First ever dressage test - advice please

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CobsGalore

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In a couple of weeks I will be doing my first ever dressage test, and it will be my horses first ever test too! I'm not taking it too seriously and it's just for him to get a bit of experience, but does anyone have any tips for me?

I also struggle to keep him consistently soft on the right rein, considering its only an intro test, will I get majorly marked down if he pops his head up and doesn't stay nice and round 100% of the time? Or are they looking more for accuracy?

Also, what should I wear? I have white jodhpurs, a blue jacket and brown boots? Will this look ok or should I get some black boots? Will I need white gloves too?

Thanks in advance :)
 
The main thing to remember is to relax and be accurate. You will get marked down if your horse hollows or is tense, so make sure you leave time for enough warm-up. What you wear isn't so important, but what you describe sounds fine. I think white gloves are no longer required but light gloves are preferred. Remember to use the right bit and take off your horse's boots before going in, if you use them.

Good luck!
 
Firstly - good luck!

Try to relax and don't over ride. Keep calm and just think you're schooling at home.

When you enter before the test starts give your horse a chance to have a look at things. If there isn't much space around the outside of the test area (I find a lot are stingy on space!) it's ok to ask if you may go inside the area before they ring the bell.

I wouldn't worry about not having a constant contact. They want to see "submission" and the horse shouldn't be fighting you. I've NEVER riding in an 'outline' at intro and prelim and haven't scored too badly!

I would aim for accuracy. Hit the markers and make sure circles are circles and correct size.

I would personally get/borrow some black boots. Light gloves are preferred but not compulsory.

Oh - and try and smile! If you manage to pull it off without it looking forced let me know how you do it!
 
Oh, good luck! My profile picture is my young horses first dressage test, and it was only my second, and the first was ten years ago! Treat it as a good learning experience for you both. You may have to share the warm up with others, that was a surprise to me. I don't know about correct dress I'm afraid, as you can see I didn't have to be correctly turned out and am actually wearing my body armour jacket! I concentrated on correct shapes ie circles that were round, transitions on the marker, and riding forward. We did come 1st, and yes it was very exciting for me, less so for Tinner!
 
Thank you for the advice and tips! I don't think my current bit is dressage legal, it's is a mullen mouth type but has a small port in it, so I'd better change that beforehand, or do they actually check?
 
CobsGalore said:
Thank you for the advice and tips! I don't think my current bit is dressage legal, it's is a mullen mouth type but has a small port in it, so I'd better change that beforehand, or do they actually check?
Click to expand...

Yes they do. The steward should check, but if they don't the judge is likely to spot it. Make sure you take off any bit rings too.
 
If you look on the BD website they have the full rules and they list all the legal bits. There's quite a lot of detail there.
 
Dress wise you will be fine in brown boots if its just an unaff Intro test. Black are preferred but there is no rule to say you must wear black. Equally no rule to say you must wear white gloves - you just have to wear any gloves. Good thing to remember with DR is as long as the colour is plain and there are no fancy patterns/colours, you are normally fine. So dark gloves or white gloves as long as they are not patterned/colourful will be fine, white or pale breeches/jods, dark jacket or tweed, white saddle pad/numnah (you can have a plain dark one if you havent got white, but hardly anyone ever comes to my venue in anything other than a white numnah). Plain blue/black hat or dark hat silk without any patterns/colours. Correctly tied stock or shirt and tie (tie shouldnt be too garish).

In terms of getting marked down for him not being in a consistent contact - you will a little bit I'm afraid. But you wont be losing masses of marks unless he goes around with his head in the air like a giraffe for the whole time. Accuracy is always important but at Intro most movements are between markers so you have much more room for manoeuvre, so the judge isnt really looking at accuracy in terms of being bang on markers - that doesnt really exist at Intro so they are not looking for it. Of course your circles still need to be the correct size (that is a very common fault!).

Overall at Intro judges will go fairly easy on you so try not to worry too much - the tests are straightforward and the judge is basically looking for a horse that is obedient to its rider (i.e. doing the required movements when you ask, not 30 seconds later), a horse that is forward going and has impulsion, and has a basic outline working over the back into a consistent contact.

If there is some head wobbling or the odd occasion where he comes above the bit they may drop you a mark or 0.5 of a mark, but that is not a big deal and nothing you should be too worried about.

Here are the main things I see Intro riders doing wrong at my venue:
1. Wobbly centre lines (start and end) - a straight CL will guarantee you a good mark, so make sure you prepare in plenty of time for the CL. So many riders over-shoot it or turn too tight and then the entire CL is wobbly so they get marked down right at the beginning, setting a poor impression to the judge for the rest of the test.
2. Incorrect sized circles. You'd be amazed at the weird and wonderful shapes you see at low level dressage, circles typically look like eggs and are often 18m or sometimes 15m not 20m! Make sure you have the correct bend as well on your circle, dont allow the horse to look at whatever he wants on the other side of the arena!
3. Falling into downwards transitions. So many people are relieved to go into walk that the transition becomes a collapse into walk, and it is very abrupt. Make sure you half halt in plenty of time before your transitions, ensuring the transition is smooth. At Intro transitions are not expected to be 100% accurate and you are given two markers normally to make the transition between, so use that time and do a gradual downwards transition.
4. Not riding the free walk on a long rein. Again so many people are so relieved to be walking they forget this has x2 for the marks, and they just plod along at whatever speed the horse dictates. The judge wants to see the horse stretching forwards and down, and the horse must be overtracking - the steps need purpose and march. So dont sit there and enjoy the rest - ride that movement like the rest of the test, pushing for a nice long stride and ensuring the stretch is maintained right the way along the diagonal (horse normally stretches well at first then by X they are looking around at what else is going on!).
5. Not using the corners/cutting corners. The arena has corners, so remember that! Cutting the corners only means the next movement comes up faster, so give yourself all the room you can and use those corners. The corner will help prepare you for your next movement and ensure you are straight in whatever you are about to do next. Intro is only a 20 x 40m arena so that is quite small, it always amazes me why anyone would want to make it smaller by cutting corners!

But most of all - dont worry and enjoy it! It is supposed to be a hobby that we find enjoyable, so smile, enjoy your day out and even if you get a couple of marks that are not so good - pick out the bits that you are happy with and pick out where you have done better than you originally thought you would. Set some goals in your own mind before you go and if you achieve them, that is far more important than what the judge might have written on a piece of paper after watching you for 5 mins!

Good luck!
 
I would say that the head wobbling can occur when the horse loses forwardness so try to keep riding forward in a steady rythym and as others have said the more accurate you can be the better!
 
What KC100 said!

I am going to my first dressage comp in many, many years next weekend. My main aims will be to ride forward with a decent rhythm, maintain a consistent contact, and try to be as accurate as possible with transitions and shapes i.e making sure circles are circles and not ovals! The rest will come and can be tinkered with in future outings, but I think it is really important to make any new experiences as good and as sweet as possible- it leaves you and horse wanting more!

Only other advice I can give is to make sure you are fully prepared at least the day before. That means tack cleaning done, boots ready, lorry prepped etc, and everything ready to be loaded into it. It really does avoid an early morning panic, and means you can just get up, sort horse, and get going, which will hopefully help avoid extra stress!

Have fun, update and pictures requested once you are back!
 
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