Trying to learn a dressage test....

asommerville

asommerville

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And failing! It won't go into my thick head and I have resorted to dancing round the room .......any tips to get this into mybthick skull? :)
 
I learn it bit by bit. For example I'll learn the first 5 or 6 movements then when I know that off by heart I'll add the next few and so on. I also ride it through a couple of times. The rest of the time I'll be seen walking around waggling my finger as I do the movements in my head :)
 
My thick skull? Did Someone shout me?? :-D I watch tests on youtube and write them down from there. I have the sheets from BD and BE but writing them down helps, then I compare what I've written against the original. I've also been caught with my eyes closed waiting for the bus or the train reciting a dressage test out loud whilst tracing it in the air with my index finger. Worst of all I've been known to pace it out in the bus station whilst waiting for my bus. All these times there were people there thinking I'm crazy and pretending not to look but can learn a prelim test in an hour that way, sufficiently to ride it without a caller weeks later. Spelling mistakes are cause I'm on my phone on the train. :-)
 
I look for the patterns, where are the straight lines/circles etc and anything on one rein is pretty much always done on the other rein later. I have been known to get it wrong though, especially if I try and learn two for one day. Can you not have a caller? You still need to have an idea of what comes next though.
 
Oh, and I don't remember the official words in the test for long. It goes, 'no halt, first turn is to the right, then change your mind and change the rein across the diagonal, circle at the top, change your mind again circle at the bottom' luckily all the tests I've learned have had a clear trot section, walk section and canter section. Not sure how that will work at higher levels but I'll cross that bridge if I come to it
 
I learn in sections too, and draw them out. While my drawings have the letters so I know I'm doing the right thing in the right place to start with, I don't tend to remember the markers as such - it's more visual, like 'change the rein in the top corner' or 'circle at the bottom'. It becomes a pattern (hence drawing) - you just need to remember where to change gaits!
 
We've discovered an easy way for daughter to learn a test/ individual show. She learns the actual pattern/movements but not the transistions, so just thinks of it being all in trot. Then when she knows where she's meant to be going, the transistions are included.
 
Ali2 said:
My hubby walks, 'trots' and 'canters' round the living room. Woks for him :D
Click to expand...

Not that I'm admitting to it :p: only my cats witnessed it you understand so I could deny it later ..but I did the same :D I drew it out on paper first using different colours for each pace.
 
http://www.myonlinedressage.com/

... Have you tried this? You have to subscribe ... It's £5 for a month, but all the tests are on there, there's a really helpful video of someone riding it correctly while a helpful judge talks through the test and offers helpful pointers on the way round. Really helps me, and you can watch it as many times as you like. I also look at utube sometimes but find this better as the rider is getting it right, it's properly filmed rather than being done on someone's phone and the voice over is really useful.
 
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