I have recently come to the realization that I might be at a place with my new young horse where I don’t have to just get through the test anymore but actually ride the test with enough confidence that it will happen that I might actually be able to focus on increasing the scores of each movement. This shouldn’t seem like such a revelation except this is probably the first time in dressage that’s ever happened to me. My previous mount was very difficult to show due to extreme anxiety and explosive behavior whenever
she traveled away from home. That behavior made showing extremely stressful and often it was just everything I could do to keep it together to get through the test. I still managed to get my bronze metal.
So my question is how do you make that transition when you realize the horse your on is most likely going to make it through the test just fine and you might actually be able to start asking for more and dialing it up a notch or two in order to really go out and get those sevens and eights? Is this a sports psychology question do you think? Or just I’m growing up getting older and having better perspective. Either way it’s definitely a positive place to be and I’m certainly enjoying the process a lot more this time.
First off, congratulations that you have reached this point!
I think a difficult to show first horse is part of our initiation into dressage-land or something. :lol: My former racehorse/former eventer couldn’t handle NOT galloping for a while when he gets to shows, so we have stepped away from showing him, and instead I have a young horse who doesn’t think they’re a big deal at all. SO much easier. 
But the difficult horse is the one who taught me to REALLY ride.
How to improve is very personal and based on your strengths/weaknesses… my plan below is based upon my young and physically immature for a 6 year old mare. She’s only now starting to develop more muscle and strength, and has maybe the strength of many 4 year olds out there. Which is fine with me - I knew she would be a slow developer based on her family, but means I had to learn to help her balance showing last year. 
So I like to play a lot with forward and back and adjustment in my rides at home. My horse may be more energized the day of a show, in which case I really just have to think of the ride as allowing the forward and keeping her balanced. So upward half halts and releases all the time to keep the withers lifted, and let that extra natural energy get displayed. We’ve gotten super picky in transitions at home, where I am very particular about wanting them balanced and smooth. If they aren’t, I re-do them, and feel what I have to change. It starts to become habit, so instead of thinking of a trot across a diagonal as a time to just cruise, I think of it as a time to get her energy really flowing nicely at the start, then around the middle that energy can make her start dropping in the withers and digging herself into the ground if I allow, so it’s then I start working on rebalancing and maintaining the energy upwards. By the end of the diagonal, she should be more on the aids than at the start, and in a much better trot - whether we were doing a lengthening or working trot. What she may also be is a bit strong in my hands, in which case I use the corner to get bend to soften so she stays swinging in her topline but keeps that energy. Then if we have to transition to a canter it’s easy, and if we have to transition to a walk she doesn’t duck behind the contact as she can tend to do.
I find it helpful to have my tests memorised at least 3 weeks before. I then “ride” them, very analytically, every day in my car as I’m commuting. On a show day, it works best for me if I pick only one or two things that I really want to focus on and improve, like “today I will make very sure to show a clear difference between working and medium trot”, and then put most of my mental energy into making that movement happen.
Netg- Thank you for your post its nice to know that other people have also experienced the same struggles with their first show horse in dressage. I had found myself extremely frustrated with other riders with their steady quiet little show horse and they were so oblivious to my struggle to just keep my mare from having a complete meltdown they would steer into the way, cluster around the rail get way too close you name it. I kept thinking can’t they see they need to be more aware of the other riders well I actually think they didn’t have a clue. 
Curly_Feather thanks I like the idea of focusing on just a couple of things within the test and not the entire test it just gets to be too much too overwhelming. I have done the review in the car trick but it’s been a long time and I think that’s a good idea to return to that thank you.
I find it helpful to break the test down into individual movements (or short combinations) and think about where I have thrown points away in the past on things that should be easier. You may want to reread old tests. I focus especially on the parts of the test that aren’t so much the “essence” of the level. For example, in first level lengthenings and leg-yields are the new things that people may stress about. But simple circles, halts, transitions, etc may get neglected. Spend a few minutes on each of those simple things every ride leading up to the show.
I found myself in the same position recently. I backed my horse down from GP to PSG due to age, and finally took the time to address some minor but persistent issues that were causing me to lose points. For example, he had developed a habit of swapping leads on centerline before the first halt, and cantering instead of trotting out of the halt. Both of those things happened more than once over the past few years but I never put in the time to work on it because I was so focused on getting the piaffe/passage tour right. So before my last show I actually practiced a lot of centerlines and quarter lines, with and without halt. My trainer helped me figure out how to avoid the lead swapping and trotting out. I also figured out that he is less likely to turn his head to the side during the halt if I salute with my left hand instead of my right. Never occurred to me to try that for some reason. So we showed last weekend, did the entry as practiced, and got an 8.5 on it. It felt so satisfying to collect some points just with critical thinking and practice!
To learn what judges look for and where points are often thrown away, do some reading. I think there are plenty of books and articles out there written from the judge’s perspective. You might even consider auditing the L program someday.
Also work on riding corners correctly, so your horse feels better coming out than going in. Even at the highest levels a lot of riders neglect that in the stress of a test. Not only will it improve the next movement, but the judges may mark you up for an especially well-ridden corner (one of many score modifiers) and it should improve your rider score.
That’s all I can think of for now. Good luck!!
One big difference between where you have been, and where you feel you are now, is the sensation of the time that’s passing during the ride itself.
When you are struggling to get through, it feels as if the movements are coming up FAST, one after another. When you are at the point where the movements of the level come more easily to you, you have time to THINK, both between the movements, and well ahead of them.
This is one reason why I didn’t care for the suggestion in the other thread that asked about scoring at FEI, and “good” scores relative to when a pair is ready to move up a level. The person who is riding within the level and experiencing that sense of control, and of time passing more slowly, is on track to move up-- regardless of their scores. IMO.
Anyway I think your question is, what do you do with that feeling of more time? What I do, and this may sound silly, is I tell myself (and my horse), "Let’s show them our _________ " before riding the next movement.
What I mean is that, when I am in the ring, I am aware of where the judge or judges are located and I think of myself as being on a little stage and as “presenting” my horse to them. I think of it a little bit like I’ve memorized a monologue and am revealing a story, as if I’m acting on a stage.
So I come in and say to the horse and to me, “Let’s show them our best entry trot”. Then “Let’s show them our best halt.” Then “Let’s show them how deep we go in a corner.” Then, “Let’s show our best lengthening.”
And on and on, one movement to the next, always thinking AHEAD of what movement you are doing now, and trying not to focus on the one you ARE doing now. When you do something less than ideally, you just say, “Oops!” And you make yourself laugh it off, and you think right away about what is next, as opposed to considering what you just did for even a second longer. It’s all about the preparation, so that when you are in the moment your skills and practice take over. This technique also helps you to keep smiling and looking up and ahead, instead of at the horse’s neck.
With all of that said, I admit that I cannot take my own advice all the time at every show. My last show was a bit of a disastrous mishmash in that regard-- we both got tense and I felt like I was slamming from movement to movement, particularly in my Freestyle. It was not a stellar performance. And I should say I only show at First Level.
But, in the rides at recent shows when I have gotten in sync and have really used that technique of presenting my horse and enjoying my horse and thinking of showing off what’s coming up-- then, we have gotten pretty decent scores in some big classes. And I don’t have a horse with flashy gaits, so for us, 7.5s and 8s are hard won. And when I am in that enjoying/showing off mode, then we get a surprising number of those kinds of marks.
Enjoy! That’s the main thing.
Silverbridge excellent post and points you’re exactly right it is that feeling of having more time or that the test is progressing more slowly, time to think, time to maybe do something. I really will have to try your suggestion about showing off my horse throughout the test in each movement that’s a good mental game plan.
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Netg- Thank you for your post its nice to know that other people have also experienced the same struggles with their first show horse in dressage. I had found myself extremely frustrated with other riders with their steady quiet little show horse and they were so oblivious to my struggle to just keep my mare from having a complete meltdown they would steer into the way, cluster around the rail get way too close you name it. I kept thinking can’t they see they need to be more aware of the other riders well I actually think they didn’t have a clue.
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Having a very sensitive horse I’m sympathetic however if you are struggling to keep your horse from “having a complete meltdown”, maybe your frustration is better directed elsewhere than at other riders.
Maybe the other riders are focused on their horses. IME, it’s the rider’s job to look out for themselves and their horse in the warm up. If others are crowding you, say something like “please give us a little more room” or move away from them.
I’ve moved to a different area to warm up when a certain horse and rider are there. I’ve also had people move to get away from my horse when he was leaping around. Once I was in the warm up with ONE other lady. She complained every time I was in the same half of the warm up with her and that’s when my horse was being good! Sheesh!
Fantastic mindset, Silverbridge!
A few ideas for the OP that will help every test at every level:
- USE every corner. Every single one…as a time to make your horse better, and to prepare for the next movement. Practice riding every single corner as a preparation at home. Horse must bend, be in front of leg, and you must be riding the corner with your focus on using it to set up for the next movement. That means you never ride through a corner without already knowing what you are going to do next…even if it’s just going down the long side in good balance.
*Examine your tests for clues into the test writer’s minds. They set up tests in “blocks” of movements that flow well into one another. The seamless FLOW from movement to movement is what makes the difference between a nice test and an exceptional one.
Memorize the tests not from letter to letter, but from transition to transition, flowing shape to flowing shape…and make your preparation for the next “thing” part of your imagery.
*know your horse. USE the test to actually train your horse in the ring. Examine the tests and look for places in the test that you can help your horse:
If tension is an issue, find the places in the test where you can focus on achieving better relaxation and become expert at using that part of the test. For example, make the free walk really accomplish something. If canter improves your trot work, do the canter with that in mind and seize the moment after the trot transition to really RIDE and shape the trot into a better place.
- know your tests so well that you can recite them - be interrupted - and pick right back up where you left off. This simulates the show environment where your focus will be broken by spooks, distractions and other weirdness. My coach made me verbally ride a blow-by-blow test (reciting where I’d do the most half-halts, where I’d bend, where I start preparing) while I was braiding, then she would interrupt me on purpose and I had to carry on where I left off.
[QUOTE=ewells;8619191]
So my question is how do you make that transition when you realize the horse your on is most likely going to make it through the test just fine and you might actually be able to start asking for more and dialing it up a notch or two in order to really go out and get those sevens and eights? Is this a sports psychology question do you think? Or just I’m growing up getting older and having better perspective. Either way it’s definitely a positive place to be and I’m certainly enjoying the process a lot more this time.[/QUOTE]
I think it is very much a sports psychology question. I also think the very first thing you need to work on is learning how to ride the test strategically. Learn inside-out what your horse does and doesn’t do well, and what you do and do not do well. Does your horse have a tendency to halt with a leg out? OK - learn to make up that point or two by showcasing his nice lengthened trot. Medium canter is “ho-hum”? Make up the points with your excellent 10m circle. The key to this mindset is to know when you’re losing points and say “OK, where can I make this up”. In other words, not to be upset when something goes wrong, but to automatically think about how to make up points elsewhere.
If you’re building confidence in your show riding, I highly recommend having someone video your ride, and then sitting down with the test and the video. It’s no uncommon that we think “oh, that medium was really good” and then we look at it and say “oh…it looks like nothing happened…i get what the judge saw”. i think it helps us take judges scores less personally!!
