The rise of the internet has seen the emergence of a new way of competing with your horse – online competitions. Equimind is a UK based company which now offers dressage, jumping, show horse, vaulting, riding for the disabled and even blind horse competitions, meaning that there is something for everyone.
But why should you try online competitions?
Cost
It’s much cheaper. By the time I’ve paid nomination fee’s, ground fees, camping fees, put fuel in the car and bought lucerne hay for Nonie attending a traditional completion could cost easily in excess of $300. At just £12.00 per test (which works out to about $21.00 Australian) Equimind online competitions work out to be much cheaper.
Convenience
It’s more convenient. You get to film your test from the comfort of your own arena at a time that suits you, after you’ve had the perfect amount of time to warm up. This also means no camping, no getting up at the crack of dawn and so on.
No travelling
No traveling required! This one pretty much speaks for itself, but one of the biggest draw cards of competing online is that it provides on option for people who do not have a towing vehicle or a float to engage in competition.
Say goodbye to plaiting and whites
No plaiting or competitions whites required! While I do love plaiting up it takes a decent chunk of time out of my day, similarly white breeches and saddle pads require a lot of cleaning post competition. The only competition where you do need to plait and get dressed up for are the Winter and Summer Championships which run once per year each.
Get experience in the ring
It can be a great practice run for show days in real life. If you are like me you might be guilty of not practising test riding often enough. The problem with this is that test riding is a skill onto itself. A skill which if you aren’t out competing or riding through tests regularly can easily become rusty. The monthly schedule of Equimind competitions has given me that extra bit of prompting to ride though tests more often.
Feedback from judges in other countries
Get feedback from judges in another country. EquiMind competitions are judged by qualified judged from Britain, South Africa and Germany. This can be particularly appealing if you are competing in your local area or not competing at all – you’ll get feedback from a broader range of people.
‘Practice’ until you get it right
You can have more than one attempt which is super handy if you make a mistake. I’ve certainly done this on occasion when I’ve got halfway through a test and realised that I’ve gone the wrong way.
Monitor your progress over time
In addition to your paper test sheets, you’ll have video footage as a record of your progress over time. I guess the same can be true of traditional competitions too but this is only way I’ve ever had consistent videos of myself riding.
If you would like to try an Equimind class, please DM me for a discount code. Go on, give it a go!
