30 July 2010

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HORSE Magazine



Features : Boost your dressage score

Improve your dressage marks

Thursday 4 December 2008

Do you regularly perform what you feel is quite a nice dressage test, only to be disappointed by your score? If so, you're not alone. Horse asks dressage judge, trainer and rider Debby Lush to pinpoint some of the most common ways that riders lose marks in their tests.

Failing to prepare your horse for transitions
Do you arrive at a marker and then think: 'Oops! I'm supposed to do a transition here'? Horses need time to organise their bodies if they are to perform smooth and engaged transitions. One of the most common (and painful) sights for a judge to see is the rider who suddenly 'puts the brakes on' instead of riding a prepared downward transition.

Fiddling with your halts
Once you have halted, don't fiddle – just stand still! Even if your halt is not straight or square, you will almost certainly make it worse by trying to correct it. So long as it is not horribly crooked – try to avoid this by allowing your horse to take a few more steps forward into halt, rather than being too abrupt – any attempt to change it will probably cause him to swing his quarters from side to side, or lose balance and become even more crooked.

Missing the centre line
It's difficult enough to get your horse straight on the centre line, without the added wobble of overshooting the turn. Make sure your horse is as balanced as he can be before you come around the turn – particularly if you have just made a transition down from canter. Focus on balance, rhythm and tempo (speed) as you come around that corner onto the short side. Try riding the turn onto the centre line more like a half 10m circle than as a turn.