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Test strategy can be divided into three parts: what you do BEFORE the show, what you do DURING the show, and what you do at home AFTER the show that prepares you for subsequent shows.
BEFORE the show:
-
Make sure you are competing at
the appropriate level! This should be at least one level lower
than what you’re schooling at
home, and should be determined by lowest level between the horse
and rider. (Just because your horse is a pro
at 4th level doesn’t mean you should be showing at that level!)
-
Be
mentally, physically and visually fit!
-
The rider is an athlete, too—and
should not have to limit a beautiful trot extension by holding
the horse back because they couldn’t live up to the horse’s
athletic ability when a few trips to the gym would have made
the difference.
-
Be focused
and familiar with the test. Make sure that you not only know
the lines you need to ride, make sure you also know the DIRECTIVES
of the test.
KNOW WHAT THE JUDGE IS LOOKING FOR! Mentally ride your test
in the empty arena ahead
of time from the judge’s point of view. Ask yourself
what the judge sees, and also what the judge doesn’t
see (i.e., where corrective action can be taken that will
be invisible
to the judge,
and where
movements must
be made
larger to be adequately seen and/or appreciated by the judge).
-
Put your
best foot forward. Look your best, with spotless tack and apparel
and a tip-top grooming job.
-
Don’t leave your test in the
Warm-Up Arena. Don’t wear
yourself or your horse out. Training should be done at home. Warm-ups
are for warming-up,
not drilling.
DURING THE SHOW:
-
First Impressions Count! Tell
the judge “I’m here!
We are ready!” Ride
for the 9. Better to risk a 2, than play it safe.
-
USE THE
CORNERS!!! This is one of Axel’s pet peeves.
Corners are your friends. They are legal to go into at
all levels! Use
them as an aid
for rebalancing
and preparing for subsequent movements.
-
Transitions are
important, even at the lower levels. You must show a difference.
They are so important that
they are now weighted
more heavily
in the new tests.
Make them an important part of your training and test strategy.
Movement Strategies/Comments:
-
Free Walk: This should be active and unconstrained
(emphasis on active), reasonably straight, and showing the
quality of the walk.
The rider
does not get to rest,
but should be supporting the forwardness of the walk.
The
rider should be “out
of the horse’s mouth.”
-
Medium Walk: The
judge is looking for the activity, rhythm, and purity
of the gait. It is critical that the walk NOT
slow down. This is
NOT a collected walk.
The walk should remain active.
-
Trot Serpentine (as seen
at 1st Level): This is NOT a straight line to X and back to the
long side. It
is a loop with
three separate
bends. All
3 separate
bends must be shown for a high score. A serpentine
by definition is a half circle connected by a straight
line, with straightening
between half circles
of equal
sizes.
-
Leg Yield: FORWARD and sideways movement with
the horse basically straight. It should be energetic and WITHOUT
LOSS OF THE QUALITY
OF THE TROT. In
schooling the leg yield, make the leg yield shallower
until it can be done without loss
of the quality of the trot. The horse is not ready
for 1st Level until this can
be achieved. The leg yield is a critical precursor
for lateral work and half passes.
-
Trot Stretch: This is a stretch forward and
downward while maintaining an active trot. The judge looks
for the relative
difference and
true stretch forward
and downward, and for a horse that is happily stretching
(vs. the “free at
last” response), not a preset degree and/or
amount of stretch.
Shoulder-in: Make sure the judge can see it. Show more
angle the farther you are from the judge, but not so
much that the horse starts
to leg yield.
-
Travers: Movement hasn’t changed.
-
Renvers: This is a new movement at second
level. Now at Second Level, in Test 4, the horse is asked to
do
Shoulder
In for
12 meter, and
then develop
into
renvers over 12 m followed by 12 m of renvers. While
a well-balanced athletic horse with
a skilled rider could develop renvers in a stride
or two (and be richly rewarded) there is a danger here:
20 meters
or more
of renvers
would
be very tiring
for the horse, and could result in the horse running
out of gas before the end
of the test—probably not worth the few points
on the single score.
-
Canter Stretch: Stretch on the circle, like
the trot stretch, is new this year.
-
Flying Change: Single change is added on the
dangle for Third Level this year, as is Half Pass in canter,
and inside
rein release and
double rein
release,
both of which are expected to be performed without
changes in carriage.
-
Very Collected Canter: Required on a circle
to the degree needed for performing pirouettes, since it is
the key to
performing pirouettes.
Then in Fourth
Level Test 2, the Very Collected Canter has the double
coefficient, while the subsequent
1/4 pirouette is only a single score and is performed
on the center-line and followed by a half-pass.
-
Medium Trot: More contained, rounder trot.
-
Extended Trot: Extension, with a true lengthening
of stride AND frame. A true difference from the medium
should be
apparent to the judge
to get high marks
for both.
-
Additional changes: Riders now only have 45
seconds to enter after the bell, and 3 errors prior to elimination.
(It was 60 seconds,
and 4 errors).
AFTER THE SHOW/CLASS:
-
Take care of your horse. Make sure you have a horse
left for your next test by giving your horse
a proper cool down
before
socializing with friends,
and
attending to your horse’s legs/fee
-
Read
your test sheet, BEFORE your next test if possible.
Pay particular attention to the
judge’s
comments. Keep your tests to look for trends
and use them as
training tools.
Look
at them
with humility.
-
Don’t forget to say thank
you to the show management and volunteers,
to whoever pays
your horseshow
bills,
and to your family.
And most
especially to your horse!
Return to 2002 Convention Notes Table of Contents. |
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