Apercrumbie
Well-Known Member
i tend to agree with susie (albeit this is a different topic really and a bit of a tangent.....)
i cant get too worked up -see my earlier point re rules is rules, get a grip...............BUT if you cant canter, should you really be at a show? for whatever reason that may be, are you really competent and is the horse really on the aids enough to be in a busy public warm up, if it cant even canter a flipping 20m circle?!
really?
3yo under saddle tests for mare and stallion grading have canter in them..................
if intro tests were abolished i think general standards would rise albeit then you would only have the whingers and the whiners moaning that so and so used the prelim as a warm up.....!
I completely understand this but when I had a very green horse I found the intro test very useful. We definitely could canter, but in a fairly unbalanced fashion so a walk and trot test really took the pressure off for his first couple of tests. I used them as learning experiences to get him out and about and used to show atmospheres more than anything. I also made sure to canter a bit in the warmup. I am no professional, I have had good results at higher levels with another horse but I am most definitely not the world's best rider. However, I am competent and I enjoy it. I do think intro tests have their uses - but the aim should always be to do a few and then move up to prelim as soon as possible.