Long Arena Tests

You cant. You could split the test into its different elements. But the feel is not the same. Walk on a long rein across the diagonal followed by canter at the next corner is easier in a small school and the loops with counter canter are harder. But the feel of canter in a large arena is (I think) different. I used to give the horse a mightly kick at the corner and tell her she could canter as fast as she liked down the long side of the big arena. Or I was told to canter large and leave the side half way down the long side to ride a canter circle. I was also told (only once) to canter the whole way round the big school going large.

I had previously learned how to canter out hacking so mainly going in a straight line. Cantering shapes in a school taught me control of canter and I reckon that was very important. Simply from a safety point of view one needs to be able to stay balanced cantering round corners or a curve in the track.

By the way there was a British dressage rider and medal winner who had no arena and practised all the moves when out hacking.
 
You can't really ride a long arena test all the way through in a short arena, but it shouldn't be a problem. Just ride various sequences from the test and it'll all feel easier once you get in a long arena.
Don't overthink it, I don't have a long arena at home and I've trained three horses to GP without it.
 
daffy44 said:
You can't really ride a long arena test all the way through in a short arena, but it shouldn't be a problem. Just ride various sequences from the test and it'll all feel easier once you get in a long arena.
Don't overthink it, I don't have a long arena at home and I've trained three horses to GP without it.
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And when you get into the long arena, having done your practice in a small one, the whole test seems so much easier with all that space !
 
I used to learn/ride long arena tests in my arena at home, and that is 30 x 30m, so even trickier LOL. I would adapt. 20m circles in my arena don't go to the edges. Diagonals are squiffy LOL.

I would just do my best and note where the differences would be.

I was not a nervous competitor though, and was happy to muddle through.

I did hire a couple of long arenas when sorting a music test. Then watched a video to learn what the music should be doing at what point.

It will never be as good/well prepared. But then, I only ever went up to ELE, so not exactly dangerous if it goes wrong.

I have to say that grid work in a 30 x 30 is far more exciting 🤣
 
daffy44 said:
You can't really ride a long arena test all the way through in a short arena, but it shouldn't be a problem. Just ride various sequences from the test and it'll all feel easier once you get in a long arena.
Don't overthink it, I don't have a long arena at home and I've trained three horses to GP without it.
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AdorableAlice said:
And when you get into the long arena, having done your practice in a small one, the whole test seems so much easier with all that space !
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Agree with this - I do the same as Daffy and ride the various sequences. I'll often amend the tests slightly so that I can get the same questions but in the short arena or it might be that I have a bit that I want to work on and that is my priority and the other bits are moved around.

The long arena then feels very spacious when you get in there as AA says!
 
Red-1 said:
It will never be as good/well prepared. But then, I only ever went up to ELE, so not exactly dangerous if it goes wrong.
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Oi! I take exception to that, and I think my marks back me up.

But seriously, I dont think thats true. To really present a test well you need to ride accurately from marker to marker, ride correct sized circles and figures, well placed movements, good corners and well prepared transitions and movements.

These are all things you can work on in a small arena, and as I said in my first post its all easier when you get in a long arena and have more space.
 
If you are not used to a large arena you need to get fitter

We have a huge arena it's a long way allround, good for horse and rider fitness

If you are not used to one go and practice somewhere somehow, but if you are ok just good luck
 
daffy44 said:
The only thing you absolutely have to hire a long arena for is if you are recording a floorplan for music.
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I only have a 20x38 arena at home, and work out all my floorplans/music taking the timings from videos of normal tests...Plus I do my own music , so don't need to send a floorplan video off to anyone......I find that different surfaces ride at slightly different speeds anyway, so tend to adapt as I go....but appreciate not everyone would be happy with this approach!!
 
quizzie said:
I only have a 20x38 arena at home, and work out all my floorplans/music taking the timings from videos of normal tests...Plus I do my own music , so don't need to send a floorplan video off to anyone......I find that different surfaces ride at slightly different speeds anyway, so tend to adapt as I go....but appreciate not everyone would be happy with this approach!!
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I also do my own music, but I dont have videos from my normal tests either. Certainly different surfaces can ride at slightly different speeds, I adapt to that as necessary, but I do find I need to ride through a floorplan once in a correct sized arena and have a video of that to be able to do the music well.
 
Well I know someone who practices 20x40 in an arena that's kind of egg shaped, so a short rectangle must be easier than that! I think so long as you have a good understanding of where 10/15/20 m takes you in respect of the markers then you should be able to position yourself ok
 
daffy44 said:
Oi! I take exception to that, and I think my marks back me up.

But seriously, I dont think thats true. To really present a test well you need to ride accurately from marker to marker, ride correct sized circles and figures, well placed movements, good corners and well prepared transitions and movements.

These are all things you can work on in a small arena, and as I said in my first post its all easier when you get in a long arena and have more space.
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I'm talking about a 30 x 30 arena for me, it isn't very easy at all to sort out the shapes/bends in a square. You are better than me. Judging where a 20m circle, or a 15m circle would finish in a 20m wide arena, when you are in a 30 is pants. Or, trying to do 2 x 10m half circles - you can't practice hitting the centre line or the track at the end. When just schooling, I can do 3 X 10m half circles, but that is tricky when trying to ride through a test.
 
Red-1 said:
I'm talking about a 30 x 30 arena for me, it isn't very easy at all to sort out the shapes/bends in a square. You are better than me. Judging where a 20m circle, or a 15m circle would finish in a 20m wide arena, when you are in a 30 is pants. Or, trying to do 2 x 10m half circles - you can't practice hitting the centre line or the track at the end. When just schooling, I can do 3 X 10m half circles, but that is tricky when trying to ride through a test.
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I understand, I only had access to a 40x30 and it was usually full of jumps for years, but it's still possible. You need to put a few cones, buckets or poles to mark out where 20m across is, and then you can get the right size for your circles. Well prepared transitions and corners can be ridden in any size arena.
 
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Agree with daffy44, a 20x60 is dreamy but not strictly necessary imho. I’ve taken my second horse successfully to inter 1 without a full size arena. I always hired for music and yes, different surfaces ride very differently!
 
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