Joining a competition was never part of my plans for 2025. I honestly had no intention of competing at all this year. The only thing on my horseriding bucket list was to go for an outride, and I already did that back in May, which I shared in this post. 

Honestly, looking back, I still don't understand why my coach asked me to participate in this competition. My riding is still unstable; my core and legs are not strong enough. I have good riding days and bad riding days, but I can't predict them. Most of the time, the bad days outnumber the good, often depending on my physical condition. Working the night shift certainly doesn't help my body feel better. There had been a few dressage competitions before this, but I never felt like joining. Then, when STCEC's annual horse show came around, my coach asked me to join again, and this time I felt tempted. Maybe it was because many of my stablemates were competing, or maybe it was curiosity. Perhaps I just wanted to see how much I had improved after showing up for lessons every week. I wanted proper feedback from actual judges, not just from my coach, so I signed up. 

Four weeks straight focusing solely on the dressage course. No cantering, which is what I usually practice. Just nonstop dressage work with Thessa, the horse I would be competing with. 

The event lasted three days, and my ride was scheduled for the first morning. It was my first time at Selangor Turf Club, and honestly, it felt like stepping into a whole new world. The first thing I saw was horse racing, with skyscrapers in the background. The blue skies and green grass made the whole scene feel enchanting. The horses were huge and majestic, mostly imported warmbloods and thoroughbreds. Many of the riders do this professionally, and you could really see the pride they carried. 

Watching riders from other stables perform was both inspiring and a little intimidating. Winning against such experienced riders was never my goal, my real fear was getting disqualified. Just imagine putting in all that time, energy, and money on proper gear, especially as a first-timer, only to be eliminated halfway through your round. 

Before entering the main arena, there was a warm-up arena next to it. I spent 30 minutes there polishing whatever I could while waiting for my turn. I probably overdid it, because halfway through my test, I was already exhausted. My legs didn’t have enough strength to give proper aids, so I had to rely on voice cues to keep Thessa moving. 

Did I ride gracefully or flawlessly? Not at all. My legs were too weak to give impulsion. My corners weren’t neat. My 20 meter circle did not look like a proper circle. My practices were so much better than what I did in the arena. But I still completed the entire course without hearing the bell for disqualification, and that alone made me feel like my effort wasn’t wasted. 

I didn’t win, and I was a little disappointed with my placing. But my coach and stablemates reassured me that it was actually a good effort for a first timer. Now that I’ve experienced competing with riders from other stables and now that I have the judges’ feedback, I can finally see clearly what to improve. I even made new friends from my own stable since our class times usually don’t overlap. 

Will I compete again? I think I will. This whole experience opened my eyes, and now that I have proper gear and proper feedback, I’m motivated to come back stronger next time.