Dressage tips

Dressage isn’t about your pony’s head position! An accurate test will always beat a test with a pony who is on the bit but is all over the place.

Tests are won with…

1. Perfect transitions – done as your boduy passes a letter or directly between markers.
2. Great rhythm – count as you go. 1-2-3-4 shouldn’t be 1234!
3. Steady noses! A happy pony moving forward will always score more than one with his head down, but with his nose swinging from side-to-side!

DONT FORGET!
Forgetting is the one thing you can avoid, so practise! Draw an arena on some paper to help you. Start the test from different points until you know it inside out. See yourself riding it slowly, movement-by-movement, and it will give you the confidence you need when you’re riding it.

Accentuate the positive!
Look at your test and note the things you can do. 20m circles, changes of rein and transitions are well within your capabilities, so work on them. Smoothing off a few rough edges on things you do well will gain you marks in several boxes. Battling away at something you and your pony hate will demoralise you and make him tense.

Change the way you think and you will change your results. Every class has a winner – why shouldn’t it be you? Focus to win and go for it!