Dressage disaster ! and the HEHE ratio!

[SueAllen]

Well more a disappointment rather than a disaster. Our first ever tests (prelim 4 and 10) and our first time indoors...

We have been having lessons all summer and doing some reasonable work and have improved lots but today we went backwards by several months it seemed. Drawing a veil over the exact details the sheets contained quite a lot of words like - tense, hurried, wobbly, incorrect bend, unbalanced, snatching, poor balance and contact, broke, unsteady, no medium walk, inattentive (me or him?!), against the hand, ragged......oh, and somewhere buried deep in the comments there are a couple of 'improved' but obviously not for long!! I was at least grateful that I wasn't nervous. In fact, managed to laugh at the sheer dreafulness of it all!

I also worked out that the whole episode took from 5.30am to 1.30pm in total for 9 1/2 mins totally stressful riding!!!!! (not including warm up obviously) Not really a good HEHE ratio (Horsey Enjoyment per Hour of Effort)!

Not sure what to do - persevere? I know the only possible way is up now! And it will be good for us in other disciplines.. But hunting and hacking (our favourites) seem to offer far more HEHE! And we have had far more fun doing sj and cross country training too. Anyone had a similar bad start and kept going??

 

[vic07]

Keep going. The flatwork is often much worse in a test to what you get outside arena or at home. Just don't allow yourself to panic about it! Good luck.

 

[JoBo]

It does get easier I promise! Maybe try a Walk/Trot test next time? All the Walk/Trot test I have done have just felt less pressurised then Prelims.

 

[spider]

Our first test included bucking, breaking out of canter, wrong leg, jumping over the boards, and the judge kindly put "rather cheeky, has potential". however this summer we managed a reasonable test so there is hope! Don't despair I'm sure your next test will be much better.

 

[SirenaXVI]

Oh Gosh, that could have been me in my first ever dressage test, we came last with something like 48%, with lots of inattentive, tense, against riders hand etc etc etc, the judges final comments were 'Nice horse, but until she accepts the bridle, dressage will be difficult'. This was on a 4yo homebred anglo arab/andalusian who eventually got to elementary and once received a score of 80% - sold her a couple of years ago and have regretted it eversince

Moral - keep at it - the only way is up

 

[Hornby]

Love your idea of the HEHE ratio - mine wasn't very high when I got 44% for my last test in strong winds (I thought it wasn't THAT bad) - I haven't got the motivation to have another go yet, either - when will these judges learn that (at least at unaffliated level) a few positive comments won't go amiss! I hope you try again soon....might encourage me

 

[SueAllen]

Hornby - I aspire to 44%!! I got ...ahem, rather embarressed here... 41 and then 38!!! (hides head in shame!)

So peed off cos I know the horse can do really nice work when he wants to and I think I was very fazed by the whole thing.

I WILL try again soon ....and then so should you! I have done quite a bit of dressage writing this year - it goes down well at the Riding Club and does give me a look at the varying standards of test and the difficult areas (walking out on long rein almost never seems to be done properly at Prelim level from what I have experienced) I think a lot of the judges do try to be positive but they do have to be constant in their markings and whilst they might feel sympathetic and supportive they can't always put a comment to that effect.

 

[Seahorse]

he he, me and Axey got 30% in our 1st dressage test, and it was only a walk and trot

 

[Sparklet]

Whatever you do dont throw away your sheets - tuck them away somewhere for the future.

A friend of mine who won her first round and was eventually placed 10th overall in the trailblazers prelim championship dragged out one of her tests the other day and we had fits of laughter.

Perseverance and work, things will improve and one day you will laugh about your first attempt.

 

[Doublethyme]

Keep going and just enjoy it. I think I got something like 35% for my first test when my mare was a baby - it was at our yard and a friend of mine was judging - still haven't forgiven him for it !!!

I've also had a 0

in my time for a movement (well in the last year or so actually), but when it does go right, its a great feeling and our last test after a year off we got 68.5% (prelim) and it made all the work worthwhile.......now just have to keep going to reach my goal of riding at elementary or even maybe medium level........ mind you at the rate me and my mare are going we will both be in our dotage by then, but we do have such fun trying!!!

Also I absolutely love your HEHE ratio, brilliant idea!