How long does it take you to learn a dressage test?

[LBertie Wooster]

i've been having trouble learning a dressage test and i've only got about 2 weeks left untill when i need to have learn't it by(!!!). i just wondered how long it took you guy's to learn a dressage test??
Oh and has anyine got any ideas on how i can learn it i tad faster ??

 

[Hels_Bells]

Hey LBW - first off I write them out on paper like the same way as they do at www.dressagediagrams.org. I don't know what level you are doing but I do mostly lower level ones and it helps too look at them and see that they are usually symmetrical is one way or another. You do a 20m circle one way, change then do it the other way at the opp end of school etc etc. But this is not necessarily the case for the more complex tests.

When we were children we used to set out a small arena in the garden and do them on foot, literally in walk trot and canter - might be a bit of a crazy thing to do as an adult (esp if your garden is overlooked) tee hee. But it really works and probably pretty good for fitness too!!!

Nowadays I just tend to spend probably 3 or 4 sessions prior to the test going over it on the horse referring to my diagram. I look at the school and run through it in my head a few times, then I might do it on the horse once or twice in one session at the end of my schooling session. As the season progresses I get better at remembering them as some of the moves are similar etc. They key to learning most stuff is to look for patterns and try to link things.

Some say you shouldn't practice the full test on the horse as they start to predict the moves but my trainer is a BHSAI guy who's been round badders a few times and when I said that to him he said he'd never heard such twaddle - so I just blindly follow his advice and it's never sent me wrong!!! ;@) My horse has never been marked down for predicting yet.

 

[FigJam]

I only do prelim/BE90 dressage, so not really a huge amount to remember! I read it through a few times, then try talking it through in my head, visualising it or doodling it on a paper diagram of an arena without looking at the sheet. Sometimes breaking it down into a "start, middle and end" section works also?

I usually have it memorised pretty quickly.

Is it pure dressage your are doing or ODE? If just dressage, then would having a caller as back up help you panic less? You can't have a caller for ODEs though.

 

[Fiona]

About 15 minutes.....

I may draw it out (as suggested above) if I have time, but normally just read them through (with a copy of the arena in front of me) and thats that. I don't learn the 'word' version if that makes sense, I learn the 'shape' of the test (hence the diagram being helpful).

Haven't forgotten one yet , but there's always a first time

Fiona

 

[LBertie Wooster]

Hey HB, I'm doing the PC Novice eventing test at an 3ft ODE and i actually find it harder than the BE91 test confused which i also need to learn for later on in April for Unaff at ALW. The garden one and the arena one sounds most helpful. Thank you !!

Yes i have heard that saying but it doesn't seam to affect my TB even tho he does tend to antisipate... and well that is a good sign if you havent been maked down for antisapting!!!

 

[Tempi]

I get my mum to call the test once and then i know it, guess im lucky! Ive always found learning tests really easy.

 

[LBertie Wooster]

I only do prelim/BE90 dressage, so not really a huge amount to remember! I read it through a few times, then try talking it through in my head, visualising it or doodling it on a paper diagram of an arena without looking at the sheet. Sometimes breaking it down into a "start, middle and end" section works also?

I usually have it memorised pretty quickly.

Is it pure dressage your are doing or ODE? If just dressage, then would having a caller as back up help you panic less? You can't have a caller for ODEs though.

It's and ODE im doing so i can't have a caller .. well i could if i was the C/T class! Will try the paper suggestion as i find dawing things out help me alot!!

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

5 minutes....photographic memory!

i tend to visualise the *shape* of each movement as i read it and learn the pattern in my head, but as im ridng its like im scrolling down the page in my head and can see the movement written out.

learn the pattern in segments, and try and remember if you do all trot, walk then all canter or do everything on one rein,walk, then go the other way etc so its in 2 sections.

 

[Hels_Bells]

I find even BE90/100's vary quite a lot within the grades and even more so the BD Prelims, so it's not surprising that the PC Novice seems harder! I'm sure you will learn it fine. It can seem daunting sometimes but "doing" things is often the best way of learning rather than thinking/writing down etc etc. Make it fun if you can and you will soon have them off pat! Get your mum to call it out to you in the garden a few times as you do it, then try to do it yourself with her correcting you - that's what my sister and I used to do!!! )

 

[Sol]

About.... a few minutes for a prelim test? Prelims I can read once and have memorised - will just go through them in my head a few times more and sorted!
Novices are a bit trickier... but not too long if I put my mind to it.

I always remember the movements as shapes, rather than which letters to ride to and from if you get what I mean. (we were talking about this last night at dressage actually!) I just find it easier to think about the shapes as a pattern rather than words/letters.
'riding' the test on foot also helps sometimes You look a bit silly, but that doesn't matter if nobody can see you do it

 

[only_me]

it depends on the test the more movements a test the longer it takes me!

Usually I read through it and "work out" where the movements come next

 

[saskia295]

About 5 mins max! Although I only do BE90/BD novice so nothing too taxing yet. It's quite easy if you draw it out a few times.

 

[charlimouse]

For a test in a 20x40 I can learn them in about 5 minutes. If i'm doing a long arena test it takes somewhat longer as I can never work out which letter goes where, so get very lost!!!!!!!!

 

[Santa_Claus]

5 minutes....photographic memory!

i tend to visualise the *shape* of each movement as i read it and learn the pattern in my head, but as im ridng its like im scrolling down the page in my head and can see the movement written out.

Ditto this, I can learn a prelim or novice within normally 2 read throughs and above that 3 or 4 rethroughs (so within 10-15 mins) and I will know it.

I don't remember letters but I just visualise the shapes and transistions for me are "at the corner" or "in the middle" or "at the end" or similar I could actually still tell you the test I did 2 weeks ago very happily!

 

[Stoxx]

Ditto everyone, not long, a couple of read throughs unless they are more tricky.

Are you trying to learn the whole thing movement by movement by letter? I don't learn the letters, I just know where abouts in the arena I do each thing. Learning letters too would take longer - for me anyway!

 

[Lollii]

Same here, I don't learn a test by letters, I remember it by the shapes and transitions, it became easier the more times I did it, the first couple were awful, I couldn't think of how I was riding or how the horse was going, I could only just concentrate on where I was going

I am a bit better than that now - I hope

 

[Nero]

Ages!! I have to run through it in my head over and over again

 

[Golden_Match_II]

I usually takes one read through of the test and i know it, but then I usually draw a bid's eye view of an arena on some paper, and draw it? Random, I know, but it really helps

 

[MegaBeast]

couple of minutes tops... I learn the shapes not the markers. The first time I had to learn a test it took a long time, although that was a BUSA test and they can be a bit weird and illogical.

I just read it through, but used to actually draw it out, don't find this necessary anymore. Ive found that the more I've had to learn the quicker it gets as they're generally quite logical and symmetrical

 

[KitC]

30 seconds! Read it once in the Lorry on the way to a comp! any test up to advanced... normally wiggle my finger in the air a bit to visualise it!

 

[jumptoit]

5 minutes, I learn them by patterns rather than letters and movements though .

 

[LBertie Wooster]

Ditto everyone, not long, a couple of read throughs unless they are more tricky.

Are you trying to learn the whole thing movement by movement by letter? I don't learn the letters, I just know where abouts in the arena I do each thing. Learning letters too would take longer - for me anyway!

Yes i am but i usually have a read through then mum reads it out and then again untill i get it in my head aswell as me reading it through -- letter movement