What Your Horse Show Warm-Up Routine Says About You
Heading into the warm-up at any horse show – no matter your discipline – can be dicey.
But watching the warm-up routines at various types of horse shows, from the hunters to eventing, to dressage or show jumping, well, it’s a bit like walking into a bar in different countries. The end result is the same, for the most part, but it’s definitely a different culture.
How you handle the warm-up says a lot about you, as a rider. I bet we can guess which ring you ride in, too.
Hunter Princess
The hunter warm-ups tend to be packed full of horses just standing around along the rail. That’s because the horses were tacked up and ready to go for their division start two hours ago, but the usual ring delays have created an all-too-familiar back up. Its hard to emulate the feel of the 6-stride line in the schooling arena, but you are hell bent on trying your best to determine the perfect “step” by jumping the same jump, at the same speed, from the same spot, over and over and over again until the ring steward is about to pass out.
Eventing Psycho
It’s difficult to describe what the eventing warm-up is like to someone who has never experienced it. I’ve watched horses literally run into one another and the riders just carry on like nothing ever happened. It’s not uncommon for a horse to rear “just because” and carry on over the giant table before trotting off to the start box (or the dressage arena… really it could be any phase). Riders zip around at all speeds but at least they jump the jumps the correct way every time (red on right!).
Dressage Diva
You can smell the stress of this warm-up arena from a mile away. Nobody looks like they’re having fun – the mood is either tense or fearful. The only sound is the footfall of the horses because dressage trainers whisper all your faults to you like sweet nothings via headsets. It’s OK to bring a puke bucket to the warm-up.
Jumper Daredevils
“Warm up” is more a suggestion, completely open to interpretation to jumper riders. A lap or two of trotting around like a giraffe will do. Then it’s time to gallop full speed at the tall sticks. If you’re lucky, you might be able to sneak in a fence when no one is looking…. because the trainers have “claimed” them all and suddenly can’t hear you when you ask if one of the four warm-up jumps can be set lower than a maxed-out oxer to start out.
Perfectionist Eq Star
The stakes are high. Some of the younger qualifiers are crying already. Those with a bit more experience are texting while riding, or they have air pods in so they can’t hear when someone calls out a jump as they come around the corner. The ring steward is shouting but no one listens. Survive this warm-up and the trot fence without stirrups in the course really doesn’t seem so bad!