Champion Dreams: First to Ride

This is the first game I will be reviewing on my new Horseback Riding Adventure Game blog. It was the first horse game I bought and started my new found obsession with them. It is also the one I have played the most, so it seems fitting to start with it.

Overview of the Story:
Your character has just arrived at the Sycamore Riding Academy in Scotland. At the school you will have the chance to excel in Cross Country riding, Showjumping, and Dressage...but it soon becomes clear that a rival has it in for you. You have to solve the mystery of who it is before they can get you kicked out of the school.

I like this game.......there's a few glitches here and there that were absolutely frustrating my first time through the game. I almost wrote a nasty email to Ubisoft on the "sandwich" puzzle. There was no help on the internet at all for this game. So hopefully with the help of this blog, others can enjoy the game relatively hassle free.

Getting Started:

This is what you will see when you first start the game
















I like to go into the Options and check out the Keyboard settings. The instruction booklet gives you the key "A" for the Half Pass dressage movement......but as I found out my first time through the game (after I couldn't do the movement ever) that the game came with it set to the "Q" button....
in the photo below I chenged it to "A" as the instruction manual suggests. This might be something you want to do when first loading the game to make sure you don't run into the same problem as me.

Or you can customize your own buttons if you have ones you would prefer to use.
















Next you can choose your horse. The game boasts that you have over 14 breeds of horses to choose from. But it's pretty obvious they only modelled one horse shape, coloured it differently, and said there's 14 different breeds. So you don't really have different ones to choose from, just different colours and patterns.















I chose the white horse to match Snuggle Pony, and also because it's easier to see the dirt on the horse when you have to clean him.

Next, here is what your schedule looks like for each week.















You fill in the slots with the choices below the time table. Make sure you schedule in all the activities so that you can pass every subject. There are 5 areas you need to have enough points in by the end of the week in order to compete in the "end of the week" evaluation. You will know if you have enough points in each area if the text colour is Grey, and no longer Red.These categories are:

1) Popularity - you gain popularity points throughout the week from your fellow students. You gain these by doing well in the riding subjects, buying things from the online shops on your laptop, using items you have bought to change your appearance (like changing your clothes or hair colour), and talking to the other students during Lounge time.

2) Show Jumping - you need to complete at least 2 show jumping lessons each week. Your score for each is halved and then they are combined so you have an averaged score. Each week has a baseline score you need to score above in order to pass the week.

3) Cross Country - as with Show Jumping, you will need to complete 2 of these classes per week.

4) Dressage - as with Show Jumping and Cross Country, you will need to complete 2 of these classes per week. It is always a good idea to schedule "Library" time before your dressage lessons, because in order to do the required dressage movements, you must first read the book on them in the library.
It's also a good idea to keep track of the books you have read and haven't yet read on a piece of paper or somewhere else, because you only get a certain amount of minutes in your library sessions.

5) Horse's Level - keeping your horse's health and moral up are just as important as doing well in your other subjects. Schedule "Horse Care" time to keep your horse clean and happy. The higher your horse's level, the easier the riding subjects are.
I've noticed that the blue areas on your Health Bar (the areas which automatically make you knock down poles in Show jumping) are smaller the higher your Horse's level is.















Some things that bother me about the game:

During the horse care part...I find the hose very glitchy. When I first turn on the spray, it doesn't affect the horse at all. As I drag down with the mouse, the spray follows my mouse movement to a point...then it suddenly pops up, and only then does the hose begin to clean the horse. It takes way longer than it should to clean him off when the hose randomly works and doesn't work as you go.
Also when cleaning the hooves.....when you're working on the right legs of the horse, the wodden end of the tool hides your view of it's tip, so you have no idea if you're getting at the dirt or not.

The pre-rendered parts of the game are kinda low quality too....I was hoping for better quality than the in game play, but it seems even lower in quality at times.

But despite it's flaws, I still keep going back to play this again and again.

Champion Dreams: Frequently Asked Questions

1) Why can't I do the collected/extended/shoulder-in/etc. command in dressage?
First....have you been to the library before your dressage class?
You have to read the books in the library about the dressage movements in order for your character to be able to perform them.
New books are added as the game progresses so make sure you go to the library at the start of each week to check for new ones.

Second.....when you first load the game, go to the Options, and check out the Keyboard commands. Make sure that the dressage keys are set up to the ones you are using. When I first loaded the game onto my computer, it had the Shoulder-In set up as the "Q" key instead of the "A" key like the instruction booklet said.

2) How do I get the present for Ginger's Birthday party?
Here is a video I recorded of myself doing this.



Keep an eye on the sensor in the top left of the screen. It's like a proximity detector. If the groundskeeper Harry gets too close to you he'll catch you, and send you back to the start.

You'll need to tap up on the up arrow twice to run...or else you might be too slow.

If you can't watch the video here is a step by step with words:
Stay where you are outside the door where you start, until Harry turns the corner and heads down the other hallway. Run straight until the camera view changes. Walk over to the chessboard and an icon of pinching fingers will appear. This means that you can take something and have it in your inventory to use later.
Press the space bar to get the item...it's a chess piece.
There will be a video played of the Director and Harry being confused as to where the piece is. They will then go to the other hallway where another chess table is.
You can continue on until you get to a stairwell downwards in front of a door. Walk to the stairs until the door icon appears so you can go outside.
Run in the direction your character is facing (towards you) and turn left to go under the archway. Go into the door that is on the left into the classroom. Get the key off the table by walking up to it and pressing the space bar.
Go back inside the school the way you came out, and once inside, walk to that door at the top of the stairs until the little "gears" icon appears indicating you can open your inventory with the "I" key. Select the key and click on USE.
A video will play of you getting caught by one of the teachers, but don't worry, he'll let you go and give you the key to the attic.
Go back to the hallway where you stole the chesspiece and walk up to the phone so that the "fingers" icon appears again. Press space bar to get the phone number of that telephone.
Go back to the hallway you started in and turn left to go down the other hall. The director and Harry will be standing there, but you can walk to the door that is between you and them. It is your bedroom. Go inside and walk up to the telephone in your room until the "gears" inventory icon appears. Press "I" to pull it up, and select the piece of paper that has the telephone number on it, and press USE.
A message pops up to say those dudes have gone back to the other hallway to answer the phone. Leave your room and go to the stairwell at the bottom left of the screen. Go up the stairs.
Once at the top, go to the room at the very right (the door looks old and different than the other ones) Use the attic key in your inventory to get in. Walk towards the camera until you see the present, and get it with the space bar. Head back the way you came and go downstairs. Harry will be roaming the hallways again so watch out.
What I like to do, is to go back into my room once I'm down the stairs. It "resets" Harry to start in the far hallway. Once you leave your bedroom, hit the up arrow twice to run and get back to where you started as fast as you can otherwise Harry will catch you.
Enter the room you started from and the video of you giving Ginger her present will play. TADA!!!

3) How do I catch the guy on the motorbike?
I haven't been successful at this so far. If anyone has caught him I would love to know.....

The game allows you to continue if you haven't caught him however, so it led me to believe that it is impossible to do so.

4) How do you beat Kiew in the race against her?
The tricky thing about this race is that Kiew weaves from side to side, and if you run into her your horse will come to a dead stop. So the trick is to not let that happen....so I try to stay as close to her as possible withrout trying to pass her until I round that 180 degree turn near the end. After that she will weave left...and then she will go right, and when she goes right, I stay to the left beside the fence and zoom past her.
Other people may have other ways of doing it but that's the way I do it. Here's a video of me in action:




5) How do you beat the guy in the race in Morocco?
I usually start off by not running on the path. If you run into him, your horse will come to a complete stop, so I try to stay away from him. Once you get into the town, there's a short cut to the right you can take right where there's a break in the telephone poles. You can go down this path without worrying about running into him and you get there way before he does.

Here's a video of how I do it:




6) How do I open the safe?
You have to talk to all three of your classmates in the correct order (Ginger, then Spike, then Kiew) and then enter the code 4224 into the safe. The Safe will open automatically and you will be able to get the card key to enter Esteban's room.
Here's a video:




7) How do you get the sandwich for Harry in Morocco?
Here's a video walkthrough of all the parts to this puzzle:




8) How do you get your horse back to the school after he was let out of the horsebox?

Your horse starts at little gazebo type thing and you have to get back to the school compound which you'll know by the big concrete gate around it with giant blue doors. Take a left and then the first right (following the path) and follow it under an overpass/bridge. Then keep following the path till you get to the gates. Here's a youtube video of me doing it:





9) What are the keyboard controls for all the dressage moves?
They are listed in the instruction booklet as follows:

Halt and Salute : Bring your horse to a stop and hit the "S" key

Extended walk/trot/canter : go into a walk/trot/ordinary canter and press and hold the "L" key

Collected walk/trot/canter : Go into a walk/trot/ordinary canter and press and hold "R"

Passage : Go into a walk and press and hold "P"

Half Pirouette at a walk : Go into a walk and press and hold "T" until your horse has completed a half turn

Pirouette : Go into a trot/working canter/ordinary canter and press and hold "P" until your horse has completed a full turn.

Shoulder in : Go into a trot/working canter/ordinary canter and press and hold "E"

Half Pass : Go into an ordinary canter and press and hold "A"

Flying Change of Leg : Go into a trot/working canter/ordinary canter and press and hold "C"

Checkpoints : Press the Right Control button (next to the arrow keys) when the marker arrows start flashing

10) What are all the web addresses for the stores on your computer?

www.horsegirl-store.com

www.poneyshop.com

www.elsys-fashion-store.com

www.horse-tips-boutique.com

www.horse-club-collection.com

11) How do I get to Ginger's Room?
Here's the video:



12) When Esteban's horse is poisoned, how do I get to the Vet's house?
Here's a video of the route I take to get me there: