Spinoff: I was ELIMINATED at a Recognized Show

[dressagetraks]

Anybody else?

E1: My black ASB had a momentary identity confusion with a helicopter. He spooked very slightly at something, elevated himself neatly and smoothly straight up, over slightly, back down, trotting along, only now with all 4 hooves outside the arena. I growled and added more outside leg, and he did exactly the same thing in reverse, up, over, down, continued trotting. I swear, if the judge had looked away for 5 seconds, nobody would have ever known. At least we gave the spectators a laugh.

E2: My half-Arab, half-lunatic gelding spooked at the first canter depart, which we had to take heading directly toward the park with kids with KITES next door on this windy March day. Nothing smooth or in rhythm about that spook, and I exited stage left while he exited stage right, kicking me in the head for good measure. Fortunately, I was wearing my helmet (only because of show day; since then every ride).

[JRG]

I love the visual that E1 gives....I can picture it like I was there, it was probably quite fluid!

[CatOnLap]

Yes, well, in one show, I was given the comment on my extended canter:
"He can do more" with a mark of 6.
On a windy spring day, with llamas in the next arena, I had been cautious so as not to part company. On the next test, I went for it...straight over the arena fence at the end of the extended canter when I couldn't bring him down again...judge's comment?

"Not THAT much more!"

[FriesianX]

Hehehehe, years ago, I had sold a solid little Arab character to a family (two girls riding him), and I went to watch their first dressage show. They had been doing low jumps with him too (he was the CUTEST little hunter, nice tight knees, very willing). Well, the younger girl didn't quite have all the steering down all the time, and they trotted down the long side, she went into two point, and he hopped the court at the end, cute as can be. She turned him around and hopped right back in, and they continued their test. The judge almost fell over she was laughing so hard. Luckily, they got a ribbon in their second class :D

[rothmpp]

I am headed out today for my youngster's first recognized show. I have a very specific goal for the weekend: Don't get eliminated. Everything else is just a bonus at this point.

[seabreeze]

E1: My black ASB had a momentary identity confusion with a helicopter.

On the next test, I went for it...straight over the arena fence at the end of the extended canter when I couldn't bring him down again...judge's comment?

"Not THAT much more!"


:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Those are about the funniest two things I've heard today. Thanks for sharing!!

[joiedevie99]

At least you made it in the ring. I had to scratch at Pony Club dressage regionals in the late 90's when my egyptian arab gelding had a brain fart while circling the outide of the ring before first-3. Second time around, something caught his eye in warm-up. He whirled around in a smooth 180, catching his hind leg on the tent, then panicked and began airs above the ground, with intermittent bolts forward. He bent the leg of the tent and took it down on top of the judge and the scribe. They were not pleased. We got to go back to the barns and wait for the on-call vet for stitches instead of starting the test.

[helent623]

This didn't happen to me, but it was a freind at an event. After a rather theatrical test in the dressage phase, the judge leaves the booth to ask my friend if she really wants to take THAT HORSE on XC. Needless to say, she did, and went double clean, but it was pretty funny.

[Tiki]

I remember when I was first in Germany and I took my new horse in a show, the "E" level, I think which was a group class. We had some very serious communications problems and all the other riders, the judge and the spectators kept at least on eye on us to see what we would do next. I refused to cave to this horse and stayed to the bitter end. When they handed out the ribbons, the first 6 horses got the colored ribbons, the rest of us got brown ribbons, basically for staying in the ring. I was the last one to get my ribbon and the judge said something to the effect of, "you've got guts, girl".

[Wellspotted]

Originally posted by CatOnLap:

Yes, well, in one show, I was given the comment on my extended canter:
"He can do more" with a mark of 6.
On a windy spring day, with llamas in the next arena, I had been cautious so as not to part company. On the next test, I went for it...straight over the arena fence at the end of the extended canter when I couldn't bring him down again...judge's comment?

"Not THAT much more!"

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Oh, thanks so much for posting that! I needed that!

I love your COTH name, BTW. That is the ONLY way to work at the computer (and watch TV, read, pay bills ...) ;)

[merrygoround]

My comment to the question "How was your ride?" Many times was ":cool: Well, we stayed in the ring."

[STF]

Hey, we have all been there.
Its one of those rides that you just say "wha da fuu" and wave and the judge and dismiss yourself with a simle.
Been there, done it. Most others have too. No biggie.

[Jazzy Lady]

Enter at A, Halt at X, land on Judge's lap at C.

hmmmmm

[mtngirl]

Years ago my Appy/Perch cross did something similar to OP's E1...He was being very dull to my leg...so I asked a little more forcfully for him to move over...he did...snagging the plastic chainlink fence with his legs and basically taking it out from F-R...The reason we weren't eleminated? Although he completely altered the perimeter of the arena, his left legs stayed inside the chain. I thought that was a bit of a stretch myself, but hey...the judge got a chuckle. Her comment for the movement? "horse listening to aids better after corner moved" :lol:

[Bogey2]

much more fun than getting eliminated because your whip was too long:lol:

[neVar]

haven't actually been eliminated.. but in 06 did have a judge call me over and say "do you have another test today?" ummm yes" "if it was me i'd jsut go home this horse is way to pissed off at someting and it's not you and i dont' want to see you killed" ummm ok! he had a royal tempertantrum all day in the stall and it carried into the ring... and it grew and it grew and it grew through the test. ... never found anything sore etc on him and next day he was fine

Since then we've had this temper tantrum a few times. . . . oy waht a princess!

[adelmo95]

I had one test where my horse had decided that it was much more fun to passage and do small airs above the ground after the first couple of movements came 'medium trot across the diagonal' which was more like a hop skip and jump. I heard them blow the whistle and the judge called me over so I figured for sure I had been eliminated as I don't think we had really performed one movement correctly yet. Instead of being eliminated I was told to trot around for a few minutes to see if I could get my horse settled and to start again. We did this and the second time made it through the test without a problem. The only explanation that any of us could come up with was that there was something that happened right next to the ring which set of the whole prancing/airs incident, and from what I was told if it happenes within a certain distance of the ring it is at the judges discretion what to do about it.

PS. If you were wondering if this was a schooling show, it wasn't. This actually happened at a recognized show during my third level test.

[Gestalt]

My friends gelding had a melt down at a show he had been to several times before. She couldn't even get him into the ring. For his second test the trainer rode him. She backed him to X, halted facing the wrong way and then backed him to C. Did a turn on the haunches to put him on the rail and set off at a working trot. Everybody was laughing, but it got him through the test! (she arranged with the judge prior to get him into and around the ring any way she could, no score, just training)

[Mardi]

A long time ago this story was posted on the COTH BB, I don't remember who posted it, but it's pretty funny so here it comes again...this is basically what happened...

The person was riding her test at a show. Suddenly a loose horse came galloping by the ring, spooking the rider's horse. The loose horse continued to gallop around and around, distrubing the rider's horse. Finally the loose horse was caught. The rider managed to finish the test.

After the final salute, the judge said to the rider "That's too bad about the loose horse..."

The rider said "I know. It was MY horse." :)

[Woodland]

Anybody else?

E1: My black ASB had a momentary identity confusion with a helicopter. He spooked very slightly at something, elevated himself neatly and smoothly straight up, over slightly, back down, trotting along, only now with all 4 hooves outside the arena. I growled and added more outside leg, and he did exactly the same thing in reverse, up, over, down, continued trotting. I swear, if the judge had looked away for 5 seconds, nobody would have ever known. At least we gave the spectators a laugh.



I had a nearly identical E at Lamplight many years ago - leg yielded right over the chains at the extended trot :lol: And he just kept going never missed a beat! There is something about that place that never set right with that horse :lol:

[GallantGesture]

My horse and I had one of these moments a few weeks ago. He started getting all worked up in the warm up and was hopping around and bucking. I was able to ride him into the ring, up to the judge, and back out and then the test started... and he wouldn't go back in!! He was just going sidways and bucking, I couldn't get him to go forward, so I rode him into the ring bucking sideways! The person taking a video of it for me thought we were done right there so she stopped recording, but we just kept on the way we were going. We made it through most of the movements in the test, but with much more lateral work than was called for! Luckily it was a schooling show so we didn't get eliminated, just a score of 47% and the comment "Athletic Horse" :)

Afterwards people kept asking me how it went and all I could say was, "I stayed on!!!"

There's a video of it on my blog http://tbatx.wordpress.com/2008/05/10/enter-at-a-working-buck/

[Mozart]

Good stories. The first victory in dressage is just staying in the ring. Some days that is just plain tricky.

Could be worse, a friend of mine used to have an obstinate 17 hand App who liked to leave the ring...and demolish it on his way out :o