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It's only June, yet unseasonably hot temperatures have been in the news from coast to coast. Here in South Carolina, we expect to endure some hot and humid weather during the summer, so we try to ride and train as early as possible. But when you're showing, you're at the mercy of the show schedule and Mother Nature, and they dictate when and in what conditions you compete.
Two of my least favorite memories of summer showing resulted from poor judgment on my part. As a younger rider, I used to get quite nervous showing and often didn't eat or drink much. You can probably guess where this is heading...one year at the Warrenton Pony Show in Virginia in July I actually blacked out on course from dehydration and heatstroke. Photographer Teresa Ramsay caught my fall on film, so it's a firm reminder to always take care of yourself when you show in the heat.
At another late summer show I was judging, the show manager asked me to have the medal final riders drop their irons in the flat phase. It was brutally hot, and we did announce riding coats were optional, but some competitors in the finals chose to wear theirs. Despite my gut instinct telling me that it was too hot to work the riders hard, I did what the manager asked. I had them drop their irons the second direction, and during the line up, one girl slumped over from the heat and was helped off her horse. Thankfully, she wasn't hurt, and I saw her later in the day in another equitation class.
These were hard lessons for me to learn. I now take the heat seriously when showing and make sure to stay hydrated and in the shade when possible, as Alex Zulia and Athena are doing in Tryon. When judging, I do remember less is often more, and keeping riders and horses safe in the ring is of the utmost importance on hot summer days. Stay cool out there!
As always,
Tricia
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