Moving up from Prelim

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Theocat

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I'm deliberately posting this in NL rather than CR, because I suspect a few people at this level might not be brave enough to post in CR!

I'm working at Prelim (local level, unaffiliated) with my horse, with the aim of moving up to Novice as soon as we can reliably start scoring decent high/mid-60s. I reckon I'm a fairly standard nervous-nellie riding club rider, and I don't think Novice is too much to aim for.

So ... why are there so many people competing at Prelim and so few (comparatively) at Novice? There are lots of people who seem to score mid-high 60s pretty reliably, but aren't showing any desire to move up. Why? :confused: Are they following the rule whereby you should be working at the level above at home? (There's an awfully big jump between the easier Novice tests and working at Elementary at home!) Are they reluctant to move up because they're always beaten by the local Prelim Queen and don't want to look silly for moving up a level when PQ hasn't? Do more people think you need to be scoring reliably over 70% before you have the temerity :p to think about moving up?

For those of you doing well at Prelim who haven't (yet) moved up - I'm just curious about everyone's reasons not to give Novice a go :)
 
I am planning on moving up after Xmas probably just before Easter I am.currently practicing riding.medium strides now my horse is capable now as my riding instructor can get a lovely medium trot but I have never rode dressage until July I have always jumped so it is me that is preventing us moving up quicker however I would like to give elementary a go further down the line and maybe higher as.my horse seems to have a talent for dressage luckily
 
Medium paces, the trueness if outline as give and retake factors a lot.
Having dropped back to prelim (2 yrs off) having gone successfully at elem my score from my nov and prelim were virtually the same this weekend :D

Lots of people have mental block with it as well!
 
But aren't G&R and lengthened strides something that most riders should be aspiring to, or is this really a level of schooling that most riders just don't feel they'll ever get to???

I did a couple of novice tests a year ago, just for fun, and the percentages were just about the same as at Prelim - that mental block seems to turn it into a massive deal when I honestly think (having tried it) that, for most reasonable Prelim riders, the easier Novice tests hardly seem to be a jump at all.
 
You can't really say what people should aspire to.
Clearly you are competent and ready so have a go!
I'll be honest tho some of the novices now are harder than some elems!
 
I'm not saying anyone should dictate what people aspire to (sorry if it comes across as that!) - it just seems to me that a lot of riders sell themselves short, and could easily aspire or achieve a bit more. I'd love it if more people went for Novice - I'll be one of those giving it a crack despite the risk of looking foolish :D
 
At affiliated level you get a lot of people doing novice who are able riders training talented horses so it can be quite disheartening as judges score them higher for paces/ extensions which the wb's find a lot easier than your run of the mill natives do - hence staying at prelim
 
I've just moved up last month, did a prelim first. Had 23 in the class, same as the month before. But wasn't at all nervous as I still had the novice to come and it must have shown because came 3rd with 70%.
Did the novice 3 hours later with only 5 in the class, came 3rd with 62.5%. Was very happy with both but I must say I enjoyed the novice much more as a test, just felt like I was doing something rather then just going round in circles with the prelim. Which may be why it's off putting for people. In the novice I did hardly had 5 strides between counter canter and medium trot.
But I do agree loads of people probably start going affiliated rather then going up in the levels at unaffiliated.
 
Also a horse may not be capable of making the step up. The horse I had before the delectable Mr Arnie eventually got consistent mid level prelims but this was pushign it for him and I never aimed him at novice.

Arnie has the potential to take me to AM so I have already pushed us into Novice. Each to their own and if someone enjoys just popping out to do a Prelim then at least they are enjoying it :)
 
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