Aiming for novice BD - what should my lessons include?

joolie

joolie

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As above really. We've done some BD prelims and have always scored 68%+. Hoping to get out at novice level next year but feel my lessons lately haven't been particularly progressive....what sort of things should we be doing at home to ensure we won't totally disgrace ourselves at novice? TIA :)
 
You've probably read most of the novice tests and know that you have to show some medium strides in trot and canter and the basics of counter canter.


If you feel your lessons aren't progressive have a chat with your instructor and if that doesn't help I would try another instructor.
 
At home you should be working towards elem level and that is what I would expect to be doing in lessons with someone planning on doing novice BD, so your 3 basic paces should be very well established with you being able to both shorten and lengthen them, I would expect you to have some lateral work and be able to counter canter, do a good correct simple change as well as working on a few of the specific movements such as give and retake, stretching down on a circle that seem to cause a few issues if not well established at home.
Otherwise just things like ensuring you are not wasting marks by being inaccurate on turns, circles, that you are using the corners and riding each movement as correctly as possible to allow the next to flow rather than drifting from one to the next, it is surprising how many marks are lost by lack of preparation during the tests as you move up the levels it becomes more obvious who is able to ride their horse forward to each movement and not just sitting and hoping they remain in control of what is happening under them.

Have a chat to your instructor if you feel the lessons are not progressing, it may be that they are stuck in a prelim rut and you need someone more prepared to push you on, if you are consistently gaining 68% + you should be ready to move up, the novice tests are far more interesting and many horses do better by having more to think about.
 
Thanks for the replies - helpful! I am feeling in a bit of a prelim rut so you're right there. I feel all my lessons have become very test orientated - as in I enter a competition and we seem to hammer the test and it's movements over and over. I'd like to start doing more lateral work to give my busy minded mare something to think about but this hasn't featured so far. We've played with a little counter canter, 15m loops back to the track and asking for a few straightened strides.

I know we can do pretty much all the prelim moves fairly well in a test (and our marks show this) - I feel we need more of a challenge now even if the work isn't quite so pretty! Hmmm. We are off to a clinic in a couple of weeks with someone different teaching so maybe we'll get some new ideas. Will also have a chat to my instructor in our next lesson.
 
I rarely work on a test in lessons, unless the rider has problems with a specific movement or is useless at actually learning a test, each lesson should be more about improving the way of going, developing your skills not riding through tests until they are "perfect" that seems to be a waste of time, there are only so many centre lines, 20 m circles in a prelim test and your scores reflect that you can ride them perfectly well. You may be ready to find a new instructor if they are not pushing you enough.
 
be positive said:
I rarely work on a test in lessons, unless the rider has problems with a specific movement or is useless at actually learning a test, each lesson should be more about improving the way of going, developing your skills not riding through tests until they are "perfect" that seems to be a waste of time, there are only so many centre lines, 20 m circles in a prelim test and your scores reflect that you can ride them perfectly well. You may be ready to find a new instructor if they are not pushing you enough.
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Thanks - my test memory is good, most of the time we don't have any specific issues other than perhaps polishing/refining the odd movement here and there. Our canter does need a little work, being Welsh my mare has a typically strong trot. I feel as you said - I would like our overall way of going to be improved, not just Prelim 13 or whatever test done to perfection! Tricky one as she is also YO so I imagine that trying someone new on site could be an awkward bridge to cross....
 
Not at all, your money your call.

sounds like the clinic might be a good chance to try someone new out.

I also like the above posters, very rarely hammer tests out in lessons, perhaps the odd movement but mostly its too work out why i am riding like a div again :)
 
Could you maybe get out to a clinic or have lessons off-site for a different approach? There is no betrayal in having more than one instructor but I appreciate it can be tricky when your RI is also your YO.

I had the opposite problem; a trainer who was fantastic at teaching me how to educate my horse, but I needed lessons with a dressage judge before I started to get the hang of riding tests. The judge wouldn't have been the right person to help me bring my horse on, but my regular instructor wasn't au fait with the finer points of dressage judging.

I also rode in clinics with well-known instructors who didn't work for us at all - sometimes it's down to finding the right person at the right time.
 
I tend to only work on tests in lessons if i have one coming up i want to practice - so AF or regionals test or, recently we have been using the last 20 minutes of my lesson to run through whatever novice test i have entered as we've recently stepped up to novice too.

Generally my lessons focus on way of going and overall improvement. Instructor will ask what i've been struggling with (cue me wailing desperately that pony has been impossible - doesn't bend, wont move, is generally going embarrassingly badly - which is usually a cue for pony to trot round like butter wouldn't melt showing off his perfect moves!) and we go from there. My lessons generally involve lots of lateral work as that is what works for my pony - so leg yielding exercises and also shoulder in exercises. We've been working on getting him more off the leg and "swingy" and we also have started to throw in some walk pirouettes and things which are usually a prelude to walk-canter etc.

I've found the step up to novice a challenge -we aced prelim with accuracy and rhythm and moved up to novice quite quickly, and have now found we need to improve the way of going and the working over the back much more - what gets you a 7 at prelim, ridden exactly the same way is more of a 6 at novice (this is just what I've found) so we really hammer way of going and general improvement in our lessons - the only specific "test moves" i would say we work on more are stretchy trot (our nemesis!!) and free walk (which we're also not very good at!).
 
It depends on your horse. I'm Affiliated elementary and my lessons sometimes include the movements needed but more often include serpentine loops, simple changes, ext and things he enjoys. I also hack and jump.
 
So I'm not wrong in thinking the tests should perhaps be taking more of a back seat...I'm happy to use part of a lesson to work on a test, just not all! Last 1 hr lesson consisted of 15 mins warming up, running through said test 3 times, then going over and over 2 parts of it that were perhaps a little scruffy. Just felt a bit fed up by the end, as did my pony! I'm off to a clinic in 2 weeks but may also be brave and email someone who used to teach me a couple of years ago (her lessons were fab and progressive).
 
joolie said:
So I'm not wrong in thinking the tests should perhaps be taking more of a back seat...I'm happy to use part of a lesson to work on a test, just not all! Last 1 hr lesson consisted of 15 mins warming up, running through said test 3 times, then going over and over 2 parts of it that were perhaps a little scruffy. Just felt a bit fed up by the end, as did my pony!
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No, that doesn't sound right to me. Even if I'd asked for help with a particular test I wouldn't want to drill away at it all lesson.

You might have reached the point where your current instructor doesn't know how to help you further. More generously, she could have somehow got the wrong end of the stick about what you hope to get from your lessons, but that really doesn't sound like a great lesson plan regardless.

Exercises like transitions within and between paces, flexion and counter-flexion, lateral work, are tools that improve the horse's way of going as well as being something you are tested on in dressage. I expect a good instructor to know how to apply those exercises in a constructive way. Riding the same patterns over and over is unlikely to help the horse develop.
 
joolie said:
So I'm not wrong in thinking the tests should perhaps be taking more of a back seat...I'm happy to use part of a lesson to work on a test, just not all! Last 1 hr lesson consisted of 15 mins warming up, running through said test 3 times, then going over and over 2 parts of it that were perhaps a little scruffy. Just felt a bit fed up by the end, as did my pony! I'm off to a clinic in 2 weeks but may also be brave and email someone who used to teach me a couple of years ago (her lessons were fab and progressive).
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That sounds like a lesson I would do with a young child just starting out competing rather than someone who is getting decent scores and wanting to make progress, it may be that she has little experience of training beyond the basics and simply lacks the skill to do any more with you or possibly thinks you do just want the lessons to be test practise and does not understand you want to do more, either way you need to get out of the rut.
 
We're pretty much in the same boat as you-moving up to our first affiliated novice tests at the end of the month. We've been pretty successful at Prelim since we started affiliated in March and recently our marks have rocketed as we've both become more competent in the arena (I was very ring rusty and the horse had never set foot in an arena!) so we're taking the plunge. I have to admit I never rode through tests, whether it's in a lesson or not. I do sometimes have an issue with getting lost so maybe I should! We have been working on elementary movements in our lessons, so walk-canter, simple changes and counter canter. We have also been working on lengthening and shortening the pace and generally getting things a bit tidier and through from behind. I also tend to throw in some lateral work including leg yielding, shoulder in and some demi pirouettes to help all of this. I have been told I should be aiming to bring him out at elementary at Easter. Eek! I have two regular instructors, but I also love going out to clinics, flat and jumping, to get ideas and try something new. I don't think you've got anything to lose, especially if you're feeling a bit stuck. Good luck!
 
Thanks - very interesting to see what other people at a similar level are playing with at home! I'll have a chat in my next lesson see if we can start working on some different things and see where that goes.I'm keen to keep moving - I like the challenge of learning new things and once we start doing reasonable well at one level I'm keen (perhaps too keen!) to challenge myself with the next :)
 
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