31 July 2010

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HORSE Magazine



Features : Improve your riding over winter

Improve your dressage scores this winter

Wednesday 5 November 2008

Victoria Spicer

Don't wait until the spring competition season kicks off in earnest – put the work into your schooling now and you'll really notice the results when the shows come round.

1. Winter is prime time for equestrian centres to hold lecture-demonstrations with top riders. Attending a couple this year could make a real difference to your knowledge and motivation levels.

2. For a cheap way to pick up tips, ask a good riding school or a top trainer if you would be allowed to watch them teach for a morning or an afternoon. Being able to see what the trainer sees from the ground is hugely beneficial for any rider.

3. Ask a friend to video you and your horse having a lesson. It'll really help to look back and reflect on the session, and see for yourself the areas that you need to improve on.

4. Give something back to equestrianism by volunteering to write for a dressage judge or be a collecting ring steward for an indoor jumping competition. By the time you've watched countless dressage tests or show jumping rounds, you should have absorbed plenty of useful pointers on how – and how not – to do it!

5. Go back through your dressage score sheets from this year and see if you can spot any recurring issues. Why not make a wallchart detailing your test scores, and continue adding in new results from 2009, so you can keep track of your improvement.