Preparing Your Horse for Competition Season

Published 9 June 2026 · Updated 6 July 2026

By Alex Young

Season prep is logistics plus conditioning. The horses that last until September are the ones whose shoeing, fitness, and recovery were planned in April.

Twelve weeks out: build the base

Fitness is built in the boring weeks. Before any jump training intensifies:

Weeks 1–4: long, low hacking and steady canter sets — two to three sessions a week building from 20 to 40 minutes. Hills if you have them.
Weeks 5–8: add polework and gymnastic grids once a week (see our polework exercises) alongside two flat sessions.
Track every session in a training diary so you can see the trend, not just remember the last ride.

A horse that is fit enough finishes the second round with something left. That is the difference between a September horse and a June horse.

Eight weeks out

Veterinary review: teeth, vaccinations, musculoskeletal check.
Farrier: confirm shoeing cycle fits peak show weeks.
Fitness baseline: three jump schools and two flat/hack sessions per week for most amateurs.

Four weeks out

Introduce competition-height fences in short sessions.
Practice loading and travelling if the horse is green.
Log weight and condition score weekly.

Show week

Light jump two days before — not the day before unless your horse needs it mentally.
Electrolytes and hydration on hot transport days.
Course walk with a written plan; photograph the board if allowed.

Recovery

After a big weekend:

Hack or walk the next day.
Full jump school no sooner than 48–72 hours for most horses.
Note any rubs, swellings, or behaviour changes in the health log.

Paperwork

Passport, vaccinations, insurance, and emergency contacts in one folder (physical or phone). FEI horses: check medication withdrawal times before anything new goes in the feed.

Plan the first show as a schooling run

Choose a venue below the height you jump at home and treat the first outing as training with an audience. Walk the course properly — our course walking checklist covers pacing distances and planning lines — enter two classes at most, and finish on a good note even if that means retiring after a nice first half.

Know the courses before you go

If the venue publishes course plans, study the related distances against your horse's actual stride — measure it once with the method in choosing the right stride length and check any line in the stride calculator. Sketching the likely track in the course designer the night before turns a nervous course walk into a confirmation lap.

Seasons are marathons. Budget recovery like you budget entries — the start list is long, but only one horse carries you through it.