Am I wasting my time doing walk and trot dressage tests?

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Pidge

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Ok so at yard they have regular dressage comps and on some of them they do walk and trot tests. So I have booked the afternoons off work when these are on as they start at 6pm.
Pidge can get very tense and hollow and canter several times too and we usually get around 50%, so am I wasting my time in entering these or do I just get on and do it? I am working so hard to get him to relax and work properly and we are getting there but slowly.
Tonight for instance I tried him in a hackamore to have a play and although not sure to start with he soon settled and we did some nice work at the end. I do lots of transitions, bending and lateral movements intermixed to get him softer and it does work. So do I just enter but do a long warm up or forget and save my holiday and money?
 
What do YOU really want to do?

If you think doing the Walk, Trot test will help give you and your horse confidence then go for it.

They are there so you just as well make the most of it if you don't mind using holiday up for them
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well I want to have a go to see if I can improve and will be chuffed to bits if I can get over 50%
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Got plenty of holiday left so that's no a problem.
 
I wouldn't quite say enjoy, but I do want to get better and I think doing these may give me something to work towards?
 
Walk and trot test are great for getting horses used to competitions and I would never say that you are wasting your time. Its good experience for both of you, I did quite a few when Ralph was young and found them beneficial
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If your canter is not yet ready - then why not! It might help with tension issues. Good luck I hope you do really well.
 
go for it! ok I know I did ok at my first attempt but it could have been a disaster and it was great because George's canter isn't very balanced etc. so it was great not to have to worry about that. If you are improving a bit each time and getting something out of it then why not?
 
I love walk and trot tests. I think they make excellent stepping stones to the next level. I know a woman that does one every few months with her horse and she's competing at affiliated medium level!! She says it helps her remember the basics.
 
Just an idea, there is a new(ish) enterprise running online dressage competitions. You film your dressage test as you ride it at home/ at the local school etc amd send it to them as part of a monthly competition. A listed dressage judge watches the tests and marks them then adding additional comments for schooling etc at the bottom. They do 3/4 classes per month, 1 of which is walk and trot only and one of which can be ridden in any tack combination (so if your horse goes best in a hackamore you can give it a go). The idea is to a)give people whose horses are nit yet ready to go out and compete or are without transport a chance to play and b) to give more feedback than is available at most competitions. This may help you get a little more accomplished, feel a little better and it can be done at any time (and repeated til you're happy!!). Some people disagree with the idea saying it defeats the object but I think it is a great opportunity if you are unable to get out with your horse or want an idea of where they are at training wise. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to put the name of the site on here but if you put 'online dressage competition' into a search engine it should come up.
 
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