Travelling to shows alone

[aiml]

Tips for travelling on your own please. I'll soon be travelling my pony to shows etc on my own when I pass my trailer test. What's your routine? Do you take 2 hay nets so you can leave one in the trailer and one to tie up with? With security now an issue obviously I want to lock everything up before going into classes. How do you get on? Where do you put your keys? There will be some people I know at most places but I don't want to rely on bothering people. I'm probably thinking too much into it but would like to try and avoid the stress of going totally unorganised! Thanks

[chalky284]

I often compete on my own, best advice I can give is be organised and use a tick list to make sure you have everything. Yes take 2 hay nets as you never know how long you'll be. Plan your journey so you won't get lost, sat navs sometimes don't give the best journeys for trailers. It really helps if your pony is well behaved, as you'll need to leave them alone to pay entry fees or walk the course, use the toilet etc etc I'd leave the pony in the trailer for that bit and not tied outside. If your class requires stripping, I walk over to the ring and leave my grooming box at the ringside. Then I can grab it and with it being a box rather than basket I can use it to get on with too. There's always a kind soul to hold the pony whilst you grab it, and to keep an eye on it ringside, usually there's plenty of offers for a groom too!
Good luck, be organised and you'll have loads of fun!

[gillwales]

If you take 2 nets make sure they are both inside or if you tie one to the back of the trailer make certain that it is securely tied and place in a bag to prevent it being infused with fumes. If you are doing a ridden class put a piece of clean damp cloth in your coat pocket, keep inside a plastic bag, this should cover all your needs and you could also keep a small bit of comb to redo quarter squares. Dont try to enter too many classes an when you have had enough go home . Good luck and have fun x

[aiml]

Thank you for the advice, I passed my trailer test yesterday so I'll start making a list and maybe take her on some hacks away from home for some practise first :-)

[gillwales]

Mar 10, 2017 18:41:07 GMT aiml said:

Thank you for the advice, I passed my trailer test yesterday so I'll start making a list and maybe take her on some hacks away from home for some practise first :-)

Congratulations, and very sensible, don't forget to tell smeone where you are going and what time you expect to be back

[sarahp]

Good plan. It became too dangerous to hack from here so in order to hack I had to take the trailer, most often on my own. Put a bit of paper with your name, address and contact info' on it in your pocket in case of accidents and of course take mobile phone. Before they were available I used to ring my husband at work to tell him when I'd gone out and where, and ask him to call the police if I hadn't reported back in to him by a certain time. And you need a pony that loads and unloads easily and safely! Having had problems in my early, trailer hiring days with a pony that reversed back back, broke the breeching strap and got loose I bought a front unload trailer and had chain breeching straps so that that couldn't happen, and taught the pony to carry on going in while I stayed behind to do the breeching up before going forward and to tie her up.

[fanfarefan]

i always tied my personal details on the inside of my hat ,,, but pocket is good as long as it doesnt get wet ,,,, the other thing i always took was a spare car key ,,, leave it in the car ,,, but if you do loose yours ,,, in desperation a window can be broken for you to get it ,,,, but dont leave it in the trailer ,,, as you might find you will be walking home !!!! ,,, choose the least amount of things you need by the ring ,,, and have in a seperate bag ,,,make sure you have trailer breakdown cover to get you and your horse home ,,,, but most of all have fun and enjoy sx