Posts Tagged ‘level dressage’

Some casual English riders today often wear breeches and a t-shirt. The dress of most English riders, however, has changed very little over the past 100 years Although a careful observer might notice subtle differences in color and styling, the name of the game in English apparel is still conservative, especially in the show ring. Let me introduce you to the basics of English schooling and show clothes.

English Schooling and Trail Clothes

English riders who are schooling their horses or riding out on the trail dress much more casually than when they are in the show ring. Schooling apparel for English riders includes the following:

Helmets: English riders who are schooling their horses usually wear lightweight schooling helmets that come in a variety of colors.

Shirts: Today everything from long-sleeve shirts to t-shirts to tank tops are a go for schooling in English apparel.

Breeches or tights: Breeches are the traditional riding pants of the English discipline. They need to be stretchy and sometimes have a padded seat and knee patches. Some riders prefer riding tights to breeches for schooling, however. Riding tights are usually less expensive and more comfortable. The tights usually have pads on the insides of the knees.

Boots and chaps: English riders who are schooling wear tall boots or paddock boots (boots that come just above the ankle). If they wear paddock boots, they will also need something to protect their legs from rubbing on the stirrup leathers, which is the strap that attaches the stirrup to the saddle. This protection comes in the style of full chaps, which cover the leg from the hip to the ankle, or half chaps, which cover the leg from just below the knee to the ankle. The preferred and longer lasting chaps are made of premium split suede or cowhide.

English Show Clothes

English show apparel is much more formal than schooling apparel. Although elements such as the color and style of the helmet in hunt seat and lower-level dressage may change slightly, the basics always remain the same.

Head wear: Hunt seat and lower-level dressage riders wear black velvet-covered helmets. Upper-level dressage riders wear a derby.

Shirts: English riders wear show shirts under a jacket. These tailored shirts are designed to allow extra motion needed in the shoulders for jumping. They button down the front, have a collar, and are usually white or, if colored, are a very light pink or blue. Some shirts are short sleeved while others are sleeveless.

Jackets: All English show riders wear jackets. Hunt seat and lower-level dressage riders wear tailored jackets in solids or pinstripes. Upper-level dressage riders wear a black shadbelly which is a tailored, short-waisted jacket, often double-breasted, with tails. These days, however, the cheat is that it is often made in 100% polyester.

Breeches: All English riders wear breeches for the show ring. These breeches, too, are form-fitting, and they extend just below the calf. In hunt seat and lower-level dressage, the color is admittedly prone to trends, including everything from rust to hunter green. Tan is usually a staple, although some among the rather self-conscious believe it’s a good idea to go to a show and scope it out to see what’s fashionable in their region. Upper-level dressage riders, however, reliably wear white breeches.

Boots: Hunt seat and dressage riders will always wear tall, black boots for shows.

Gloves: In the show ring, English riders usually wear black gloves, although upper-level dressage riders wear white gloves.

English horse schooling and show clothes don’t change much through the years. That may account for the abiding place they hold in the popular imagination of the sport of English hunting and formal dressage.

Tanya Vorgan believes in the easiest way to learn — to teach others as she is learning. Her many interests have lead her to many exciting experiences, but sometimes nothing compares to the richness of quiet moments in which to reflect and grow. Tanya is also among those committed to the never-ending quest for the perfect cup of coffee, which for her begins with the best bar none Bunn coffee makers.

She recommends going for the richest black gold possible with a Bunn coffee grinder and your choice of coffee bean. You won’t believe the difference fresh ground coffee in your kitchen will make.

Author: Tanya Vorgan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Leg-yielding is an elementary exercise that should be taught on a circle (although at times it is asked for on a straight line or diagonal). It is used mainly to teach the horse to move away from the rider’s leg pressure. Once the horse is responsive, the objective is complete, and the horse should be moved towards the more beneficial shoulder-in. I believe leg-yielding has become too popular, for two reasons. First, it is required in some first-level dressage tests, so too much emphasis is placed on “schooling” for this movement. Second, it is much easier to produce than shoulder-in.

To perform leg-yielding, the horse is led onto the circle and the rider’s inside leg, used behind the girth, pushes the hindquarters out. It is easy for the horse; he is not required to maintain this bend and can easily let his hindquarters “fall out”. The horse may thus be denied the strength and balance building required in more advanced movements. He can, in fact, perform this exercise with his weight primarily on his forehand, in effect pushing himself thought the movement instead of carrying it.

Overuse of leg-yielding is not beneficial to the horse’s physical development and will only add to his resistance when he is asked to perform movements that require suppleness, bending and collection.

Shoulder-in, on the other hand, benefits the horse in many ways. The correct execution of this movement will increase the flexion of the hind legs, thereby enabling the hindquarters to carry more weight. This, in turn, allows freer more supple movement of the shoulders. It also increases the horse’s ability to collect and extend paces, and will help to improve the canter departs (again, because the movement develops the hindquarters, and lightens the forehand).

When these exercises are analyzed, shoulder-in is clearly more beneficial, from the fundamental physical development of the horse, to eventual progress to higher levels. Leg-yielding should be used minimally, with knowledge and care. I encourage anyone concerned with the correct development of the sport horse to consider this important issue.

Adrienne Neary lives and trains horses in Maine. She founded a company called Wingspan Arts International, which specializes in quality Equine Products and expert Equine Consultations. http://www.wingspanartsintl.com

Author: Adrienne Neary
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Dressage has long been seen as the most graceful of equestrian events and for good reason. The FEI dressage horses that compete at this level are trained to move gracefully across the arena performing complex maneuvers while the rider appears to give no cues and interferes very little in the actions of the horse.

The FEI rules describe dressage as “the development of the horse into a happy athlete through harmonious education. As a result, it makes the horse calm, supple, loose and flexible, but also confident, attentive and keen, thus achieving perfect understanding with his rider.” Dressage also means “training” in French and when properly trained, the dressage horse is capable of performing a variety of maneuvers while it appears that the rider is really just along for the ride. This level of harmony is best witnessed during the dressage competition at the FEI World Equestrian Games.

There are two types of dressage competitions at the World Equestrian Games. These are the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special. During the competition, each horse and rider will perform the same test that consists of specific movements and gaits to be performed at specific points around the arena. The FEI dressage horse will be capable of demonstrating a very high level of achievement and the performance of the horse will match the description of the FEI dressage rules.

Each horse is tested independently before a panel of five judges. Each movement of the test is judged independently as well. The horse and rider team with the highest overall score wins the competition. However, if you really want to see an amazing dressage performance while visiting the FEI World Equestrian Games, then you won’t want to miss the Freestyle competition.

The Freestyle competition allows the rider to create their own pattern and choreograph it to music. There are specific movements that must be completed in the test, but the rider is able to determine when those movements will be performed and they can ride to the music of their choice.

You can witness dressage at nearly every equestrian horse show across the globe, but rarely do you have the opportunity to witness the best dressage horses at work. If you want to see what a truly professional dressage horse looks like, there’s no better place than the FEI World Equestrian Games when riders and horses from around the world come to compete for FEI World Cup in dressage.

The dressage portion of the Alltech 2010 World Equestrian Games will take place September 27th-29th and October 1st, 2010.

For more information about the world equestrian games and to find the best world equestrian games housing visit http://weg2010housing.net.

Author: Abbey Dale
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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A lot of riders struggle to develop trot lengthenings with their first level dressage horses. What follows are 7 quick tips to help your horse with his lengthenings.

1. THE AIDS FOR TROT LENGTHENINGS

When you’re ready to ask for an upward transition from working trot to a trot lengthening, apply the aids simultaneously, as follows:

* Seat: use a driving seat, as though you’re pushing the back of the saddle toward the front of the saddle.

* Legs: press lightly with both legs to signal your horse to express his energy forward over the ground in longer strides.

* Reins: soften your hands a bit forward, but keep a contact with your horse’s mouth, and a bend in your elbows. Do not ‘throw the reins away’.

2. TROT LENGTHENINGS develop suppleness.

Here’s an image that will help you understand the type of suppleness you’re developing when you practice lengthenings with your First Level horse. Think of your horse’s body as a rubber band that can easily stretch and contract. Not only will this quality make him more athletic, but it’s also extremely useful for all disciplines of riding. Take showjumping, for instance. Just think how many jumping faults could be avoided if your horse’s stride were easily adjustable like this!

3. MAINTAIN THE TEMPO OF THE WORKING TROT

As with most new work, when you begin to incorporate lengthenings into your training at First Level, you start in the trot. It’s a bonus if you have a horse that can naturally lengthen his trot. Many Warmbloods and Arabians have this ability, but I’ve worked with a lot of Thoroughbreds, Connemaras, Morgans, and Quarter Horses who really need help developing their trot lengthenings.

If you ask your horse to lengthen in the way I’ve described and the tempo gets quicker because he runs with short, fast steps, you need to systematically develop his lengthenings. Part of his difficulty may be purely physical. He may lack the suppleness and strength that he will gain in time by basic dressage training. But part of the problem may be that the horse just doesn’t understand that he is to take longer strides in the same tempo. He actually thinks he’s being obedient when he rushes off because he feels you close your legs, and he responds eagerly by immediately going forward.

I often find that I can help him understand that he is to lengthen his strides without speeding up, by asking for the trot lengthenings while going up hills. Once he gets the idea, I go back into the ring and see if he can transfer this concept of lengthening in the same tempo on the level footing.

Sometimes I do something unusual with the horse that tends to quicken his trot tempo when asked to lengthen. Since it takes time to develop the trot lengthening, I go out in a big field, or I go all the way around the ring and round off the corners so that I don’t have to slow down for them. First, I take up a heavier contact than normal. In this way, I can temporarily act as the horse’s fifth leg and purposely support him so he doesn’t lose his balance. Then I ask for a lengthening in posting trot. While posting to the trot, I rise very high and stay in the air a fraction of a second longer than normal. I pretend that I can hold the horse in the air with my body. And, in my mind’s eye, I picture him floating over the ground with his feet never touching the ground.

I ask my horse to give me a greater and greater effort and eventually one of two things will happen. The first is that he realizes that his legs can’t go any faster, and he ‘shifts into overdrive’ and takes some longer, slower steps. At this point, I immediately stop, praise him, and let him walk on a loose rein.

In my experience I’ve found that the first time, I might have to go all the way around a ring once or twice before I get a couple of longer, slower steps. But after the reward, the next effort yields results much sooner. And the same for the next attempt.

The other thing that might happen is that he loses his balance and falls into the canter. This isn’t the disaster it seems to be. If my horse hadn’t lost his balance and cantered, his next trot step probably would have been a bit longer. So I re-establish and immediately ask for a trot lengthening. It’s in that moment that I’m most apt to get a longer stride in a better tempo. And once again if I get even one or two better steps, I stop and praise him. The reward helps the horse to understand that by doing something different, even if initially he doesn’t understand what it is, he’ll be praised.

Once I get two or three better steps as soon as I ask for the trot lengthening, I leave them for another day. During each session the horse builds his understanding of what’s being asked, and over time he physically gets strong enough to lengthen in a good tempo for a greater number of steps.

4. HEAR THE TEMPO

Use some good auditory images to help you while you’re teaching your horse to do a trot lengthening in the same tempo as his working gait. Pretend you’re standing by a paved road and your eyes are closed. Because the tempo stays exactly the same, you can’t tell from the sound of the footfalls whether your horse is in the working gait, lengthening, or doing the transition in between.

Here’s another auditory image to help you teach your horse to lengthen the trot in the same tempo as his working trot. Pretend you hear a metronome ticking. The tempo stays exactly the same both when you’re in working trot and when you’re in the lengthening. (Even though I’m discussing trot lengthenings at the moment, you can use the same type of auditory image if your horse quickens his tempo in a canter lengthening. ‘Hear’ the tempo as if your horse is moving over the ground with big, ground-covering bounds in slow motion.

If your horse still tends to quicken his tempo when you ask him to do a trot lengthening, overcompensate by imagining that you ‘hear’ the tempo get slower. Pretend that the tempo gets slower because your horse stays suspended in the air for a long time. If you’re doing a posting trot, try rising and sitting more slowly to see if you can be the one to set the pace rather than automatically posting at the speed that your horse chooses.

5. USE FIRMER CONTACT FOR SUPPORT

Don’t be surprised if the contact with your horse’s mouth during trot lengthenings becomes somewhat heavy. Remember that lengthenings are developed out of the working gait at First Level, and the weight in your hands is somewhat firm to begin with. In addition, while your horse is learning how to balance himself during trot lengthenings, his center of gravity might shift even a bit further to his forehand. Don’t be alarmed by this. It’s a stage of his training, and it’s fine to temporarily support him by maintaining a firmer contact. Later on, if you decide to go on to more advanced work, you’ll develop ‘uphill’ extensions out of collected gaits. Because the horse will have a greater degree of self-carriage when he’s in a collected gait, the contact will be lighter.

However, there’s a fine line between a solid, supporting contact and one in which your horse is leaning so heavily on your hands that your arms ache. Here are some things you can try to improve a contact that is too heavy. Before you even begin to ask for a trot lengthening, make sure you drive the horse’s hind legs more under his body by closing both of your legs. In order to carry himself, your horse needs to have his hind legs underneath him. If his hind legs are trailing out behind his body, he can’t support himself in the lengthening and he has no option but to lean on your hands.

You can also ride some quick transitions: from trot to halt and back to trot again, or from the canter to the walk and back to the canter again. This will help to re-balance your horse and make the weight in your hands more comfortable.
Another reason the contact can get too heavy is that you may be asking for too many lengthened strides at one time before your horse is ready. Doing well-balanced trot lengthenings with his hind legs underneath his body for only a few strides at a time is much more valuable for your horse than lengthening for many strides with his hind legs pushing out behind his body. Remember that when you do the downward transition back to the working gait, be sure that you close your legs to send his hind legs under his body. It might feel natural to ask for the downward transition from the lengthening to the working gait by just using the reins. But, as you know by now, if your goal is to rebalance your horse and improve the contact, you need to add hind legs while doing the downward transitions.

6. ALLOW THE FRAME TO ELONGATE IN TROT LENGTHENINGS

In trot lengthenings, the front feet should touch the ground on the spot toward which they are pointing when each leg is at its maximum extension. When a horse has to draw his front legs back toward his body before placing them on the ground, or his toes flip up in front, it usually indicates that he hasn’t been allowed to lengthen his frame.
Sometimes a rider makes it difficult for the horse to lengthen to his utmost. Although I said earlier that you shouldn’t be concerned in the contact is a bit too firm, you want to be sure that you’re not making it heavy because you’re cranking his neck in. If you keep your horse’s neck short by restricting him with strong or non-allowing hands, he has to draw his foreleg back before putting it down. Allow your horse to lengthen his neck and point the tip of his nose more or less forward. To help you to do this, think about ‘opening the front door’ by softening your hands a bit toward your horse’s mouth and by cocking your wrists upward in a way that allows your little fingers to go more forward.

7. SIT UPRIGHT

When you use your driving seat to ask for the transition into the trot lengthening, don’t try to ‘help’ your horse to lengthen by leaning back. Even though you might feel that you can drive him forward this way (and I see many dressage riders doing this in lengthenings and extensions) you’ll just end up driving his back down and making it hollow. Stay vertical at all times.

I learned this lesson about sitting correctly in trot lengthenings the hard way while trying to qualify for the Olympic Festival with Jolicoeur at a competition that was being held at Knoll Farm in Brentwood, New York, back in 1987. One of the finest international judges in the world, the late Mr Jaap Pot, was there. He was a stickler when it came to the correctness of the rider’s seat. I remember Jo and I doing huge extended trots for him. I thought we had done really well until my score sheet came back with extremely low marks for the extensions and the simple comment – rider leaning behind the vertical. Believe me, it made an impression.

Author: Jane Savoie
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Even if you are the most confident, well-prepared of riders, your first dressage show can reduce you to nothing but a bundle of nerves. There is so much to remember, and we’re not talking about just the test! Well, relax, we’ve got everything covered. By the end of this article, you’ll be on your way to realizing your dressage goals in a relaxed, enjoyable manner.

A month before the show:

Be mentally and physically prepared. Sounds obvious, but too often riders enter their first dressage show without asking themselves the following questions: Do I understand the objectivesrhythm, relaxation, and supplenessof dressage? Can we ride the required movements in a controlled, accurate manner, and do we consistently do so at home? Does the horse have the ability to stay on task, and is he well-behaved?

Don’t focus on your nerves. If you wait to compete until you aren’t nervous about it, you’ll never compete. Even top-level dressage riders get nervous. Instead, realize that a healthy case of nerves can keep you focused on the task at hand.

Read the AHSA rule book. Read it twice! Many riders are eliminated because they haven’t taken the time to read the rule book and inadvertently break a rule. You’ve worked way too hard to let that happen!

Begin to memorize the test. Know it front and back, inside and out. Walk the test on your own two feet, ride the test on your horse often, draw a diagram and trace it with your finger, and think about it in your head when you are driving and falling asleep. Know it in your sleep, because if you get in the ring and are nervous, it will be the first thing you forget.

Arrange for someone to read for you. If you suffer from the type of nerves that empties your brain of everything you’ve learned since birth including, unfortunately, the dressage test you’ve memorized, then find a friend or family member who will read it to you.

Get a good coach. Practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. Ride with your instructor as often as you can afford to. Your coach will be able to gauge your position and your ability to use your aids correctly, which will have a direct and very important impact on your horse’s progress.

A week before the test:

Start paying attention to details. Make sure your equipment is clean and in good working order, and refer to the AHSA rule book to make sure it’s all legal. Be sure your clothes fit. Make a check list of everything you need to bring with you.

The day before the test:

Give your horse a good once-over. Now is a good time to bathe, clip, and perform other grooming odds and ends. Give your tack trunk and trailer a fairly detailed inspection to determine you’ve packed everything you’ll need.

Give yourself a good once-over. And don’t forget to eat well and get good night’s sleep.

Visualize the test. The night before your test, banish your nerves by visualizing it in your head. Banish any bad thoughts, and instead concentrate on riding the perfect test in your brain. The next day your brain will feel “experienced,” and that will help!

The day of the test:

Find a partner-in-crime to attend to the details. This person can check you in, get your number, do last-minute grooming, and make sure that your time is freed up to concentrate on the test at hand.

Check out the arena. Rules will prohibit you from riding in it, but you may be able to walk it. If this is possible, take advantage and walk the test on foot.

Give yourself plenty of time to warm up. You want to be on long enough to warm up, but not on so long that you and your horse are tired before the test even begins! Do the same warm-up as you do at home, so something feels familiar!

Arrive early. Get to the arena well before the whistle blows, and give yourself and your horse a once-over to determine that everything is in order. If you have a friend or family member there, ask them to look you over as well.

Focus on your horse. And not on your nerves. If you focus on your horse and not yourself, everything will fall into place.

Bring your sense of humor to the ring. Everything will not be perfect. Be competitive and give your personal best, but keep everything in perspective.

Author: Ron Petracek
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Riders often ask me, “How do I know it’s the right time to move my Training Level dressage horse up to First Level? In this article, I’ll give you a way to come up with a logical plan for introducing new work at Training Level.

First, I just want to make a general comment. All training should be a systematic progression toward a desired end result. So you need to be able to see the big picture.

For example, even at Training Level the quality of your 20-meter circles is going to make it possible to collect later down the road. Circles show your horse’s ability to bend equally to the left and to the right. So his ability to
bend on a large circle makes it easier for him to progressively increase his bend from 20 meters to 18, to 15, to 12, to 10. As he becomes flexible enough to bend along a tighter arc, you’re laying a foundation for advanced
lateral work such as shoulder-in, haunches-in, and half pass.

A lot of times people say to me, “Oh well, I am ONLY working at Training Level.” You need to understand that the work that is done at Training Level, such as correctly bending on a 20-meter circle, is essential for your horse’s systematic progression to the more advanced work.

So let’s look at one way you can plan your program. Here’s what I did. Back in the early 70′s, I had to work a lot on my own. So I used the USDF tests as my guideline. I knew those tests were designed with the systematic
progression of the dressage horse in mind. I thought, “Well, this is a good place to start since I don’t have anybody around to tell me what to do.”

I’d work on whatever was at Training Level. And even if my horse wasn’t ready for the next level, I’d always look ahead and read what was in the First Level tests. That way I’d have an idea of what was coming up next.

Let’s say my dressage horse is at Training Level. I polish my 20-meter circles, my basic transitions from gait to gait, and the stretchy circle. That’s all great, but I also look ahead. I see that I’ll need to do serpentines, where I have the complication of changing the bend from left to right.

I’d also begin to add smaller circles because eventually, at First Level, I need to do 10-meter circles in the trot and 15-meter circles in the canter. Now that doesn’t mean I’m suddenly going to go from 20-meter circles in the trot to 10-meters.

Instead, knowing that my horse will have to do 10-meter circles down the road, when he can comfortably do 20-meter circles, I’d do some 18-meter circles. And then in a few weeks or months, when he could comfortably do
18-meter circles, I’d do 16-meter circles.

Because I look ahead, and I know what is required at First Level, I plan a program where I progressively make the arc of my circle tighter and tighter until eventually I can do 10-meter circles easily in the trot.

And what I mean by “easily” is that my horse can handle the arc of that curve without having to find an evasion such as swinging the hindquarters in or out from his line of travel.

I’d also see that there are leg yields in the First Level tests. So I think, “My horse has to learn how to move away from a leg that’s behind the girth”. Maybe I should incorporate some turns on the forehand into my work at
Training Level so that I’ll be ready to do some leg yields when the time comes.

At First Level, I also have to show lengthenings in the trot and in the canter. So I work on developing elasticity by lengthening and shortening. Even at Training Level, I start to do rubber band exercises. I go a little more forward
for three or four strides and then come back for three or four strides. And I repeat that– three or four strides a little more forward and three or four strides a little bit back. While doing that I really focus on maintaining the
same rhythm and the same tempo in both “gears”.

I also notice that at First Level there is a little counter canter. So I think about incorporating some counter canter into my work. I come 1-meter off the rail by the time I’m across from B or E. Then by the end of the long side, I’m back onto the track. I do this pattern so gradually that my horse doesn’t even know that I’m asking for a couple of counter canter steps.

Little by little I come off the rail a bit more. My next step is to come one and a half meters off the rail. We’re one and a half meters off the rail when we’re across from B or E, and then we arc back to the last letter.

So, I keep polishing the movements at Training Level with my dressage horse, but I always have an eye on what’s at First Level and start to incorporate a little bit of that work as well.

Author: Jane Savoie
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Are you confused about whether or not your First Level Dressage Horse is ready to move up to Second Level or your Second Level horse is ready for Third Level? Here are some guidelines.

Let’s say your dressage horse is solid at First Level. Look ahead to the Second Level movements. Check out the dressage tests. You’ll see that you need to work on shoulder-in, haunches-in, renvers, simple changes of lead, reinback, and turns on the haunches.

You’ll also notice that the big difference between First and Second Level is rather than schooling at the working gaits like you do at the Training Level and First Level, you’re now asked to show modest collection. That means the balance of your horse is more uphill. And from that modest collection, you’re asked to show medium gaits. Medium gaits are basically the lengthenings that you showed at First Level but in a more uphill balance.

By doing the lateral work with bend like shoulder-in, haunches-in and renvers, you automatically develop that slight shift of center of gravity back toward the hind legs. The shift in the center of gravity creates the degree of modest collection that you need at Second Level.

Then if you’re schooling your horse at Second Level, look ahead to Third Level. You see that you need to learn the aids and the preparation for movements like half passes and flying changes. But now, the big difference between Second Level and Third Level is that your horse needs to show the difference between collected, medium and extended gaits. In other words, he needs to show three gears within each gait.

Keep in mind that medium and extended gears grow out of collection. That is, the degree to which your horse bends the joints of the hind legs and lowers his croup is the degree that his forehand comes up. His outline begins to look like a see-saw or an airplane taking off. That degree of collection determines just how good your medium extended gaits are.

So what should you work on to develop the degree of collection that you need at Third Level in order to also be able to show medium and extended gaits?

I’d suggest work in four areas to increase collection and, therefore, be able to show a clear difference between collected, medium and extended gates. Those four areas are lateral work with a bend, frequent transitions skipping a gait, decreasing size circles, and collecting half halts.

You’ve already stared lateral work with a bend when you moved from First Level to Second level. Just remember this equation. Bend plus sideways equals engagement. Engagement refers to the bending of the joints of the hind legs. And as the joints of the hind legs bend or “fold”, the croup goes down. As a result of the croup going down, the forehand comes up.

If you bend your horse and go sideways, you’re going to shift the center of gravity back. That will create a certain degree of collection.

But there are other things that you can do to develop collection such as frequent transitions skipping a gait. For example, if you want to collect the trot, trot for 5 or 6 strides, and then halt. Then trot again for only 5 or 6 strides, and halt again. The main thing that you want to strive for during frequent transitions is that there are no dribbly walk steps in between the transitions from trot to halt and back again.

You can do the same type of transitions to collect the canter. Ride five strides of canter and then five strides of walk. Repeat this several times with no dribbly trot steps in between. As you do the down transition to the walk with your back and outside rein, visualize your horse lowering his haunches the way a dog sits down. Use this mental image to support your aids so that the croup lowers as your horse steps into the down transition.

Another very simple thing that you can do is ride smaller circles. As the arc of the circle becomes tighter, the joints of the inside hind leg bend more. Obviously, there’s more bend in the joints of the inside hind leg at 10-meters than there is at 12-meters. And there’s more bend of the joints at 8-meters than there is at 10-meters. So by decreasing the size of your circles while making sure your horses spine directly overlaps that arc, your horse shifts his center of gravity back.

The final thing you can do is “collecting half halts”. I’ve talked a lot about “connecting half halts”, or the connecting aids, which is the third ingredient of the training scale, but collection is the sixth and final ingredient in the training scale.

With collecting half halts, I like to give three half halts (a hardly visible, almost simultaneous co-ordinated action of the seat, the legs and the hands) in a row-take/give, take/give, take/give.

Be sure to time the half halts when the hind leg you want to influence is on the ground. That’s because the only time you can influence a hind leg is when it’s on the ground just before it pushes off. You can feel when a hind leg is on the ground because your corresponding seatbone feels like it’s pushed “up” or “forward”.

When you give those collecting half halts, focus on two things.
1.With each collecting half halt, decrease the amount of ground that you cover per stride.
2. Keep the same rhythm and tempo as you shorten the strides.

The “collecting half halts” shift the horse’s center of gravity back. When you trot or canter forward, be sure to maintain the same balance you achieved during your collecting half halts. You don’t want to collect your horse with half halts, and then charge forward. If you do, your horse will unload his hind legs and shift his balance to the forehand.

To sum up, following the dressage tests gives you a good general program for advancing from First Level to Second Level to Third Level and even higher. Check out what’s coming up next, and start to add in little bits of what’s in the next level. In that way, you’ll systematically and progressively add new work. Your horse won’t even realize that he’s being asked to do anything more difficult.

Author: Jane Savoie
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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It’s summer (Finally!), and lots of you are getting ready to compete your dressage horse. So I want give you some competition tips to help you have the best experience possible. Before I get started with the actual tests, I want to just talk in general about test riding because there’s a lot of things that all the dressage tests have in common.

1. MEMORIZE YOUR TEST

The first thing is that you need to know your dressage test. I mean REALLY know it. Even though the Training through 4th level dressage tests, can be read out loud, it’s still important that you really know your test. This is critical so your test doesn’t look like a bunch of movements strung together. That way you can use the reader if you occasionally blank out. But for the most part, you won’t even be listening to the reader because you’ll be paying attention to your horse.

Your goal is to be able to do the test on autopilot, so that you can reserve all of your focus for riding your horse. You want to be riding your horse not concentrating on what comes next in the pattern. To help you do this, start memorizing your test early on. I have 3 different ways that I memorize tests.

1. Visualization-I know that it takes approximately 21 days to develop a habit. So I start visualizing my test every day at least 3 weeks before a show. I sit in an easy chair or lie down on my bed, close my eyes, and take 3 really deep breaths. You want to do diaphragmatic breathing, so as you inhale, feel like your stomach is getting fat. That means you’re taking air way down into the bottom of your lungs. As you exhale, feel yourself sinking into the chair or bed.
Visualizing your test is going to help you do two things. First, it’s going to help you memorize your test. Secondly, when you visualize the perfect ride, you program your subconscious mind to ride correctly. That’s because when you do “perfect practice” in your mind’s eye, your muscles will fire in the correct way.

As you visualize, go through your ride stride for stride. Fill in as much detail as you can. What are you wearing? What does your horse look like? What does the arena look like? What color is your jacket? What color are your gloves?
Fill in as many details as you can AND include your senses. Hear the rhythm of the footfalls. Feel the contact with your horse’s mouth. See your horse’s head and neck out in front of you. Smell the fly spray. Also, add emotion to your mental movies. Experience yourself feeling calm, relaxed, poised and the harmony of being at one with your horse.

2. Do your test on foot.
Another thing I do is that my living room rug tends to be a rectangle, and I walk out and trot out and canter out the parts of the dressage tests as if I were riding them. So I actually, and you can do this in a regular dressage arena if you want, of course it will take you a long time to walk, trot and canter around an entire dressage arena although I have seen people do that. But if you have a big rectangular area or just mark off an area and trot down the center line, do your halts, trot off, plan where you’re going to turn, walk where you’re supposed to walk, canter where you’re supposed to canter. So you actually have a chance to physically practice.

3. Know your test “forwards and backwards”. The third way that I memorize a test is to learn it the way it’s written from the first entry to the final salute. But then, to know that I “own” that test, I pick any movement and ask myself what comes after it. And here’s the real thing that tells the story, I ask myself, “And what movement comes before this movement?” So I might say, “What comes before the left canter depart?” or “What comes before the free walk?” or “What comes after the trot lengthening?” When you can pick any point within the test and you can answer those two questions, you really own that test. Also, if you do happen to blank out in the middle of the test, you’ll be able to remember where you are very easily.

2. THE ENTRY

Now let’s talk about the movements that all of the dressage tests have in common. First, they all have an entry. You have to get into the arena. So I’m going to start while you’re going around the arena. What you do as you go around the arena really depends on your horse. I find it helpful to just walk around the arena with tense horses. I know that things look different to a horse from the left side and the right side. So, I’ll walk by the judge’s stand then I’ll turn around and walk by so the horse can see the judge’s stand from the other eye. And then, I’ll actually turn and face the judge’s stand, halt, and pat my horse. I know that my horse is going to see two weird people in the judge’s booth when we come down the centerline. I want him to have already seen them and know that he doesn’t have to be worried.

For the horse that tends to be a little behind the leg, you might decide to do some rising trot lengthening outside the arena. That way you can make sure that your horse is in front of the leg and that you really get his motor going.
Or let’s say you have a horse that is spooky or to tends to get a little on the forehand. Do a little shoulder-in when you’re still outside the arena. The next thing that you have to think about is whether you’re going to enter from the right rein or from the left rein? If your horse is fairly straight, enter from the direction you’ll be turning at C. That will trigger your memory if you blank out and forget which way to turn at C. So, if I’m going to be turning right at C, I normally enter from the right rein. I enter from the left rein if I’m going to be turning left at C.

However, let’s say I have a horse that’s really hollow to the left (meaning he likes to bend his neck and carry his hind quarters to the left then); I’ll enter from the right. That’s because he’ll be straighter, and I don’t want the judge’s first impression to be that my horse is crooked.

Now, as you come down that centerline, look up, and make eye contact with the judge. This is part of showmanship. No matter how you’re really feeling, look confident, put a smile on your face, and come down that centerline like you own that arena.

3. THE HALT

Now, let’s talk about the halt. The way you approach the halt is different depending on the level of the test. If you’re doing a Training or Intro test, you can walk into your halt. You can also take a step or two of walk out of the halt into the trot.

From First Level and above, there are no walk steps. If you enter in the trot, go directly to the halt from the trot and then back to the trot after your salute. If you’re doing one of the higher level tests and you’re entering into the canter, go directly from canter to the halt.

Once you’re in the halt, you need to salute. The most common way to salute is to take all the reins in your left hand. Drop your right arm loosely behind your thigh. Nod your head keeping eye contact with the judge. Don’t make this big extravagant bow. You want to acknowledge the judge, but you want it to look crisp and efficient.

A man can actually salute in the same way. He can take the reins in one hand, drop his hand loosely behind one thigh, and nod his head. Or he can take his hat off, put it behind his thigh, and nod his head. If you do take your hat off, make sure the top of the hat (not the inside of the hat) faces the judge.

Take your time in the halt so you can really show that your horse is on the aids. However, if he starts to move, go ahead and pick up the trot. You’ll get a better mark for a halt that’s too quick as compared to letting your horse move forward and then trying to halt again.

If you feel like your dressage horse drops behind your leg in the halt, “breathe” your legs to help him react more quickly to your driving aids. To “breathe” your legs, take them ever so slightly off his sides. Bring them back an inch or two, and then place them on his sides lightly again.

As you finish your centerline, keep your horse straight. Pretend you’re going to lengthen toward the judge so you ride him between the channel of your legs and hands. Then warn him that he’s going either left or right by asking for flexion at the poll when you’re a couple of strides before C.

4. CORNERS AND DIAGONALS

Okay, you’re in the arena. No matter what level you’re doing, you have to ride corners. The general rule for riding corners is that you don’t have to go any deeper into the corners than the smallest circle done at each level.
So, the smallest circle you’re asked to do for First Level is a 10-meter circle. That means you need to get into the corner to the depth of one quarter of a 10-meter circle. At Training Level, the smallest circle you’re required to do is a 20-meter circle. So you really don’t have to get into the corners any deeper than the arc of a 20-meter circle.

But if you can show a difference between the line that you follow when you’re going into a corner and the line that you follow when you’re on your 20-meter circle, you show the judge that you’re a savvy rider. If that’s pretty simple for him, try to show a 3-meter difference between the line you’d follow if you were going into a corner and the line you’d follow if you were on a 20-meter circle. That shows a real clear difference between getting into the corner and being on a circle.

Your rule of thumb is to ride into the corner as deep as your dressage horse can manage-That is, he can keep the same rhythm, tempo, balance and quality of his gait. The next things that all the tests have in common are diagonal lines. Here’s what I’d suggest. First, ride deep into the corner before you turn onto the diagonal. Then look at a point about a half-meter before the final letter on the long side. Aim for that spot when you go across the diagonal. By looking a little bit before the letter, you’ll have more time to really balance your horse for the next corner.

5. TRANSITIONS

Another thing that all the tests have in common is that you have transitions from gait to gait. And with the more advanced tests, you also have transitions within the gait. First, let’s look at transitions from gait to gait. Always prepare for those transitions with half halts. However, the particular version of the half halt you give depends on the way your horse feels prior to the transition. This is because a transition can be no better than the stride just before the transition.

If your dressage horse is well schooled, obedient, and is solidly on the bit, you can give what I call “Preparatory Half Halts”. That’s a momentary closure of seat, leg and hand–Take/give, take/give, take/give. Direct those half halts to the inside hind leg. Give the half halts when the inside hind leg is on the ground just before it’s ready to push off. You need to time these half halts when the inside hind leg is on the ground because that’s really the only time you can influence a hind leg. Once it’s in the air, it’s already committed to its flight.

Your goal is to engage the inside hind leg prior to the transition. Give three Preparatory Half Halts prior to the down transition. Let’s say, for example, that you want to go from trot to walk. When you feel the inside hind leg on the ground, say something like, “Engage, engage, engage, walk”. Or you can say, “Now, now, now, walk”. So you might ask me at this point, “Well how do I know when a hind leg is on the ground?” When a particular hind leg is on the ground, your horse’s hip will feel higher. You’ll feel your inside seat bone either being pushed up or being pushed forward. When I’m getting ready to do a downward transition, I tune into my seatbones. I feel which of my seat bones is being pushed up in the air or forward. So I get into the timing of the inside hind leg being on the ground.

Then, 3 strides before the letter, I give my half halts. I’ll say, “Now, now, now, walk,” or if I’m cantering, and I want to trot, I’ll say, “Now, now, now, trot.” It’s pretty easy to feel the inside hind leg in the walk and in the trot. In the canter, feel the moment when your seat is deepest in the saddle. It’s also the moment when your horse’s mane flips up. So you can coordinate what you see with what you feel.

That’s how I prepare for transitions so that I ride a very accurate test. I know how much ground my horse covers with each stride. So, when I’m 3 strides away from where I’ll be doing a down transition, I give my 3 Preparatory Half Halts– that momentary closure of seat, leg and hand directed to the inside hind leg being on the ground. Now, let’s take another scenario. If my horse doesn’t feel solidly on the bit, I need to give a different version of the half halt which I call the “Connecting Half Halt” because I want to be sure that my horse stays on the bit through both upward transitions and downward transitions.

I superimpose the “Connecting Half Halt” before, during and for at least two strides after the transitions. So, I bridge 0r overlap the transitions with a connecting half halt as an insurance policy so that my horse stays on the bit through the transitions. My aids are saying, “Stay on the bit through this transition”. Let’s say I’m going to ask my dressage horse to do a downward transition from canter to trot.

Two or three strides before the transition, I begin my connecting half halt. I press with both legs as if I’m going toward a medium canter. I close my outside hand in a fist to recycle that energy. And I vibrate the inside rein so the horse doesn’t bend his neck to the outside. Then, I ask for the downward transition by tightening my stomach muscles and “stilling” my seat. But I keep giving the half halt during and for at least two strides after the transition.

Author: Jane Savoie
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Hybrid and Electric Cars