Accuracy

MAKE THE EGG-SHAPED CIRCLE A THING OF THE PAST

Wonky circles and crooked halts all lose valuable marks in the dressage arena, and yet many of us fail to focus on these basics, instead preferring to perfect our ‘fancy tricks’ in advance of the show. However, spending that time honing the accuracy of your shapes, turns, transitions and paces, is far more likely to boost your mark in a meaningful way and see you heading in the right direction in your dressage career.

EXERCISE 1

Riding an accurate 20m circle is more challenging than it might sound, so make sure you’ve practised this endlessly at home and know your markers. To do this:

1. Remember that there are four ‘points’ to a circle, so as well as your two arena letters, use a visual aid to mark how wide your 20m circle needs to be. To help with this, it can be a good idea to use cones.

2. Next, count how many walk, trot or canter strides it takes to do one half of the circle and then see if the other half matches.

EXERCISE 2

The sides of the arena are your friend when riding a 20m circle, but things can, quite literally, go a little pear-shaped when you are asked to ride a 10m or 15m circle. To practice these different diameters:

1. Work on the same principles as in Exercise 1 and set yourself up with some visual aids to help gauge how big the circle needs to be.

2. For the 10m circle, put a cone at X to show how deep the circle needs to be. Ideally, use another two cones to mark out the other ‘points’ of the circle.

3. You can do the same at the halfway point between X and the arena side to mark your 15m circle boundary.

4. Again you should count how many walk, trot or canter strides it takes to do one half of a circle and then see if the other half matches.

5. Smaller circles are hard work for your horse, so do them in the walk first and aim to get your horse wrapped around your inside leg.

EXERCISE 3

Shallow loops off the track are another common area for inaccuracy. To train for this:

1. Pick where you’re going to ride your shallow loop and then place a cone 5m in from the track (for a 5m loop) or 10m in from the track (for a 10m loop).

2. Do the same on either side of the arena so you can practice shallow loops on both reins.

3. Use your corners well to prepare and the arena markers as a guide.

4. Be strict and make sure you reach your marker every time.

NOTE: The importance of the outside rein in the above three exercises cannot be overstated. Your outside rein limits the bend and allows you to keep your horse’s outside cheek in line with his outside shoulder. You don’t want to see your horse’s nose bobbing to the inside, as this tends to be when loops and circles become misshapen.

EXERCISE 4

A square halt and a good ride down the centre line are often two of the most challenging parts of the test. To practice:

1. Use poles down the centre line and place cones at X, or your intended halt destination, to help you to develop an eye for where you need to go and stop.

2. If your approach is not straight, you cannot hope to achieve a straight halt, so choose your line and stick to it as you ride down the centre line.

3. Finally, ensure that you are sitting straight by asking someone to watch from the ground. If you are leaning to one side or another, you will unbalance your horse, and he will be unable to travel straight down the centre line or offer a straight and balanced halt.

Stick the markers – don’t get distracted by the boxes of flowers!

EXERCISE 5

Riding into your corners is a crucial part of a good and accurate test. To practice this:

1. Put markers just outside the track on the corners to ensure you do not fall in and cut the corner. These serve as a visual guide so you can accurately assess how deep you went into the corner.

2. If necessary, when practising at home, bring your horse back a gait for the corners to ensure you ride them properly i.e. if you are in trot, walk the corners. This avoids you and your horse doing a ‘motorbike with hair impression’ each time you encounter a corner.

3. If your horse tends to anticipate the corners and rush around them, instead bring him to a halt in the corner, and perhaps perform a turn on the haunches or turn on the forehand to go back on the opposite rein i.e. do not go through the corner. This teaches your horse to listen to you and avoids the risk of ‘corner anticipation’ which can lead to rushing.

EXERCISE 6

Another central area that loses riders marks is their transitions. If you are asked to return to walk at K, you need to return to walk at K – not two strides before or two strides afterwards. To practice:

1. Use the arena markers to execute accurate transitions. Use each marker to perform either an upwards or downwards transition. The aim here is to be absolutely precise. This also helps to teach your horse to be very responsive to your aids.

2. Once you have mastered this, you can start skipping one marker to make the pattern a little less predictable. You can also start skipping a gait in the transition i.e. performing a walk to canter transition or a trot to halt transition.

TOP TIP

Watch Charlotte Dujardin’s test from the Olympics, and you will see how well she uses corners to give her the maximum amount of time to set Gio up for the next movement. Corners are important even at the top levels of the sport!