EVENTING ONLINE
Typically, entering any equestrian event involves years of training, loads of horse dollars, time off work, driving long distances, accommodation and all for a few minutes in the arena: now that’s commitment! But it’s also a passion, and one that not even COVID can stop. BY ALLY MARTELL
With COVID restrictions in place, equestrian events, like many others, have been cancelled indefinitely. In an effort to keep their competitive edge, riders are entering “online events” which they can do from the comfort of their own home (well, as long as they have an arena in the backyard). Dr Barbara Ryan is a crisis communications consultant and lecturer in public relations at the University of Southern Queensland. With a life-long passion for dressage, she currently at Medium level, which is the fourth level of nine, on the way to Grand Prix. Barbara has been a regular competitor throughout south-east Queensland with her mare, ten year old thoroughbred/ warmblood, Polka Dot, also known as Lottie. Lottie is a warmblood/thoroughbred bred for eventing , with Australian champion dressage stallion Regardez Moi on her father's side and Salute bloodlines on her mother's (that's handy dressage breeding in Australia). Lottie is beautiful, clever, talented and a dream to take to a competition. When you have a horse of this calibre, you do not want to be sitting idle. Thank goodness for online competitions! With a full size arena on her property, north of Toowoomba, all Barbara has to do is saddle up and ask a family member to film her routine. “I've entered three online events so far this year,” said Barb “And I've learned so much from each one – it's brilliant. I've probably learned more than I would from a regular competition.”
"I’ve probably learned more than I would from a regular competition.”
The video is uploaded to a website and then the actual judging is live-streamed. “In a normal competition we are given a score sheet with notes and then we wait several hours for the results,” said Barb. “But with live streaming we can hear the judge's commentary as they review video entries, which we can also see, so the comments are matching the movements". “Hearing commentary from judges such as Roger Fitzhardinge (national judge and Grand Prix competitor) has made a huge difference for me and I've also learned from hearing his commentary about other entrants. “We are seeing eight or nine entries in Medium each time and they come from all over Australia - not just the riders I'd normally see from the south-east corner. “The prelim and novice classes are probably the most popular online which is really fantastic because it's such a great way for beginners to learn. It's terrific for those who can't get to competitions becuase they are too far away, or can't afford to travel.” “The prizes are fantastic too and include lessons with two times Olympian Lyndal Oatley and lots of equestrian gear.” Barbara says that the only downside of online competitions is that the scores don't count towards real “points” for annual state/national dressage finals. That process is a lot more structured and requires strict rules with standard arenas, multiple judges, and similar conditions for all competitors and so on. Who knows when the regular competition will start up again but in the meantime, equestrians have no excuse not to train and perfect their skills. Barbara came to serious dressage training quite late, and reckons her trainer, Jen Bucknell from Felton, has done well to break many of the 30 years of bad riding habits. "We still have a lot of work to do, and these online competitions are great motivators." Plus she and Lottie get to show off their new dressage outfits complete with diamantes. To find out about online dressage competitions go to www.qld.equestrian. org.au/dressage or www. equestrianlife.com.au
"Prelim and novice classes are probably the most popular online which is really fantastic because it’s such a great way for beginners to learn.”