Anyone who's competed for a few years notices that individual starts don't automatically add up to something. A season plan sets your training and competition year around one main goal, so that every start and every training week serves a purpose. This guide shows how to build that plan and adjust it over the course of the year.
Start With One Main Goal, Not the Calendar
Most plans stall because they start with entries instead of the question: what do I want to achieve this season? Choose one main goal for the year first. Everything below that is a means, not an end in itself.
A workable main goal is concrete and achievable within a season. Compare:
- Too vague: "ride better," "win more."
- Workable: "competing consistently at the class I've just moved into," "moving up to the next class," "reliably putting in a specific test (a set exercise you ride for the judge) or course (the fence course you jump)."
A commonly used framework for this is a SMART goal: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Not as a mandatory checklist, but as a test — if you can't check your goal off at the end of the season, it's probably too vague.
Alongside the main goal, set one or two sub-goals that you measure along the way: a points total, an average score, a movement that's currently costing you faults. These give you direction in the months when the main goal still feels far off.
Work Backward From Your Peak Moment
Once the main goal is set, decide when you want to be at your best. That's your peak moment: the competition or period the whole year builds toward — a selection trial, a championship, or simply the period in which you want to move up a class.
Then plan backward from that moment. That keeps you from going all-out already in March and running on empty by summer. A rough breakdown of the year:
| Period | Purpose | Character of the Starts |
|---|---|---|
| Base (winter / early spring) | Building fitness and technique | None or few; training starts |
| Build-up (spring) | Sharpening class and test | Regular starts as a gauge |
| Peak (around the main goal) | Performing at your best | Target competition(s) |
| Taper / recovery (after the peak) | Recovering, evaluating | Optional or a break |
Not every year has one clear peak. Riders who want to perform at a comparable level all season can work with two smaller peaks instead of one big one — spring and autumn, for example. More than two real peaks in a season is too many for most amateurs; the horse then never gets a quiet base period.
Fill the Competition Calendar in Layers
With the periods set, you can fill in the competition calendar. Don't treat every start as equally important. A simple breakdown into three types helps:
- Target competitions — this is where you want to perform, what you're working toward. At most a few per year.
- Gauge competitions — to see where you stand and test movements under pressure. The result is information, not a verdict.
- Training starts — mainly to log mileage, get young or inexperienced horses used to the atmosphere, or practice a new movement.
Practical rules of thumb when filling it in:
- Plan rest after a target competition, not just before it. A horse needs recovery after a peak.
- Keep room open. A fully booked calendar leaves no space for a missed week due to illness, injury, or bad weather.
- Match the intensity to your horse's age and experience. A young horse tolerates fewer consecutive starts than a seasoned campaigner.
For exact dates, classes, and entry conditions, always check the official calendar and rulebook of the KNHS; these differ by season and by discipline.
Translate the Plan Into Training Blocks
The season plan determines what each period needs to deliver; the training week determines how. The bridge between the two is called periodization: you spread the training load in waves across the year instead of doing the same thing every week.
In broad outline, the emphasis shifts per period:
- Base period — emphasis on fitness and thorough technique. This is where it's allowed to be hard and patient; no result is on the line.
- Build-up period — more competition-specific work: the test or course as you'll actually ride it, targeted practice on fault-prone movements.
- Around the peak (tapering) — volume down, sharpness maintained. The horse needs to arrive at the start fresh, not tired.
- Recovery — actively recovering before the next block begins.
How you divide this within a single week among technique, fitness, suppling, and rest is covered in the guide on structuring a training week. The season plan is the layer above that: it determines what kind of week belongs to which period.
Put It on Paper and Plan a Time to Evaluate
A plan that only exists in your head shifts unnoticed with the pressures of the day. Write it down — a simple overview is enough:
- The main goal and one or two sub-goals.
- The peak moment (or the two peaks).
- The periods you've divided the year into, with their purpose.
- The calendar with target, gauge, and training starts.
Also plan fixed evaluation moments, for example every four to six weeks. Then go through a few questions: are the sub-goals on track, how is the horse responding to the load, does the plan still match how things are going? A log of training sessions and results makes that evaluation more concrete than your memory.
Adjusting course isn't failure — it's the core of planning. An injury, a disappointing run of results, or faster progress than expected are all reasons to adapt the plan, not to throw it overboard. Discuss the big choices with your instructor; they see patterns that you miss in the moment.
In Short
- Start with one concrete main goal for the season, not with the entries.
- Determine your peak moment and plan backward from it; a quiet base period is part of that.
- Fill the calendar in layers: target, gauge, and training starts, with room for setbacks.
- Translate the periods into training blocks through periodization; the week is the layer below that.
- Put the plan on paper and evaluate every few weeks — adjusting course is part of the process.
A season plan isn't a contract you sign in January and follow blindly. It's a guideline that moves with your horse's form and the competitions on the calendar. The difference from loose, individual starts isn't the plan itself, but the fact that every week and every start builds toward something.
See also: Structuring a Training Week That Works · When to move up a class · Managing competition pressure · Glossary for this level