An evening in full competition spirit – a huge success!
Almost 70 people had signed up for our first digital meeting with the DressagePower Club – and yesterday was showtime! It was an incredibly successful evening with insightful discussions, inspiring tips, and great questions. Here you can read our summary of the evening!
The theme of the evening was ”The competitions are underway and ready; are you ready?” The aim was to delve into the topic of ”competition”, ranging from performance to preparation and practical advice and tips.
The evening started with Peter Härnstam (A-coach, himself having competed at Grand Prix level and 140 jumping) and Kristian von Krusenstierna (A-coach, having competed at Grand Prix level, also being named ”Coach of the Year”). They explained that you should define why you want to compete and what your purpose of competing is.
”Competition gives me the energy to keep doing this all year round. The competitions become a way to check how my training is going”, ," said Kristian.
But it is also completely okay not to want to compete. Peter told a story about one of his students who got very happy during the competition break during the coronavirus pandemic. Afterwards, the student realized that competing might not be for them, and the team has now set other goals instead.
One aspect that came up several times during the evening was about prerequisites. What are your prerequisites for competing? Here it’s important to be wise and realize that you need to adapt based on your own conditions. If you don’t have good training opportunities during the winter, you probably won’t be ready to start as early in the year as others with better conditions. How your prerequisites look will affect the goals you set and how your plan is designed.
”Take your time; stress in this sport is never good.”, ," says Kristian.
”Many people want to get in the race early in the year, but not everyone has the prerequisites for that. Go after your goals and be confident in your plan”,” Peter adds.
An appreciated addition was the evening's next guest, Cecilia Bergåkra. She participated live from her horse trailer from Herning, where she is and competes. Cecilia talked about her preparations for a new competitive season.
”I prepare by training the horses during the winter, both in terms of fitness and building strong bodies. When the competition season starts to approach, I start to rest on the training days.”.
Cecilia is a seasoned, young rider who a few weeks ago performed a super-fin ride at the Gothenburg Horse Show. Although she competes in such large arenas, she says she never gets nervous.
”It’s probably because I’m so grateful to be able to work with horses. If you have that perspective in relation to competition, you probably don’t get particularly nervous; you’re just happy to be there.”, ," Cecilia explains.
The last guest of the evening was the overjudge Annki Modig. She talked, among other things, about news from TR for 2025. Now, for example, it is allowed to ride light horses up to the LB programs; LC can be ridden on short or long courses, and a noseband is optional to use.
Annki suggests reading about TR in the ”mark up” version, that is, the version where all the news and changes are marked. You can find these HERE.
Did you miss the Club meeting? It is recorded and will be shown to our Club members. It is completely free to become a member of the DressagePower Club! Be one of them HERE and join our next meeting!