Walk Trot Tests - Advice Please

Joyous70

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Im looking to take my youngster to do a walk trot test later this year. I am no dressage rider and have only ever done one test about 20 years ago :eek:

Can someone enlighten me, is Intro A and Intro B a walk trot test? would this be a suitable place to start with a youngster?

Im looking at Weston Lawns as they do evening unaffiliated evening dressage and theyre very close to me, so not too far for me to tow and get all flustered before ive even got on her.

Any advice welcome, thanks in advance.

:)
 

miss_c

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Yes the Intros are walk/trot - I seem to remember one being about transitions and the other more about suppleness and bend - one of them has half-10m circles in trot which I always think a little harsh as it's then not seen again until Novice! I do think some of the Prelims are easier, e.g. P4 pretty much only has canter round the edge of the arena as well as the 20m circle in canter.
 

Pinkvboots

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Yes the Intros are walk/trot - I seem to remember one being about transitions and the other more about suppleness and bend - one of them has half-10m circles in trot which I always think a little harsh as it's then not seen again until Novice! I do think some of the Prelims are easier, e.g. P4 pretty much only has canter round the edge of the arena as well as the 20m circle in canter.
I also agree about prelim 4 being easier than the intro tests, I always forget the intro tests but can learn prelim 4 really easily.
 

tinap

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The daughters done a few intros on her youngster as she's still a bit too erratic in canter. She says intro B is a lot more flowing & easier to ride & remember than A x
 

Joyous70

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The daughters done a few intros on her youngster as she's still a bit too erratic in canter. She says intro B is a lot more flowing & easier to ride & remember than A x

This is why i wanted a walk trot test, we are only doing short burts of canter out on good ground when hacking, i haven't even introduced canter work in the school yet, but really want to get her out and about to see the world. :) Weston Lawns do the intro B so i will have to get a copy of it and have a practice. :cool:
 

**Vanner**

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I've really enjoyed doing the intros and getting my boy and myself out and in the arenas. We've stepped up to prelim recently and have seen virtually no difference in scores. I do think the scoring on the intros are quite hard so don't be despondent look for the comments more.

Go and enjoy.
 

khalswitz

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Intro is good for horses with very green canters, but they are more testing of the trot than a prelim and marked just as harshly - my lad never scored as high in an intro as the prelim after he stopped bucking and picking up wrong canter leads...
 

NoniMouse

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Another one who much prefers the intro B test. As far as I remember A had half 10m circles and a 20m stretchy trot circle, which was a tad nerve wracking on a 5yo ex racer in an open field...
 

Joyous70

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Thank you for your replies, this is nice to know that the Intro B is a nice test as i think this is what they do at Weston Lawns.

I will have to start practicing then and get ourselves up to scratch, I would like to be working on our canter before i go and do an Intro test, but i would far rather be working at a higher level at home than what is expected of us in the ring.

Im not looking for placings or even high scores, i would just like to get my girl out to some shows so she can see some of the big wide world, as i said before im no dressage rider.
 

Kat_Bath

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A has 10m half circles in trot, B has stretchy 20m circle in trot.
I don't mind either.
IIRC, prelim 7 is a nice Prelim to start on too.
Go for it-you will enjoy it and you always get a mark and feedback so always have something to work on :)
 

Joyous70

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A has 10m half circles in trot, B has stretchy 20m circle in trot.
I don't mind either.
IIRC, prelim 7 is a nice Prelim to start on too.
Go for it-you will enjoy it and you always get a mark and feedback so always have something to work on :)

Thank you - we will get practicing and then i will find my brave pants out :)
 

dianchi

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I wrote for Intro A this weekend and was surprised at some of the movements included!
20m stretchy trot (which is not a give and retake people!), and changing the rein via two 1/2 10m circles and a final trot 1/2 10m onto the centre line.

Prelim 4 definitely a better option!
 

Kokopelli

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If you just want to get out and about how about low level showing? I personally dislike the intro tests as they're quite over complicated for an introduction. P4 and P7 are a lot easier :)
 

Joyous70

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If you just want to get out and about how about low level showing? I personally dislike the intro tests as they're quite over complicated for an introduction. P4 and P7 are a lot easier :)

I would rather ride than do in hand, and our canter is non existent at the moment so would rather not show ourselves up when it comes to the show bit :eek:
 

khalswitz

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I would rather ride than do in hand, and our canter is non existent at the moment so would rather not show ourselves up when it comes to the show bit :eek:

Novice classes don't ask for a group canter and if you're not worried about placing like you said you don't have to canter in your show either...
 

Joyous70

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Novice classes don't ask for a group canter and if you're not worried about placing like you said you don't have to canter in your show either...

Ahh i didn't know that you don't have to do canter, i was worried about doing our individual show and then having and absolute nightmare if canter was required, we may have established our canter by that time, but i didn't want to add to much pressure for either of us.
 

khalswitz

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Ahh i didn't know that you don't have to do canter, i was worried about doing our individual show and then having and absolute nightmare if canter was required, we may have established our canter by that time, but i didn't want to add to much pressure for either of us.

If you want to WIN novice classes you'll have a canter, but if it's just for experience you don't have to. I was riding a very sharp pony mare in novice classes over a season for experience I think two years ago now, and after realising when warming up that canter would be explosive on the show ground then we just stuck to trot in the show. Didn't place, but by the end of the season she was much more comfortable with the atmosphere and we started cantering in our shows then. By the following year she was lovely in a ridden class, she just needed time to settle to it.
 

khalswitz

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Depends on the show... I've never been in a novice class where I have not had to canter in the go-round.

Really?? I've never been asked to, but admittedly I've only ever done Novice classes for Highland/large M&M ridden, but I have ridden at big breed society shows where they haven't either...
 

miss_c

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Yup same, large M&M is 'my bag' as it were! OP probably worth contacting the show secretary to ask them as it will depend on the judge as well! :)
 

Joyous70

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Yup same, large M&M is 'my bag' as it were! OP probably worth contacting the show secretary to ask them as it will depend on the judge as well! :)

Good idea, i might pop over to my local show and speak with them, i can have a nosey at the classes at the same time and see what they do.
 

Chirmapops

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Depends what type of horse you have - I never did any novice show hunter classes where we weren't asked to canter together and show a gallop. Not done much showing on my new girl, but definitely had to do canters in the go-round with her, in novice hacks & riding horses.

Agree that intro B is definitely the easier of the two, although it depends a bit on what your horse is like - if he's got enormous gangly trot strides still then the two half Os in intro A will be difficult. They shouldn't mark the trot work more harshly than a prelim though, just basic bottom end of the scales of training - rhythm and contact. Of course, by the time you move up to prelim your trot work will be better so you should be getting better marks.
 

khalswitz

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Yup same, large M&M is 'my bag' as it were! OP probably worth contacting the show secretary to ask them as it will depend on the judge as well! :)

May be regional difference then? We're up in NE Scotland, and I suppose we'll have a more limited pool of judges... I know I haven't been asked to but I only have about 5 seasons of show riding under my belt compared to you guys who are more experienced, so I could just have experienced an abnormality...
 

miss_c

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It may well be Khalswitz! I know that if I were judging I would expect a canter in the go-round as it's the norm round here in the South West. :) I've been in a 20-strong Novice class in a fairly small ring (local level) and they wanted a full go-round. Was slightly chaotic at times!
 

Joyous70

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It may well be Khalswitz! I know that if I were judging I would expect a canter in the go-round as it's the norm round here in the South West. :) I've been in a 20-strong Novice class in a fairly small ring (local level) and they wanted a full go-round. Was slightly chaotic at times!

Im pretty sure its the same here in the Midlands too, they expect a canter round. And as for what class i would enter her in im unsure, as she's a pure pred Lipizzaner
 
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