What we took away from our first event of the season

The alarm went off before sunrise, the lorry packed the night before, and quiet anticipation filled the barn. Our first event of the season had arrived, and after a long winter of slow work, fitness plans, and too many late-night sessions watching old cross-country rounds, we were ready to see where the horses stood. The feeling at the start of a season, that mix of hope and humility, is much the same whether your home base is West Grove or the foothills outside Adelaide.

Down here, the season is just getting started as well, and the spring calendar at places like Werribee Park, Berrima, and Wallaby Hill is filling up fast. We swap notes with friends competing at the Melbourne International Three Day Event and the Sydney event at SIEC, trading stories on footing, weather, and the quirks of the Southern Hemisphere circuit. The fundamentals are the same, but the conditions, the courses, and the community feel a little different on each side of the world, and that is part of what makes eventing such a generous sport.

What follows are the honest lessons we picked up over the weekend, the things we would do again in a heartbeat, and a few small adjustments we are already planning for next time out. If you are preparing for your own first run, our friends at Schramm Equestrian have a useful primer on how to prepare your horse for a three-day event that is well worth a read.

Preparation that paid off before we loaded

Walking the cross-country course twice, once on foot and once at a slow trot, was the single most useful thing we did in the lead-up. We caught questions on the second pass that we had completely missed on the first, including a line that needed a longer approach than we originally planned. Friends competing at Berrima say the same, and the Australian eventing community takes course walking seriously, often meeting the evening before with a thermos and a hand-drawn map.

We also tightened up the fitness programme in the six weeks before the event. The horses did a mix of hill work, interval trot sets, and long, slow hacks to build stamina without the strain. By the time we got to the warm-up, they felt like athletes rather than passengers, and that gave us a quiet confidence that no amount of schooling could replace.

One small thing we had forgotten: check the local forecast the morning of travel, then check it again. Spring weather in regional Pennsylvania can swing from sun to sideways rain in an hour, and the same is true across the Adelaide Hills and the Yarra Valley. Layered rugs and a backup plan for the lorry made a real difference when a thunderstorm rolled through on the Saturday evening.

What dressage day reminded us

Dressage day is as much a mental event as a physical one, and the nerves crept in well before our test. The warm-up was busy, the judges were watching, and a few of our fellow competitors looked as if they had not slept in a week. We made a point of breathing, riding our warm-up plan, and ignoring the scores of other riders around us.

The biggest lesson was to trust the work. Both horses had been schooling the movements at home for months, and the test was simply a chance to show what they knew. We tried to ride each movement as a piece of the whole picture, rather than chasing individual marks, and the result felt honest even if the percentage was not where we wanted it to be. We also learned to build in extra time, because a two-minute delay or a stubborn horse can throw off the rhythm of the day if you are rushing.

Cross-country in all its glory

Cross-country is the part of the sport we live for, and our first run of the season did not disappoint. The course rode big and bold, the ground was perfect after a week of light rain, and the horses attacked every question with the kind of enthusiasm you cannot buy. There were moments of pure joy, like sailing through the first water complex, and moments that needed every ounce of focus, like the combination at fence eight that came up quicker than expected.

The other honest lesson was about pace. We went out a touch too fresh in the opening minute, then had to make time on the back half. Next time, we will settle into our rhythm earlier and let the course do the work. The clock at eventing is a teacher, and ours had plenty to say.

Show jumping and the tired horse

Sunday morning always brings a different kind of challenge, because the horse is no longer fresh and the rider is no longer fresh either. Our warm-up was quiet, methodical, and focused on getting the horses listening without drilling them. We both chose to ride the bigger related distances first, then put the combinations together once the horses were sharp.

A clean round is the goal, but the bigger win was finishing on our own terms. Both horses jumped out of their skin, the new bit combinations we had been trialling at home paid off, and we walked out of the arena feeling like the weekend had been a success regardless of where we ended up on the leaderboard. We also spent time watching other riders and chatting between classes, and if you are looking for reliable kit before your next run, quality equestrian gear is worth browsing for things you might not have thought to pack.

Horse care after the final whistle

The work is not over when the last fence falls, and the hours after cross-country are when good horse care really shows. Both horses went into ice boots within twenty minutes of the finish, and we kept them walking on a loose lead for the first half hour to help the muscles cool down. A small feed, plenty of water, and a quiet night in the lorry set them up well for show jumping the next morning.

We also check the legs, the back, and the mouth with extra care after a three-phase weekend, because small knocks and rubs are easier to manage if you catch them early. Our physiotherapist always says the day after an event tells you more about the horse than the day of, and we have learned the hard way that a few quiet days now save a lot of vet bills later. Treat the post-event window as carefully as the warm-up, and your horse will thank you for the rest of the campaign.

Lessons that go beyond the scoreboard

Looking back, the most valuable takeaways were not the dressage marks or the cross-country time. They were the small habits that turned a good weekend into a great one: walking the course twice, packing extra rugs, building in a buffer between phases, and keeping the horses calm in the warm-up. Eventing rewards preparation, and the first event of the season is a gentle reminder of that fact.

We are reminded every year how generous this sport is, and the same warmth shows up in stories from friends competing at Wallaby Hill or the Melbourne three-day. If you are lining up your first event of the year, treat the weekend as a learning opportunity first and a competition second. Write down three things that went well and three things to change, then read them again before your next start. That is the only way the lessons actually stick.

If our journey speaks to you, we would love to have you along for the rest of the season. Follow our stories, training updates, and competition diary at Schramm Equestrian, and be the first to know where we are heading next. There is plenty more cross-country to gallop, plenty more fences to jump, and a whole community of riders cheering us on from Pennsylvania to the other side of the world.