Competition debut - what should I think about at Pay & Jump?

Hello! How lovely that you want to start competing. Taking part in Pay 'n Jump is a really good start, a kind of practice competition for both you and the horse or pony.

It is often great fun and a good learning experience to try competing somewhere you feel at home and secure. It also helps to be in a place where you know plenty of people and can ask for help easily.

It is good not to be on your own when you are away at a competition. Always take a friend or parent with you, then you can also help each other keep track of when it is your turn and whether you need to go in for the prize-giving. Usually you have to keep an eye on the times and where you need to be yourself, so nobody comes to fetch you when it is your turn.

When you travel to a competition at a different yard from the one where you keep your horse, you usually go by horsebox, and that also serves as the horse's resting place during the day. You will not have a box in a stable to use.

It is important that the horse gets to rest and have its tack taken off if there are long waits, but that depends entirely on how big the competition is, in other words how many are due to start.

Before you can start competing, you and your horse need to take out a competition license, and you need a rider's license ("green card"), a kind of certificate showing that you understand how competing works.

You can read more about getting started with competing on the Swedish Equestrian Federation website: https://ridsport.se/tavling/borja-tavla

To ride Pay 'n Jump you do not need the rider's license, but it is well worth taking a rider's license course anyway if you are thinking of competing. Then you know how everything works and can feel confident.

Do ask if there is anything else you are wondering about🌞

Good luck👏🏼👍🥕🐴