Long arena test?

[UKa]

Hi, how do you prepare for a long arena test if you do not have access to one at home? Considering entering for a prelim one but not sure as may get confused.

 

[Farma]

Hi, how do you prepare for a long arena test if you do not have access to one at home? Considering entering for a prelim one but not sure as may get confused.

Put the letters out in your garden and run around learn it then just practise pieces of it at home rather than the whole lot x

 

[star]

I just learn it by pattern. I do ride through them in my short arena then they just seem easier on the day.

 

[Sol]

Learn test, ride horse... ride test on horse at comp! I only did my first long arena this year, I thought it would be awful, now I haaaate short arena tests! I also learn the layout/pattern anyway & not letters, so I mostly ignore those & it makes no difference. Lots more time to prepare things & think though!

 

[PorkChop]

I never practice a whole test - I also learn my test by patterns not markers

 

[UKa]

Thank you. I do learn by movements too may give it a go. Got 3 weeks

 

[Cragrat]

I prefer riding long arena tests - as long as I can remember where the bloomin' diagonals go! It's not simply ' change the rein across the diagonal'
I learn '3rd to 4th' instead of E to R, which is ridiculous, but works for me!

Running around your living room/garden/horses field on foot definitely helps.

Good luck

 

[soloequestrian]

Just be prepared for the arena to seem MASSIVE! I remember getting lost in my first long arena test because there was so much of it! Now I like the bigger arena better though.

 

[silv]

Like some of the others have said, just learn the patterns. I have been doing tests in long arenas for years and still cannot remember the extra letters. Much prefer riding tests in the long arena, would hate to go back to riding in the 20x40.

 

[spookypony]

Ride sequences of movements rather than the whole test, and if you feel you want to run through the whole thing, either do it on foot in a space scaled down (garden?) or do it in a 20x40, and compress the long movements, e.g. ride short diagonals as normal ones, do "extra marker" circles at middle markers.