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Make a check list of everything that you need beforehand, that way you don't get to the show and realize that you forgot your bridle.

Breathe.

If you start to get nervous, think of everything that you're grateful for. It helps take your mind off your fear and creates confidence in yourself.

Turn-out is important. Polish your boots, make sure your braids are straight, your tack is immaculate, and your horse is gleaming. It may not have a direct affect on your score, but it shows self-respect for yourself and your horse, respect for the judges and show organizers, and will make you feel more confident, polished, and together.

Know the rules before you leave. There is nothing more embarrassing than getting eliminated for something you could have controlled. Don't go into your dressage test with polos on. Get rid of your whip if it's a championship class. Don't talk during your test.

Focus on the things that you can control. If your horse spooks at the judges stand, whatever. Not much you can do about it, especially after it's happened. Take a deep breath, put it behind you, and finish your ride the best you can. You can't control what already happened, you can control what's going to.
And you can always control your boot polish

Ride for accuracy. It's silly to lose points because your circle was too small, your diagonal missed F, or your centerline was crooked. You can't change the quality of your horse's gaits, but you can make sure you're not going to lose any silly points on things like halts not being square.

Stay organized, make a schedule. Know what time you need to start getting ready, what time you should be on to begin your warm-up, how long it's going to take you to walk from the warm-up to the competition arena, etc. The more organized you are, the less likely you'll end up getting behind schedule and getting panicky.

Don't overschool in the warm-up. I see so many people do this. They get their best rides in the warm-up, and by the time they get in front of the judges, they don't have any horse left. Spend your time in the warm-up to make sure your horse is attentive to your aids, relaxed and loose throughout his body, and ready to get to work. Check any movements that you've had trouble with, and you can do some fine tuning, but don't school 100 canter pirouettes before your test. You should have done that at home. What you have when you get to the show, is what you've got. Small things like getting a slightly better bend on your 10-meter circles, you can do, or staying a little more relaxed in your changes, maybe even more cadence in your passage, since you've got the energy of the show environment to help you, but don't overschool. It doesn't do you or your horse any good.

Know your ring etiquette in the warm-up and don't be a ring hog. Your ride is not any more important than anyone else's, and they're all here to warm up as well. Pass left to left, or on the inside if you're traveling the same direction. Announce yourself if you think another rider doesn't see you as you're coming to pass them. Watch what the other riders are doing and stay out of people's way. They should do the same for you. If someone isn't, don't be vindictive about it. Stay out of their way, and be secure in the knowledge that you're a better horseman than they are.

If you find yourself getting tense or holding your breath in the warm-up, SING! You can't hold your breath while you sing. Sometimes the other riders will even join in.

Most of all, remember that this is supposed to be FUN! So have a good time!

This is a really great idea, I haven't realy shown but I know some tips...

Make sure you and your horse are clean, points may or may not be taken off but either way the judge will see that you put forth an effort to look good. This alone won't win you the show but it can never hurt.

Have some one to help you. No matter how good you are it's nice to have someone to hold a bucket or your horse for a quick minute....

Here's what I do. At shows I used to get really nervous and so would my old horse, Kaine. I took deep breaths and talk/walk with my coach around the course and even doing silly things like making up a song about the course and sang it to my horse, Checkers, who always has her ears open for a good tune or a "pep talk". Even during my time to ride, I always sing the song or keep it in the back of my head, telling my horse to WOAH! or give her a slight nudge with my boots to make her speed up. A couple other good tips that might have been mentioned before: BE ON TIME NO MATTER WHAT! because some people I've seen have been really late and made the older people stay at the show barn till 9 p.m when the show was supposed to end earlier. Keep your tack clean! When you groom your horse afterwards clean your tack! If you are nervous and have time to wait, LISTEN TO MUSIC...It helps me alot, before and even during the show. People stare at me for this but I talk to my horse as well since it helps me calm down and my horse as well. Wear pj pants over top of your show pants, once I spilled a bucket of water down my legs and had to ask for a blowdryer and dried my show pants just a few moments before I got on my horse ((not fun...)). Remember to HAVE FUN! smile

Stargazer reminded me of another point!

Ladies, SPORTS BRA! I don't care how little you are, or if you hate the "uni-boob" look. Wear a properly fitting sports bra. Preferably a high impact one. If you're on the bigger side and they're still not under control, layer them. For running, general work around the barn, and casual riding (usually when I'm teaching, in case I need to jump on a horse for a few minutes) I wear one of my maximum impact ones with a stretchy low-impact over top of it. If I'm actually schooling, I'll usually do two maximum impact ones. For clinics or shows? Three. Methods of layering depend on the current laundry cycle and the horse I'm riding. No one needs to see the girls bouncing all over the place. It's distracting to the judge and not attractive.

Stargazer! Thanks for the staying hydrated tip! I went to a show with my friend (small schooling show) she didnt drink anything the whole time. She got a HUGE cramp right before she had to go into her class.

Don't let the "Hurry up and wait" discourage you. My friend used to get extreme nerves waiting in by the schooling ring. If this happens to you just breathe. Maybe dismount and walk your horse around or take him back to his stall/your trailer for some shade and a drink.

Once I miss the "wait" aspect and ended up trotting to the show ring and literally going straight in without any warm up. Loud speaker broke in the barns ;_; almost missed the medal flat callbacks. Haha

So learn from my mistake and be on top of things. Ask the person working the ring you're showing in what time they think your class will start and periodical check on the progress of the ring.

always give yourself plenty of time to tack up and warm up. i like to give myself lot of time so i can slowly get ready and won't be stressed out(: