BD Freestyle Help

J

JAH

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I am planning on having a go at freestyle and wondered if anyone could answer a couple of questions I have on creating a floorplan.

I will be competing at novice level so 20m canter circles are compulsary. Does that just have to be just a circle or can I include give and retake as part of that movement?

Should I keep to a simple floorplan to start off with?

Any other advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
 
As I understand it, you can use any movement that appears in a Novice test - but I may be wrong
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from what i've been told on how to plan mine the less simple the better, mine looked like a really standard prelim/novice test, movements off markers etc.. then i was told it was a bit too blargh so i totally changed it! im very novicey at it but this advise helped as it was better after that.
 
G&R doesn't really look 'artistic' and will tend to interrupt the natural flow of the test. the othr thing to avoid is reinback

it is difficult with Novice tests as you only have fairly simple movements which makes it harder to be original with the floor plan.

try to keep it symmetrical but avoid riding everytning at the markers all the way.

For example trot section that I choreographed for a mate:

track left off centre line, around first quarter-marker 10metre circle left then ride diagonally to 3/4 line and ride 15 metre circle right, diagonally back to track on left rein and 10 metre circle left around quarter marker. Centre line, medium trot diagonally to finish on right rein. Repeat the circle choreography on right rein.

Try to make the choreog match the phrasing in the music. Medium trot goes well with music making a crescendo with longer phrases (often the chorus part of a music piece)
 
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from what i've been told on how to plan mine the less simple the better, mine looked like a really standard prelim/novice test, movements off markers etc.. then i was told it was a bit too blargh so i totally changed it! im very novicey at it but this advise helped as it was better after that.

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Now who would have told you something like that!!!!
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A g&r can be done without a change in the music. so just put your circle in and if on the day the horse is in really good self carriage then stick it in, if not don't bother. A good one could improve your canter mark and a bad one could lower it!!
 
Think of it like choreographing a dance.

You want to cover the whole arena, so avoid having all your movements concentrated at the same end, for example.

If you put in an unusual shape or a movement in an unusal place, it's better to repeat it on the other rein, so that it looks deliberate, as opposed to an accident. A composition professor once told me, "if you do something (in a piece of music, but applies equally well here) once, it's a mistake. If you do it twice, it's a motive".

Think of your whole test as having a structure, time-wise. Try not to put all your interesting bits at the beginning, but spread them out to keep interest.

The biggest problem I run into is that my pony is only little, and his trot isn't as engaged yet as it should be, so he takes a bit longer to get around his figures than most others. As a result, I have trouble fitting anything much beyond the compulsory movements into 4'30".
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Thanks everyone. I've got some movements in my head now. Going to ride them and see how they hang together. 'Be creative' seems to be the key.
 
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JAH this isnt for the arrow is it? just wondered as both kent and im prepping mine too...

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Yes, it's going to be my first attempt. Finding it very difficult to fit it in a 20 X 40 arena. If it is not a total disaster I'm going to do the BD at Cobham in November.

What class are you doing? Will have to look out for you.
 
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