sample after a marathon I sometimes wonder how they can give one after twenty six grueling miles however they invariably do and so it is with horses, they usually are able to give a sample within minutes of finishing the event.

When the event is over it is a great idea to write to them, thank the jump judges (remember they have the horse’s welfare at heart and when you have gone home they may be still there in all weathers to provide a necessary service for eventers), reflect on how the owners enjoyed the event if you were riding one of their horses. Comment on how you enjoyed the event, be polite, be respectful and above all enjoy your sport!