I came across this cartoon on Facebook and my immediate response was, yeah — I’ve been in that warm up ring.
I’m sure you have, too. The one where people are jumping fences without calling out, where people are jumping fences the wrong direction, where their trainer jacks up the fence just as you come down to it, where you are cut off as you come into a fence and have to sit your horse on his butt or risk a mid-air collision, or the one that’s so crowded with pissy horses (and equally pissy riders) that it becomes a danger zone.
The worst experience I had was when my horse was double barrel kicked by a horse that backed across the ring to us! We were trapped with nowhere to go. The kick missed my foot by inches and luckily caused no lasting damage.
Others I know have not been so lucky. Years ago a friend had her leg broken in a similar situation — kicked before she rode in her first class.
What have your experiences been like? Do you have any schooling ring disaster stories to share?
It was one of my very first rated shows. I had never used show sheen at the lower levels or even heard of it. I got a little overzealous and put it all over my horse. I was in the schooling ring about to pick up the canter when suddenly I was pretty much under the horse and on the ground. Nothing got hurt but my pride. I had to ride in my first class with a slightly damp horse as we had to wash the show sheen off. We still placed but it was certainly embarrassing.
I HATE crowded warm-up rings! Especially when my trainer acts like I just need to get over it. The worst feeling is being 2-3 strides away from a perfect distance to a jump, and some (idiot) decides to cut across the landing space, thus requiring me to pull up and out of my jump line. Confusing to my horse, aggravating to me, and no patience from the trainer… ha, clearly the little comic you shared raises some angst and feelings of anxiety and frustration!!