Riding a trained dressage horse when you are not is the same as pressing all the keys on a keyboard instead of typing a sentence.
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True, this is exactly why I ordered 15 copies of the Pony Club Manual and handed them out to the kids, in front of their parents, at my previous barn.
They thought I was being kind, but I’ll confess my primary motivation was to encourage some education regarding very basic safety and ring etiquette.
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How can you hope to adequately teach something you cannot do yourself? You may not look pretty doing it but a trainer should be capable of getting on a horse and have it do what they are training the rider to do?
Many times on this forum we have posts where someone has a trainer but that trainer is of no help? They should be somewhat accomplished in the discipline they are training people in. Not only in teaching it but riding it as well.
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This is awesome! And so true.
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My trainer is a little…off. Extremely equine knowledgeable, but will drive you batty with chatter and retelling of the same stories everyone has heard a half dozen times. But at over 70, with multiple concussions over a 50 yr riding career, I’m pretty forgiving of her eccentricity.
I take dressage lessons with her and pay her coaching fees at shows. Would I prefer a different trainer? Yes. But she’s the resident Dressage trainer at the barn. And the barn is 2 minutes from my home. And to her strong credit, she found a high level dressage instructor who comes to the barn monthly and teaches a lesson with her students or anyone interested in riding with the BNT. I LOVE the BNT and get twice as much value from my lessons with her than the resident trainer.
The nearest comparable barn would be a 30 minute drive one-way. Changing barns can also result in trading one set of problems for another. So do I settle? Yes. Because there’s always a compromise somewhere, and while I know I progress more slowly this way, I’m still moving in the right direction.
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You can always haul out for clinics or audit with a BNT as well.
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Yup! But I live in a dressage desert so I’m thankful we have a good one that comes to us - and would have no problem hauling out - if there were anything to haul to.
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I have a Delusional Trainer update. I was randomly messaged by one of her loyal beginner cult members to let me know that she (the trainer) was only 2 scores away from officially getting her bronze medal. I went on USDF to look at the database and confirmed that her only scores for second level were 50% and her only scores for first level were 49%. Do these people genuinely believe the lies they’re sharing or do they think it’s impossible to confirm or deny?
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For those of us overseas what do you have to do to get a bronze medal? How many scores? What scores? What level of riding and please don’t say 1st, 2nd or 3rd level as I dont know what that means either.
I understand:-
Prelim - 20 m circles.
Novice - 15 m circles, leg yield
Elementary 10 m circles, starting to collect, lateral work
Medium, more collection flying changes
Advanced I wish
Prix St George People to admire
Grand Prix - Gods
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Without knowing the Australian system at all, I’d say training first second could correspond to Prelim Novice Elementary, but you can look up USEF tests to confirm. I think you need scores of 65% which is competent but not necessarily inspired or talented 
Getting a Bronze medal is a nice goal for an adult amateur returning rider. But getting that excited about it is rather funny for a high level coach.
The students of delusional or just crappy trainers generally don’t know their way around online show results etc.
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Ah so as you say it doesn’t sound that hard. Even I could get one. How many scores do you need?
The first year for the EFA instructor Level I Certificate we needed 3 scores by 3 different judges in Novice at 65%. To demonstrate the gallop, to ride a cross country course and a showjumping course as well as get ticked off all things you had to complete like helping at Riding for the Disabled, which takes a year, including going to mandatory seminars, becoming a judge, doing first aid, etc, etc, etc.
That was back when 65% was harder to get as scoring has become easier in the last few decades.
The next year I did it and we were allowed to fail one part and redo.
The next year you could fail and redo 2 parts.
The next year 3.
Down to you could get different levels of certificates and you didn’t even have to ride. I have no idea how it changed in the last 30 years. I am out of the loop.
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I don’t know what your levels are, so I can only tell you what USDF requires for a Bronze–two scores each above 60% at 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level. There are single changes and Mediums at 3rd, if that helps. Our 1st sounds like what you describe as Novice.
As to the earlier discussion about quickly getting up to riding “at speed”–if this horse was old enough to be greyed out it may be old enough to be a bit stiff too. I know my prior mare, once she got older, did much better with a bit of walk to warmup, then straight to a bit of canter. I’m sure to most people that did seem odd, but it worked for her and got her back and SI loosened up.
I’d also say that a horse out of work isn’t ever going to be perfectly steady into perfect contact, even with a good professional on board. And they’re naturally inclined to compensate for that lack of strength and balance in different ways. I’ve got a 4YO who’s still figuring it out–she’s getting there, but her natural inclination is to come BTV. Previous mare (of the canter warmup) wanted to be above. Learning how to ride one versus the other has been a good lesson for me, but it also means it’s not perfect all the time. It’s always a work in progress.
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Yes simple changes and medium trots and canter sound like Elementary, thank you.
Is it possible that DT’s scores are so recent that the USDF database isn’t updated with them?
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Third level has flying changes, trot and canter half passes and medium and extended gaits. It requires some degree of collection.
Second level is shoulder in, travers, medium gaits, countercanter. Developing collection.
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Ah then second level is Elementary and 3rd level is medium. Thank you it will help me so much reading other threads.
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Aus to US conversion
Prep- Intro
Prelim- Training.
Novice- 1st
Elementary- 2nd
Medium- 3rd
Advanced- 4th.
And back on the subject of unqualified trainers, I have such a drama going on with the one who has my in-laws stallions. It’s going to end it a novel. One where I’ve probably developed a drinking problem by the end.
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At least 60%, any test at those levels.
Considering the horse she allegedly got the scores on died in May, probably not…
