1st time dressage calling - any tips?!

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I never call for the daughter, she learns the tests herself but only ever does 1 test as she can't remember 2. She's decided to go & do trailblazers dressage on Saturday but its 1st & 2nd rounds (last ones around here for 2012) & is doing 2 classes so it looks like I'm calling :(

I've never done it before & am dead worried that I'm going to cock it up!!!

Do you have any tips?! Also do I have to read exactly what is written on the sheet or can I shorten it?

Cheers! :D
 
LOUD LOUD LOUD LOUD LOUD!!!! It depends on if you're outside etc.

When indoors, I had a caller standing up by C, and when at A I couldn't hear them very well and had to shout LOUDER in the middle of my test :o
Read the movement well in advance of what they have to do.
Say it's "At B, circle right 20m in working trot." Call it as the rider is approaching C.
Be clear, and read what it says on the sheet, unless you and your daughter have an understanding of what the shortened version is. EG. working trot to just trot. Can be confusing if the test contains working and medium.

Good luck to your daughter, I have 2nd rounds on Sunday. Excited and nervous!!!! :D :D Let me know how she gets on, is she doing pre, nov or elem? If prelim, may be seeing you at the finals!! :D
 
As Lizzie has said - LOUD, really LOUD, look at the sheet then lift your chin and speak to the rider - not the sheet ! Say exactly what it says on the sheet unless you have an understanding with your daughter. You need to call the movement in advance, so she knows what marker to look for next. Don't leave it too late.
 
Cheers chick! She's only doing prelim - did finals last year after only doing dressage for about 2 months!! She only decided to go yesterday so I'm not organised at all!!

It's outdoor with another ring at the side of hers so ill have to try & be super loud! We do have a short version communication system but wasn't sure if I had to read what was written word for word!! xx
 
Have a practice at home... stand at B or E and pretend youre an old fashioned riding instructor with a booming voice. The louder and more correct the voice, the better ! Also, ONLY say whats on the sheet ! I once used some artistic licence and got told off ;)

Finally, you can repeat what youre saying so dont be afraid to say it again if the rider looks panicked !
 
Definitely LOUD LOUD LOUD shout as loud as you can.

Try and practise with your daughter a couple of times before the event so you can get the timings right for both of you, i.e. she may want you to give an instruction with a bit more notice than what you think you should give her or the other extreme she may feel that you are saying things to early so she has forgotten what to do by the time she gets to the marker.

That way you also get familiar with the test too :)
 
say ONLY what is on the sheet! Rules is rules :) be loud and time it so you dont say too much in one go but give her time to prepare for each movement. I read tests a lot when we are out and find learning the test yourself helps :)
 
Yep, practice first.

Speak slowly and in plenty of time during the preceeding movement, but not so far ahead that she forgets! Nothing is worse than being in the middle of a movement and you don't know what is coming next.

Keep you finger on the line so you don't loose your place (what happened to the free walk on a long rein? when my reader missed out a line ........ got an error fault! .......).

It isn't that hard, but there is definitely a technique that has to be learnt.
 
Only call the wording on the sheet - don't shorten.
Timing is critical and can take a bit of practise - remeber the rider needs time to evaluate and prep for the movement you are calling, best bet is a dry run at home :)
 
I always call for daughter when allowed. Have a practice to get the timing right, depends how much warning she needs, we work on 1 movement ahead.
Yes you have to ONLY use words on sheet BUT you can miss out unnecessary instructions. I always re-write on to a card the essential instructions and cover with plastic, very useful in the rain! Good luck!
 
You can ask people in the warm up- in our RC our stewards tend to stand in, or the scorers. Or a random stranger who's there with someone else!

But other than that, very very loudly, and know the test so if you get muddled you can pick it back up again!
 
Ooh that's a good idea Lolo!! I'll try & collar someone else there to do it!!!

Thanks everyone, will start practicing tonight!! :D

Think I'm more nervous than her!!!
 
Dont do what I do and start watching the test and forget where you are :o

As said before, dont be tempted to say anything other than the words on the test....outside assistance is elimination.

Most comps now have callers who do it for a £1 for charity. Worth asking!
 
I speak as someone who has cocked up calling! as previously said, learn it yourself if poss or at least make yourself really familiar with it. The last time I was asked was at the last minute for a Novice test I had never seen before and that makes it really hard! so practice a few times and then speak really loudly then make it even louder - you'd be amazed how difficult it is for the rider to hear you. And use the sheet you have practiced from at home. Fortunately for my local dressage fraternity I have retired from calling now so scores their are safe!
 
dont laugh if you get it wrong... and fgs shout loud and before the markers!!

i have a tendancy to burst out laughing when things go wrong... riding and shouting. dont :D :D

dosent help. :D
 
I'm more likely to swear if I get it wrong than laugh! Don't think "20m circle at B In working trot oh s*!t b*@#er" would go down very well!!
 
A few years ago I spent a whole day calling tests for a riding schools pony club, I was rubbish at first but got a lot better with the timing the more I did it.
Apparently after that day, during the night, I scared OH somewhat by sitting up in bed at 3am and bellowing "C TRACK RIGHT!" in my sleep, then rolling over and shouting at him "B.... circle... mumble mumble... TWENTY METRES!!!"
 
Hot tip - if you use a photocopy of the test to read from, rather than the original printed version, make sure you put it in a plastic see-through thingy.

I read from a homemade photocopy for daughter once - I had enlarged it to A4 size so I could read it without glasses, thought I was being clever, but it started to rain as she entered the arena.

It was ok at first, but then the ink started to run, and by the end of the sheet I couldn't read a word, it was just a grey dripping mess. Fortunately she knew it well enough to get to the end, and she guessed the halt at G correctly. I use the original now :)

The other panic moment for a first time reader is when the judge beeps the horn. To start, or not to start?

Obviously the rider knows to enter at A, but I don't like to start reading in case it panics the rider into starting when perhaps they might do another twirl at the top. So perhaps wait to start reading until she is actually entering. Otherwise you might have read that vital part while she is faffing about at the top end - left or right at C?!

I speak from experience :) Daughters can be so picky...
 
Thanks, I was actually just wondering about when to start reading, oh what have I let myself into?!!

Much prefer sjing where my only job is to hold the pony while she walks the course & then slam a fence up for them!!
 
So just had a successful run through of both tests & something came to mind that I'm not sure on.

If one numbered movement has a few instructions that occur over the full arena, do I have to read it all as one or can I read each bit as it is coming up?

For example:

K medium walk
E turn right
B track left
M working trot

Do I read it all in one go from say F or can I read it in bits like read the M movement when she's crossing X?
 
B-B said:
Dont do what I do and start watching the test and forget where you are :o

As said before, dont be tempted to say anything other than the words on the test....outside assistance is elimination.

Most comps now have callers who do it for a £1 for charity. Worth asking!
Click to expand...


All this. I purposely don't even look up when I'm reading, except out of the corner of my eye to check where the horse is. It's surprisingly easy to get hypnotised and forget what you're supposed to be doing!

Re reading only the words, don't emphasise the names of gaits or say them like you're saying a command - I've seen judges be sticky and count that as assistance. I've also seen callers be absolutely blatant about it - saying "ttttrot" for example - and get the rider in trouble with some justification. I have to be particularly careful if I'm reading for someone I teach or a horse I work with as they definitely know the command words which, of course, are read before they're ridden. I have a special very loud monotone for reading! :D Do say the letters VERY clearly though as it's easy to make them sound the same.

Re reading a grouping of commands, it depends how close together they are. If there is a big gap, say trotting down and long side and around an end, I tend to break them up so the rider isn't trotting around wondering what it was I just said. ;)

Make sure the rider reads and mentally runs through the test through before she goes in, even if she doesn't know it cold. You've practised so it shouldn't be a problem but it's hard to ride just from a read test!
 
Thanks tarrsteps, that's what I was wondering, if you could break it up.

I swear she is never doing 2 tests on 1 day again!!

Probably sounds odd but it kind of feels like cheating calling it!!
 
I used to call the tests for my old boss at home when she was doing PSG and it is so easy to get into watching it!
My biggest tip is put your thumb next to what you are reading next, that way you can look up and down quickly without loosing where you are.
 
Get someone else to do it... if that fails then...

Pronounciation!

B, V, E, P.... they all sound very similar when calling!

oh and be prepared, its always the callers fault if the riders deaf!!!
 
I did once tell a rider if they moaned at me once more I would start calling the test with a made up alphabet, things like P!ss instead of P and Butt instead of B... you get the picture ;)
 
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