do i bother with walk and trot test or skip to prelim

J

Jesstickle

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I'm planning, weather permitting, to go and do some stressage next week. I can either do a walk and trot test and prelim seven or just skip the walk and trot.

Horse has hardly been ridden and this is only his second ever party, however, walk and trot test is full of half twenty metre circles and shallow loops which will be hard for a big old horse like him when not fit.

Prelim 7 is easy peasy.

I don't want to disgrace myself by getting flung off or exiting the arena after all!

What would you do? I need to do my entries today so need to decide sooner rather than later!
 
To me it would make sense to do both, even if you have a half hearted attempt at the W&T (as in not the sort of test to suit your horse), least it gives your horse a chance to look around, warm up a little if he's silly he can get it over and done with in that test, it won't be unfair on any of the other competitors neither as your only doing the another prelim test.

Good Luck, have fun.
 
There is nothing stopping me doing both at all. I don't care what mark I get. We will be last, he is backwards for his age and opinionated so not much hope of a lot over 50%

I am worried about asking him to do something he finds hard as his attitude can be a bit stinky and he might just throw in the towel! Also I don't want to hang around all day and my friend is doing a novice and an elementary, although we might end up doing two trips anyway in which case it obviously doesn't matter.

I hate stupid dressage and the fact I have to enter in advance!
 
If you decide to do the two tests, write a note on the entry form asking if you can be one of the last in the WT and one of the first in the Prelim, so you're not waiting round too long.

I do this.
 
Misinterpreted said:
If you decide to do the two tests, write a note on the entry form asking if you can be one of the last in the WT and one of the first in the Prelim, so you're not waiting round too long.

I do this.
Click to expand...

Will do :)

Stupid horse probably won't get in the trailer anyway and I'll have wasted my entry!
 
jesstickle said:
There is nothing stopping me doing both at all. I don't care what mark I get. We will be last, he is backwards for his age and opinionated so not much hope of a lot over 50%

I am worried about asking him to do something he finds hard as his attitude can be a bit stinky and he might just throw in the towel! Also I don't want to hang around all day and my friend is doing a novice and an elementary, although we might end up doing two trips anyway in which case it obviously doesn't matter.

I hate stupid dressage and the fact I have to enter in advance!
Click to expand...

i think you know your horse better than anyone and if your gut instinct is to do the prelim and not do the walk trot then that might be an indication of which one you would prefer to ride !!

When my chap was 4 and 17h i thought it was best to do walk trot insted of a prelim and i have to say when they take the canter out they generally ask more of you in trot i feel. It was very twisty and non flowing at all!! If your horse has an ok canter mayb the prelim would flow more for you praps and be nicer for you both!!
 
I'd give the walk and trot a miss, for the reasons in your OP. Then you'll only have one test to learn!

Not sure why walk and trots were ever brought in to be honest, but they are useful for people like me who have a terrifically unreliable left canter ;) once I have it sorted I'm not going near a W&T again!
 
[Not sure why walk and trots were ever brought in to be honest, but they are useful for people like me who have a terrifically unreliable left canter ;) once I have it sorted I'm not going near a W&T again![/QUOTE]

and me who just has a terrifically unreliable canter ! I own a total strop monster who is pampered to the nth degree has his back teeth saddle checked all the time as I cant beleive anything can be that bloody minded but apparently he is. we do w+t just to make sure it was worth the money for hiring the lorry in case it's a non canter day. but I do it HC if everyone who looks genuinely novicy or kids doing it - mostly though its people who then go and get > 70 % in prelim and ponce round looking fantastic !
 
skewby said:
Not sure why walk and trots were ever brought in to be honest, but they are useful for people like me who have a terrifically unreliable left canter ;) once I have it sorted I'm not going near a W&T again!
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I can't wait until I can go into a dressage arena and know I'm going to get canter!
It was brilliant to take my young new horse out last year and not put any pressure on myself when we had a massively unreliable right canter and an inate fear of showjumps (which were stacked up around the side of any arena I went to!)
I have to enter the W+T HC now as somehow last year I managed to win one - 1st place got disqualified for wearing spurs, the girl who should have come second couldn't get her horse near a particularly spooky corner of the arena and retired, so I ended up 3rd out of 5 (4th horse bucked round like a good'un and 5th place was unlevel!) and somehow won!

If you really think he's going to throw his toys out of the pram at the W+T I'd go for just the prelim.

Good luck, my horse is not getting ridden at all at the mo with the snow and is getting very bored, so I'm dreading getting back on board!
 
Personally I don't like the walk trot tests. The two half 10m circles in trot don't appear in Preliminary.

As long as you are happy to canter I would go for the Prelim 7.
 
skewby said:
Not sure why walk and trots were ever brought in to be honest, but they are useful for people like me who have a terrifically unreliable left canter ;) once I have it sorted I'm not going near a W&T again!
Click to expand...

I like the W+T test for Jazz as he's had seriously bad experiences in the school and getting him to trot steadily is a massive challenge. Hitting canter is actually dangerous - he hits a blind gallop. It might not be adventurous, but I choose life.

OP - I'd say do both, and use the W+T as a warm up and get your horse focused.

Good luck :)
 
Thanks all.

I have horribly unreliable canter on both reins ( I will get it if I ask verbally, but which leg I get is basically pot luck) so probably a four for my canters if I'm lucky but he isn't dangerous!

I don't really know what W&T tests are for either. They seem to have much more complicated trot work than any of the prelims and if you can't canter you can always trot the canter parts of your prelim anyway, assuming you don't care to win!

Frankly what is expected in the walk and trot test is far too much for a horse at prelim. Half ten metre circles is too much for any baby horse. I don't entirely know who they're aimed at but then I expect all my youngsters to canter pretty early on so I could have a twisted view!
 
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