Levels of dressage test!

[canteron]

I can never remember what these are and what is included in the next level. My instructor things we are up to 'novice' is that below elementary and what exactly does it include.

As you can see I haven't competed for quite and bit - but may this year!

Thanks.

 

[be positive]

Novice is before Elem, you should be well established in all 3 paces, have some Med trot and canter, a counter canter that is balanced, be able to stay in self carriage when you give and retake the reins, stretch down in walk and trot when asked, they should also be able to do a decent leg yield, have a basic shoulder in and a simple change although you may not require them in a test they should be working slightly above the level they are competing at so they are comfortably able to do the test in competition.

I would be aiming to start off at prelim to allow for competition nerves and tension that is likely to happen if you have not done any for a while, being well within your comfort zone makes life far easier and you can move on once you feel ready.

 

[canteron]

Thanks and good advice!

 

[kc100]

Levels as follows:
Intro (walk and trot only)
Prelim (walk, trot, canter and basic movements like circles, serpentines, transitions)
Novice (as above plus medium trot and canter, counter canter)
Elementary (as above plus collected trot and canter, rein back, simple changes, leg yield)
Medium (as above plus shoulder in, travers, half pass, walk pirouettes, extended trot & canter, collected walk
Advanced Medium (as above plus flying change)
Advanced (as above plus tempi changes)

After that you get into the upper levels - PSG, Inter 1, Inter 2 and Grand Prix.

All the levels have free walk on a long rein/extended walk - so that is a must regardless of what level you choose to go out at, just means the horse needs to stretch forward and down when the rein is released and the judge wants to see a good overtrack and purpose in the walk steps.

Most lower levels also want to see a give and re-take (G&R) in some of the tests, basically to prove the horse is in self carriage and therefore the judge wants to see that the neck does not move once you give the reins forward. This can be in trot or canter depending on the test.

The tests are numbered in order of difficulty - for example Prelim 1 is easier than Prelim 18. Same applies to all levels, the lower the number the easier it will be compared to the highest number in that level. The idea behind this is that you start off with some of the lower numbers when first entering at that level, working your way up which then prepares you for the move to the next level up (easier said than done!).

As the first reply said, you should aim to be working 1 or 2 levels higher at home than you are competing at - so if you are schooling Elem at home you will be easily able to do a Prelim and Novice should not be too difficult either. Once you are hitting high 60% scores (or over 70%) then that is normally a good indicator you are ready to move up a level.

One good idea is to watch some tests on youtube (ones that score over 65% ideally!) to get an idea of what is involved. Prelim is 1-18 and Novice is 22-38. Elementary starts at 40. Just type in any of those (e.g. Novice 24) into youtube and loads of videos will come up for you to watch.

Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[Batgirl]

Just in addition to kn100 input. In theory Prelim1 would be easier than Prelim18 HOWEVER all tests have a key focus (when you look at them critically it is often easy to see if it is about self carriage, suppleness etc etc) So the easier test will be the one that focuses on your horses strengths (so if not supple the serpentines will be difficult).

 

[Fuzzypuff]

I pulled together a list in my blog, hope this helps: http://serendipitydressage.blogspot.co.uk/p/british-dressage-test-movements.html

 

[nuttychestnut]

Sorry not my post, but thank you KC100 that makes it so easy to understand

 

[canteron]

Yes KC100 thanks for that, well and concisely explained - and I never knew the tests got harder as you went up the numbers - really good information. and Fuzzypuff, I am looking forward to exploring your blog.