Dressage: what's helped you get better scores?

[Jealoushe]

There are some good tips at the bottom of this article!

‘You Are Our Future’: The Bromont Rising Under-25 Program Is Back (+ Dressage...

[Xanthoria]

@FrittSkritt

Shorten your reins correctly and don’t creep your hands up - Lendon Gray says that’s cheating.

tell me more about this - no instructor/coach has ever told me how to shorten my reins!

[Mander]

I think they mean shorten your reins and keep your hands where they are, as opposed to shortening your reins, but allowing your hands to creep forward and up, making the distance the same as if you had just left the reins long but with your hands where they ought to be.

You might technically be shortening your reins, but if it’s not actually changing the frame of your horse, are you actually shortening your reins?

[FrittSkritt]

@Mander

I think they mean shorten your reins and keep your hands where they are, as opposed to shortening your reins, but allowing your hands to creep forward and up, making the distance the same as if you had just left the reins long but with your hands where they ought to be.

Basically shorten your reins the way they show you when you’re a beginner - hold one rein with the other hand, slide hand up to desired position. Rinse, repeat for other hand. Don’t inch your fingers/hands up as you approach the end of the diagonal.

[endlessclimb]

And start with the “new” inside rein so you’re establishing bend as you shorten.

[Mander]

Hmm, I mean, I’m not a pro or anything, so what do I know, but I’m not sure I wholly agree with that.

I don’t think you should inch up a teeny bit at a time, but shortening your reins all in one go also seems a bit abrupt for the horse and (if our goal here is to get better scores) I think shortening in 2-3 medium sized increments instead will yield a more graceful and relaxed transition overall and is more fair to the horse. In my experience, shortening all in one go tends to either cause anticipation (horse starts to think: when we make it back to the rail they’re gonna pull my face up really quickly!) or anxiety (we were just walking and then WHAM all of a sudden they wanted my head up here!).

But maybe I’m just used to riding green/anxious horses.

[SolarFlare]

I’m sitting here scribing at an Ontario event today and need to put this out there as it’s been TERRIBLE all year so far in every division.

Your halt needs to be established with 3-4 seconds of immobility!!! We’ve had so many riders with decent halts who move off way too quickly (and it’s the rider asking not the horse getting antsy). Stop throwing away easy marks!

This has been a public service announcement.