Rev Up Your Dressage Scores

 

Lesson Five

 

Common Faults, Quick Fixes and Tips from the Tops

       

          Here are some quick fixes for common problems…they’ll really help you rev-up your scores!

          Working your way around a dressage show is much different than “open ring” shows.  These tips will help you before and during your test.

 

          Problem:  Didn’t hear class called or didn’t know show schedule.

          Fix:  Post show schedule on your trailer or truck and also have an alarm clock nearby set for the time you want to start warm up preparation.  Have a copy of the test to be ridden next to the show schedule.

          Don’t rely on being “called”.  Normally the PA sound system is a courtesy.  It is up to you to be aware of what is happening and where you need to be.

 

          Problem:  Late to your class.

          Fix:  Always be early.  Remember, the lower the level you ride, the earlier your ride times.  The show may run late or early; regardless it is your responsibility to be prepared to ride at your assigned time. Shows always feel like a “hurry up and wait!” kind of thing.  Get used to the feeling so you won’t be late and you won’t be frustrated.

          Check in early and stay near your class or warm up area if possible.  If things are running late, you may have your ride time pushed back. It is very rare that you would be asked to rider earlier than your official time.  If you are early for your class and then are asked to ride early, you’re still prepared.  Prepared riders leave a good impression with everyone, including judges. 

          (If you aren’t ready to ride early, don’t be afraid to say so.  Showing is about you and your horse and you want it to be a good experience.  Don’t rush it; of course, you won’t have to if you’ve checked in early.)

          If you get nervous waiting, take the earlier ride, but if you still need some warm up then wait for your scheduled ride time…don’t be intimidated and rushed into riding.

          Being prepared means knowing the show rules!  There may be some special rules at a particular show.  Never be afraid to ask about anything relating to your class.

 

          Problem:  Stopped at the gate for inappropriate equipment.

          Fix:  Check in early enough to make sure your bit is legal and your whip is not too long.  There may be other things that need changing.  If you’re early you can get back to your trailer and change out to the correct equipment.  Again, it’s your responsibility to know all the rules; ignorance of the rules will not excuse you.

 

          Problem:  Your horse is not “forward” or he is “too rushed and fast.”!” 

          Fix:  Know exactly how much warm-up your horse needs to be at his best.  You should have this all worked at home.  Are you going to longe before you ride?  Do you just need to test all your cues, or does your horse need a lot of long trotting and cantering?

          Many riders work horses way too long, leaving the best rides in the warm-up ring.  The horse may lack forward motion and may just be too tired to have any spark or brilliance.  On the other hand, he may still be too fresh to be ready to listen to your requests. 

          If you are not sure which he will be, work him about half as much as you think he’ll need, then leave the warm-up ring and see if he is still fresh or hot.  If not too fresh or hot he’s probably ready to show.  If he is still too fresh, you’ll have time to work him a bit more.  You can always add a little extra warm-up, but you cannot make him “fresh” once the edge is off.  I prefer my horses to have a little extra spark rather than having to be dragged and prodded around the arena.

 

          Problem:  Not sure when to enter the arena.

          Fix:  Do not enter the arena until the judge signals for your entry by ringing a bell or blowing a whistle.   Most of the time there will be a gate person who will direct you to ride just outside the arena.  Once you’ve been called to enter by the bell or whistle, you’ll have about 90 seconds to enter and begin your test.

          Once you’ve been directed to ride on the outside edge of the arena, use this time to “de-spook” your horse in areas of concern, such as the judge’s stand.

          Do not rush to get into the arena.  You should be able to do a lap around the arena within the time allowed, but don’t be late.

 

          Problem:  Crooked when entering at A.

          Fix:  Get straight before entering the arena.  If you can leg yield, you can do that around “A” before entering the arena.  Just be sure to be straight on the centerline once you are actually within the arena.  If you are still leg yielding or maneuvering after that, you will be scored as having a crooked entrance.

 

          Problem:  You tend to forget your test.

          Fix:  Have a reader and practice your test many times before you show.

          It is a good idea to practice with your reader so you can synchronize your riding with your reader’s directions.  Some people like to have the reader’s directions right on the mark, while others like the reader to be four or five strides ahead. It is up to the rider and reader to “be on the same page” as to timing.

 

          Problem:  I can’t get my horse to turn at the letters.

          Fix:  There can be several fixes to this problem; the first, of course, is to improve your training and your horse’s responses.  Accuracy is paramount.

          If your horse tends be “rush”, you’ll have to hold him until the last possible moment before asking for a transition or the next movement.

          If your horse is slow to respond, determine while training, just how many strides he needs before responding to a new request.  If it is three strides, for example, then ask for the transition or new movement three strides before the letter.

          Sometimes you have to make a snap decision which can help rev-up your score.  For example, if your horse is offering a really correct transition, but you are a little short of the letter, you may accept the “wrong timing” for a “better movement.”  Usually you help your score because most judges will choose the better movement and only deduct a point for not “being on the mark”.

          The more you practice and show, the easier it will be to make the right choice to rev-up your scores.

 

          Problem:  Going off course.

          Fix:  Calmness.  Do not get flustered.  The judge will signal that you are off course and that you need to stop.  The judge will then tell you where to pick up your test.  Take a moment to collect your thoughts and be sure you are ready to continue.

          It is possible to go off course even with a reader, so try to be alert and if you think the reader is incorrect, continue with your test as you believe it to be.

 

          Problem:  You’ve picked up the wrong lead or wrong gait!

          Fix:  You must correct the mistake no matter how far into the movement you are otherwise you will get a zero for the movement.  Be sure to correct the mistake even if you only have one stride left before you’ll have to make another change.

          The judge needs to know that you realize a mistake was made.  Watching you correct it tactfully will garner some points. Not trying will get you zeros.

          If you completely mess up several movements, keep trying and do not give up.  There are several movements that will count double, and those can help even out your score.  Never “give up” and just accept the mistakes as “unfixable.” 

          Ride every part of your test as if it were the only part. 

 

          Problem:  While riding your test you tense up and then your horse throws a his head up or is carrying his head too hight.

          Fix:  Do not pull his head in or down.  You need to relax, breathe out, tuck your seat and keep him soft.  Sometimes asking for a little bend in his ribcage and a half-halt will rebalance and relax him and his neck and head should lower and he may come back down into the bridle.

          The more you ride your horse classically, the easier it will be to ride him correctly during the test.

 

          Problem:  Your horse over-bends.

          Fix:  You need a lot less hand; loosen the rein and use your leg to send your horse forward.  Being directly on or behind the “vertical” is incorrect.  It is better for your score to be “above the bit”.  Ridden correctly, the horse’s neck will be slightly arched with his poll being the highest point, his nose must be in front of the vertical.

 

          Problem:  Your horse bucks, rears or spooks during the test.

          Fix:  Make a swift, but tactful correction and immediately continue with your test.  If you do not get flustered this is a chance to show the judge you are able to handle the horse and move on.  If you get too frightened to continue, approach the judge and ask to be excused.  Never leave the arena without asking the judge’s permission.

 

          Problem:   Rider or horse is rushed and the rider salutes before the horse is actually halted.

          Fix:  Be sure you take your time and halt completely.  Practice stopping and allowing your horse to stand quietly without moving for several minutes.  Do not rush the beginning of your test.  At the start, and usually at the end, you are recognizing and honoring the judge at “C”.

          Push the horse into a nice square, halt.  Place both reins in your left hand and drop your right hand and arm straight down at your side as you nod your head.   Hold your whip quietly in your left hand. 

 

          Problem:  Your horse did not stop squarely. 

          Fix:  Be prepared to use extra leg pressure on one side or the other to square his hind feet. 

          This problem should be resolved during training.  But if you haven’t yet perfected a square stop, and your horse tends to be “fidgety” it is usually be to let him halt and accept what he gives you.  Too much fussing with him will make him back up, turn sideways, or just walk through the bridle.

 

                   Problem:  Your whip spooks your horse or just gets in the way.

                   Fix:  Hold your reins a few inches above the horse’s withers.  To properly hold the whip, have your thumbs on top of closed fingers….think of it as holding a mug of coffee upright so that it will not spill.  Keep your wrists straight.

                   Now slip the handle of the whip into your left hand so that it is pointing at the horse’s right ear.  The whip should then lie across your thigh and point toward the horse’s hock. If you keep your hands quiet and in the correct position, your whip will never point outward.

                   Practice carrying your whip correctly.  The better your hands become, the more effective and unobtrusive your whip becomes, and conversely, the better you carry your whip, the better your hands will become.

                   Do not use the whip with just a flick of your wrist, nor with your whole arm from your shoulder.  But use your lower arm, from the elbow, keeping the wrist straight.  Do not irritate the horse with small, ticklish taps, and do not use your arm from the shoulder to whack the horse.

 

                   Problem:  How do I switch whip hands?

                   Fix:   Practice with a short crop.  When you wish to change hands, bring your hands closer together, then using the fingers holding the whip, circle the whip up and over the horse’s withers.  Grasp the whip handle with the opposite hand, allowing the whip to move down smoothly into place across your thigh and pointing at the horse’s hock.

 

                   Problem:  My horse tends to run off as I leave the arena on a loose rein.  

                   Fix:  Maintain enough contact on the reins to control your horse.  As the horse relaxes, you can loosen the reins.

                   In most lower level or amateur classes, it is expected the judge will make comments about your test.   Therefore, I always suggest you ride forward to the judge and say, “Thank you.”  This shows respect and gives the judge a chance to make a comment or suggestion.

                   Riding forward after the salute tells your horse there is “no exit” at this time, so the horse tends to relax and walk calmly and quietly.

                   Follow the centerline to the judge, say, “Thank you.”  Listen to the judge if a comment is made.  Then turn up the long side of the arena and exit at “A”.

 

 

TIPS FROM THE TOPS

          Let’s wind this up with some helpful tips from some of the top dressage competitors.

          Robert Dover is no stranger to the ring, nor a stranger to being considered among the very best riders.  His blog, DoversWorld.com, has more than 250,000 readers.  Here are some tips from Dover on how to rev-up your dressage scores.

          1. " Take your time!!"  Give yourself and your horse time to figure out the test and digest it.  Then you and you horse will both be happier and much more effective.                                                                                                                        

          2. Your ride is constantly balancing and rebalancing...half halt to half halt.  EVERYTHING we ride must have a half halt before we do it and after we
do it. This includes everything we do on a horse: corners, transitions within the
gait and into another gait, lengthening, shoulder-in, circles, diagonals, and so on.
          Dover's recipe for a half halt:  a) breathe in; b) close your legs; c) close your hands. Hold for 3 strides, then a) exhale; b) soften your hands.  This gives the rider something purposeful to focus on and quiets our other chatter we
can have with the horse, giving unnecessary aids.
          Special note: When riding your tests, it is half halt to half halt; memorize your tests with the half halts and breathing!  Leave nothing up to chance.  Learn it the way you will ride it.

          Now: "Ride it like you own it."

          The rider should be in control of the movements and not let the horse decide when to do a transition, when to turn, or slow down.  As the rider, you decide how it is to be done. “Take your time" and do it right.  The horse must wait for your aids and not jump the gun.


          3. When doing walk pirouettes, ride the outside hind toward the riders
inside hip.  Keep the forehand turning so the horse can keep walking and stepping in the right direction.


          4.  Be sure you use your inside leg in the half pass to help the horse
stay rounder and step more through and get more cadence.                                  

          5.  Think of collection as a collection of energy. When your collection of energy is really good, you are in a position to carry it into any movement, keeping that collection of energy within another movement. i.e.: in your extensions you are still carrying the collective energy, and the horse wants to move out into the extension because of all the energy he has. Keep that energy alive. When going from collection to extension, think of it as extended passage; visualize; helping keep the energy coming from behind, so you don't sputter out of energy and balance.
         

          6. Elastic band exercise: in trot and canter, ride a 20 meter circle.  As you ride the 'short side' go into an extension toward the other wall; immediately for half a circle, half halt, collected gait for half the circle, half halt, extended gait.  This is great for warming up the horse before more active work. Doing an extension on the short side is a visual aid; the rider does not hold onto the horse in front, the same as on a diagonal and the horse is more willing to move out. Take the feeling you achieve and apply it to the diagonal.
         

          7.  WALK!  The collected walk must be with the poll at its highest point, not BEHIND the poll, for the HIGHEST marks. Make the collected walk your home; a VERY comfy place for you and your horse, so it is easy in the tests. Move forward and back within the gait, and 'take your time' to get comfortable with it.  Own the tempo, frame and the outline. Nose is slightly out, which allows the front legs to open more and reach.  Do not let him go behind the bit!
         

          8.  If your horse is running from your aids, spooking, falling on the forehand, not listening to your aids; use the half halt as described above to gather his attention back to you. Remember to breathe in! Remember to exhale!
         

          9.  Reinback.  Tilt your pelvis forward like you are tipping a stool off its back legs rather than pulling back on the reins.  Use leg.  Hands only hold the reins in a restraining way; never pulling!
         

          10.  Visualize exactly what you want the horse to do as you are riding.  If you are not visualizing the good, or nothing at all, then that is the response you will get from the horse. Even when it is going bad, keep thinking of the response you want to feel from the horse.
         

          11.  Praise the horse the moment it responds correctly. You can pat
it with your INSIDE hand, use your voice; GOOD GIRL/BOY, with energy, so the horse understands that they did well and it is clear that it is giving you the response you are asking for. Do not let the judges hear you. Be fair in your requests and firm in the response.

"Take your time"

"Ride it like you own it."

 

          Anne Wilson, author of “Riding Revelations: Classical Training from the Beginning” (With a foreword by Sylvia Loch and the approval of The Spanish Riding School) offers the following as the best advice she has ever been given:         

          “Do not be disheartened when things go wrong.

          “Do not keep practicing a movement in the same way if you are not getting the correct response.  Ride a different movement or pace which you know the horse enjoys and come back to the difficulty either later or on another day, preferably approaching it in a slightly different way.

          “Often sleeping on something helps; thinking about the problem when doing other things often brings about an idea of how to approach things differently…and never going against the nature of the horse, never forcing anything… there is no need for harsh aids, nor for the horse to be stressed in any way.

           Anne has some great reading advice: “I have always admired the work ofCol. Alois Podhajsky.  I have huge admiration for my mentor Sylvia Loch. I believe that her riding and training techniques are second to none in the world today.”

 

          Tina Sederholm has taught riders from Pony Club to Advanced level for more than 20 years. Previously an international three-day event rider, her training methods are based on the teachings of her father, former Olympic trainer and equestrian legend, Lars Sederholm.  She is the author of three books on equestrianism, a dvd and a regular contributor to Horse and Rider magazine.

          Sederholm offers these five simple points to rev-up your dressage scores:

          1.  Mental rehearsal: planning your warm up and getting your horse in
the right frame of mind.

          2.  Fitting your dressage saddle:  buying the right saddle is one of
the most important investments you can make; a properly fitted dressage saddle will allow your horse to move freely and use his back properly.

          3.  Relaxation state in yourself will increase your feel and awareness, leading to a heightened performance from you and your horse.  Your balance will improve.  Only a well balanced horse can perform the dressage movements asked of him properly, but it all starts with the rider. The better balanced the rider, the better ride they can give the horse.

          4.  Increasing flexibility frees your joints so you can mould around the horse rather than just sitting on top of the saddle.  Your seat will be more secure.  A horse appreciate a rider who is well balanced and secure and will give more and more of themselves when they know they can trust the rider in this way. The more trust the horse has in the rider, the better dressage test they will perform.

          5.  Giving clear messages to your horse is the first step to getting the horse to do what we want.  You must communicate clearly by using body weight, and hand and leg aids.
 

          Dee Bruce owns a successful Arabian sport horse farm…proving you that you do not need warm bloods to do dressage.  Bruce says: “One of my pet peeves at shows is to see otherwise splendid riders and horses spoil an otherwise excellent test by riding terrible geometry! Circles need to be circles!”

          Dee states: “Here is a simple exercise will teach you how to consistently ride a perfect circle of any size, anywhere, even out in a field without dressage letters and a little white fence!

          “For starters, an inaccurate circle is one which is not forward and on the aids; it is one where every stride is different, perhaps a different tempo, a different bend – regardless the regularity of the gait suffers--the rider is so busy trying to make corrections to the bend of the horse that they generally make it worse and then they overcompensate resulting in further loss of accuracy so they overcompensate yet again!  The spiral continues and some rather interesting shapes evolve.”

20m x 40m Dressage School

          A perfect circle makes it easier for your horse to maintain balance and regularity.  Every stride of the circle should be as close to the one preceding it and as close to the one after it. Dividing your circle into quarter segments will help you to make them more evenly spaced.  Your horse will be better balanced and much more regular in his stride and the judge will reward you accordingly.” 

          I hope this course will help you rev-up your scores and I hope it has given you some insight to how scores get elevated.  There are some very strict directives as to what the tests are asking for, so learn them.

          Judges are not infallible, but try to use their information to help you move your scores up.

          Use common sense, be neat and precise, be on time, and never sacrifice your horse for the ribbon!

          Here is a list of web sites and additional reading you may find enjoyable and helpful.

          http://classicalridingannewilson.com/ 

            Classical Riding Club (CRC -- Sylvia Loch's Club): http://www.classicalriding.co.uk/,

            The Complete Training of Horse and Rider – Col. Alois PodhajskyHarrap 1967

My Horses My Teachers – Col. Alois Podhajsky – J.A. Allen 1997

            The Riding Teacher – Col. Alois Podhajsky – Sportsman’s Press Edition 1993

            The Classical Rider – Sylvia Loch – J.A. Allen 1997

            The Classical Seat – Sylvia Loch – new revised edition D.J. Murphy 2009

            Dressage in Lightness – Sylvia Loch- J.A. Allen 2000

            Dressage for the 21st Century – Paul Belasik – J.A. Allen 2002

            Revolutionize Your Riding – Susan McBane- David & Charles 2007

            Horsemanship – Waldemar Seunig – J.A. Allen Classic series 2003

            Exercise School for Horse and Rider – Lesley Skipper – New Holland 2008

 

 

Click Here To Take Quiz

 

Assignment:

1.           SHORT ESSAY AND VIDEO:

          Please send a video demonstrating what areas you are working on to improve your test.

          If you do not have an arena, show me parts of your test in an area with buckets or cones as markers.  Let me know of any problems you may be having.

          Send a document explaining your work as shown in the video.

 

          Load the video to YouTube or another video hosting web site.

 

          Please send the link to the video and your report (in the body of an email or as an attachment) to: angietlr@gmail.com