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Keeping a training journal: what to record each ride

A training journal becomes a quiet partner in any eventer's routine, capturing details the mind forgets between sessions. Riders who compete across the three phases often juggle dressage work, show jumping schooling, and conditioning rides within a single week, and small shifts in a horse's mood or stride can blur together without notes.

For those based in Australia, the rhythm of the training calendar adds extra variables worth recording. Summer heat in places like Adelaide or Brisbane reshapes when a horse can comfortably work, while long distances between major venues such as Melbourne International Three Day Event and the Queensland State Eventing Championships mean travel days deserve their own entry.

Beginners moving up the levels often notice the jump in expectations most in the paperwork side of the sport. A useful way to prepare for that step is to read transitioning to training level and compare its pointers with the details you keep in your own log.

The pages that follow walk through the categories worth tracking, from warm-up behaviour to footing conditions, so the journal grows into a reference you can actually use when planning the season.

Recording the ride itself

The heart of any training journal is the daily ride note, written the same evening before memory softens. Date, weather, footing surface, and the horse's warm-up temperament belong at the start, followed by the schooling figures attempted, the transitions practised and any new exercises. Riders at lower levels often find that simply naming each movement helps them notice patterns, such as a left-lead canter that drifts or a medium trot that becomes rushed.

If a session ended early because the horse felt tense, write that down. A log that only records breakthroughs gives a misleading picture and can lead to over-training later. Brief comments on the rider's position or aids work just as well. Photographs and screenshots of scoresheets or course maps can sit alongside the entry, and the training resources page offers a useful checklist for what to evaluate before sending an entry.

Tracking the horse's welfare signals

A journal earns its place when it captures the small welfare cues that might otherwise go unspoken. Resting heart rate, respiration, appetite, manure consistency, and the temperature of each leg all deserve a regular spot. In Australia, where summer work often starts before sunrise and finishes by 10am, recording how long the horse took to cool down helps riders judge whether the workload matches the climate.

Behaviour belongs here too, because subtle changes often show up before they appear under saddle. A horse that swings its hindquarters away when the girth is tightened is communicating something that may connect to a schooling issue days later. Hoof care, dental visits, vaccinations, and veterinary input should sit in their own section. Many Australian riders follow Equestrian Australia rules on vaccination records, and biosecurity paperwork required when crossing state borders into Victoria or New South Wales can be cross-referenced with the journal when an organiser asks for proof.

Feeding, hydration and the local climate

What a horse eats and drinks shapes every training session, so feed details deserve a dedicated column. Hay type, hard feed quantities, supplements, and any changes in grazing all matter. During a heatwave in Perth or a humid stretch in Townsville, water intake can swing dramatically, and writing down the litres consumed turns a vague worry into a measurable trend.

Electrolyte use is another area where notes prevent mistakes. A log line such as "45g electrolyte in mash after cross-country, 30g following day" removes the guesswork and supports the vet if a problem appears later. Lucerne, copra, and the chaffs stocked at Australian feed stores each behave differently in the gut, and travelling to Werribee or Boneo brings different mineral profiles into the stable.

Arena footing, terrain and travel notes

Australian eventers spend plenty of time on surfaces that vary from deep riverbeds to irrigated polo grounds, and the footing deserves its own description in every entry. Sand depth, watering schedule, and any soft spots are worth a line. After a windy afternoon in Ballarat, the same arena can ride quite differently from the morning session, so time stamps matter.

Travel notes sit naturally alongside footing comments. The hours on the truck, breaks offered, and the horse's behaviour during loading all influence how the first ride at the new venue feels. Riders heading to Melbourne from regional Victoria often combine a float trip with a stay at a friend's property. Ground conditions at cross-country venues change quickly after rain, and a record of past schooling on a particular hill is something a coach can pull out before the next visit.

Cross-country schoolings and competitions

Each schooling session has its own story that deserves a full entry. The fences attempted, the distances jumped, the rider's reaction on the approach, and the horse's boldness or hesitation all matter. A cross-country schooling at a new venue might only happen once a season, so a detailed account pays off when the same combination comes up in competition.

Competition days ask for a slightly different format that captures the warm-up, the dressage score, the show jumping round, and the cross-country phases. Notes on the ground jury's feedback, the footing on each phase, and the horse's recovery give a complete picture. Placing the journal alongside an event programme keeps the paperwork tidy, and the timeline built from these notes can help a vet, an insurer, or a coach decide on treatment and rest if a setback occurs.

Rest, rehabilitation and cross-training

Rest days are training too, and they deserve a log entry even when nothing happens in the saddle. Hand-walking, time on the walker, paddock turnout, swimming sessions at a beach like Rosebud or in a purpose-built pool, and any stretching or massage work all shape how the horse comes back to work. Without them, the journal tells only half the story.

Rehabilitation after injury or a hard campaign needs careful daily notes. Vets and physiotherapists rely on these records to gauge progress, particularly when the rider is doing in-hand work between treatments. Cross-training such as long-reining, cavaletti poles, or hill work can also be logged. Looking back through the journal during a quiet week helps riders plan the next block of work, and patterns often surface, such as a horse that needs two easy days after a gallop.

Reviewing the season and planning ahead

A journal only earns its keep if it gets reviewed regularly. Setting aside an hour at the end of each month to reread the entries turns scattered notes into a planning tool. Trends in scores, behaviour, and recovery times all become visible when the pages are read together, and they shape goals for the next block of competition.

Comparisons across seasons reveal progress that daily notes can hide. A test that felt ordinary in October might read very differently when placed next to one from the previous February. Sharing the journal with a coach, a partner, or even a trusted friend adds another layer of usefulness, and a conversation grounded in written observations often goes further than memory alone. Many riders enjoy reflecting on past performances during quieter months, drawing parallels with other disciplines and stories such as Udomchoke's tennis reflections, where a written memory brings a career into sharper focus.

Practical records worth keeping

A consistent habit of writing these details turns a blank notebook into a working record that supports the rider, the coach, and the horse through every level of the sport. Start with a single section that feels manageable, add the others over the coming weeks, and let the journal grow into the most reliable teammate in the stable.