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“I was at the Plantation CIC 3-star event with a horse called A Fine Romance. He’s retired now. I learned the wrong dressage test. I’m famous for riding the wrong dressage test. I didn’t realize until I was going down centerline and turned the wrong way and the judge blew the whistle. She gave me permission to briefly go out of the ring. I got Colombo’s owner to read the right test to me, even though she’d never read a dressage test. It was a complete disaster. In the end, they just blew the whistle and I had to leave.
I always forget my dressage test. I started eventing at 9 and forgot my dressage test three times. I got eliminated from eventing for a whole year. It became a mental block - if one little thing went wrong - the horse came out of a frame, or it spooked or picked up the wrong lead, immediately my brain would go blank. Even though I knew the test by heart.
I used to cry in front of the ring and it was awful.
I went down centerline at the Olympics in Hong Kong, and as I was counting my rhythm I was saying “don’t forget the test, don’t forget the test” to myself. I’ve just accepted it’s something I’m going to do and try not to get worked up about it. I already call dressage “stress-age”.
If I can get it out of the way early enough in the season, it doesn’t affect me so much. But I 100 percent accept it’s just part of who I am.”
- Selena O'Hanlon
Canadian five-star eventer
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