Small Arena: Thanks everybody for you help I have the info I needed!

[khemo]

Thanks everybody for you help I have the info I needed!

I’ll let you know how it goes on Sunday.

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Does anyone have a diagram of how far a 20 meter circle at E is, compared to K/F and H/M? Or any tips on what that rides like?

I’m used to a full size arena, and will be competing in an indoor that’s slightly smaller than a small dressage arena (60 feet by 120 feet).

Doing the math, it looks like it’ll be just more than half the way between E and H. But, to ride that “just more than half” seems ambiguous to me, given that I know my “eye for a distance” is pretty blind.

(For example, in a large arena, I know where the proper spacing is not based on feel or understanding, but based on landmarks. Then I try to ride those landmarks consistently, with fingers crossed that one day it will pay off and I can learn how it should feel.)

So, any tips, pointers, diagrams, or experiences to share?

[Eclectic_Horseman]

Try this link

http://www.dressage.net.au/natestdiagrams/natrain1lt.pdf

[khemo]

That’s a standard arena… I’m looking for the short arena…

[mp]

I have a diagram of 20m circles in a small arena, and the midpoint is about 2/3 of the way between to H/M and K/F. I’ve never seen this diagram online. If you’d like me to email it to you, send me a pm.

[SaddleFitterVA]

Since I own my farm and the ring, I have spray painted 10M marks down each of the long sides. And 5m marks along the short sides.

Maybe you can figure out something similar.

It is 14m between E and the next letters in the short arena, so you go a little more than halfway to the next set for a 20m circle.

I need to repaint mine, they’ve faded over the winter.

[Peggy]

Well, it’s 14 m from E to K or H and a 20m circle would go 10m in either direction towards those letters, or 4m short of each. Or, to be more precise, 4m short of an imaginary line on the centerline b/w K and F and again H and M. You could make a diagram to scale and get out a compass…

[slpeders]

Maybe I’m not getting the question right, but if you ride a 20M circle from E in the short ring X is your center, so you should cross the centerline halfway between X and A and halfway between X and C.
If you try to figure out how far that is to EFKH, you’ll just make your head hurt!
(That said, it’s 2 meters SHORT of D/G).

[hoopoe]

After enough repeats, you develope a feel for 20 m and can place one anyplace without reference points on the wall

for now measure 10 m up from X ( or down from A/C) and mark the wall.

[Mallard]

A 20 m circle is a 20m circle no matter where you ride it…isn’t it??
You could go out in an open field and ride a 20 m circle.

[Petstorejunkie]

this feels like algebra class back in high school :eek::sigh:
what helped me find my 20m feel is to literally in a dirt arena stick a stake in the ground to be the middle, then have 10m of rope attached to that with another pointy stick thingy at the other end. Then stretch the rope and walk a circle (on foot) you make a tracing, or a track. Remove all stakes and ropes from arena once you have traced a circle with the stake.
Then RIDE that tracing about 10 circles, then go do a lap around the arena so your horse doesnt have an anyurism, then back to the circle. Once you think you have the feel of it, close your eyes and ride the 20m circle. you’ll be able to see in the dirt if you did well or not.

Letters are reference points. I have found you ride better dressage without the letters, and then occationally add them to tune up your accuracy (like practicing a particular test). you should be able to ride a 20m circle anywhere, whether that’s a hilly pasture, the arena, the dang parkinglot… 20m circles are everywhere. Once you learn to feel them, they never leave you.

Have fun!

[poltroon]

I suggest you practice at home by putting a couple of poles or other marker down in your full size practice area so that you are riding in a 40 m space. You’ll be halfway between the center at X and the fence on the short side.

It definitely takes some time to get used to how the test flows in a smaller arena.

[merrygoround]

As has already been mentioned. Do the math. with 14m betwen K anE and 14m between E and H , you need to subtract roughly 3 yd + from the sides of your circles. Put out flowerpots, traffic cones anything… develope your eye. You do that by riding endless numbers of correct circles :dead: :dead:

[khemo]

I like the comparison “4m short of each”, Peggy!

Because in the large arena, it’s 2 m short of each.
So, if I keep in mind that it’s just double the distance I’m used to between where I “touch” and the next markers (KDF/HGM) then that should help me. And the distance I’m looking at is just 6 feet versus 12 feet… that’s something I’m comfortable with, I can grasp that… I can just “see” the distance of two ponies end to end between us and the next markers… I just can’t “see” 10 meters from the end of the arena in a concrete way that I can grasp from the back of a horse while trotting and moving his shoulder over and half halting and asking for more bend etc.

You could go out in an open field and ride a 20 m circle.

…I could, if I could do it accurately on my own two feet!
Neither the horse nor I can do it on our own, we need lots of help… I think another few years worth might do it

You do that by riding endless numbers of correct circles

LOL…I think you missed the part about “my “eye for a distance” is pretty blind.”) And, I’m pretty happy when schooling I can get at least one good circle in each direction… that’s a big accomplishment for a rider with no “eye for a distance” and a horse with stiff shoulders, etc!

I’m already planning to reconfigure the temporary markers to make the long arena into a short for my next 3 practice rides before the show. But, that’s not enough to fully compensate for our shortcomings. This is the only show in the area with a short arena.

In the meantime, I just wanted some strong visual to make it accessible to me, because “half way” and “2/3rds” just weren’t translating. And I’m sure we’re not the only horse/rider combo out there who can’t ride lots of perfect circles repeatedly, so I thought others could share the “crutches” they’ve used on the way to being able to do perfect circles.

(Just in case I made it sound like we’re complete incompetents, our last show we got a comment “nice bend and shape of circle”, so we’re definitely improving. Then the next ride I wasn’t watching my landmarks and we got commented for what that did to our circle shape! (In that arena, my landmark is to watch the rafters: two line up great for the imaginary lines (KDF/HGM). I think the second time I had my head down rather than looking forward, so, bye bye round circle.)

[dressagedirectory]

circles in short arena

Hi,

The test diagram that was posted earlier is in a standard arena.

This page :

http://www.dressage.net.au/dnlinks3.html#arenadia40

has some 40 x 20 meter diagrams including the following one with a 20 meter circle !

http://www.dressage.net.au/40arenacircles.pdf

I hope its what you are looking for

[Valentina_32926]

At shows the “posts” that hold the chain are so many meters apart - use them to guide you to the correct size circle (i.e. 10 meters on both side of the letter).

[khemo]

[QUOTE=Valentina_32926;3097970]
At shows the “posts” that hold the chain are so many meters apart - use them to guide you to the correct size circle (i.e. 10 meters on both side of the letter).[/QUOTE]

Hi Valentina, This will be inside an Indoor, so there will not be any additional fencing, railing, or chain.

Thanks for the links, dressagedirectory! You’ve got a great site, I’ve been using it for months (for large arena tests), I even have the test diagram pdfs on my pda so that while I’m waiting at dr. offices I can read through them or on show mornings I can do a quick review.

Thanks everybody for you help I have the info I needed!

I’ll let you know how it goes on Sunday.