5 Tips To Improve Your Dressage Test Scores
We all want to get that amazing score in the dressage test, right?
That score that shows not only how good we are, but how amazing we know are horse is as well.
But with so much that goes into the scoring process, what can you do to reach those lofty heights?
Of course, developing your horse correctly through the self carriage process and beyond is going to avoid furture limitations (want to learn how you can apply this to your horse? Click here to learn more about our Green To Self Carriage Course).
You can also check out these tips that Katie prepared for you below!
1. Forwardness
Riding your horse forward and bold creates straightness.
Think of it like peddling a bike. If you don’t peddle fast enough your bike gets the wobbles and you can’t straighten that with the handle bars you have to peddle harder. Once you’re peddling hard enough the bike balances out.
You can also think about it like the difference between walking somewhere and dawdling or walking with purpose. When you walk with purpose you walk straight to your destination. If you’re dawdling and not in a hurry your line tends to drift, go off course and come back again.
2. Let your horse make the mistake (in training)
When you introduce your horse to a new exercise you will give your horse lots of support and balance to get them understanding their job.
After a while they know what they are supposed to do but we still do everything for them. What we end up doing is maintaining pressure while our horse is cooperating so what incentive do they have to cooperate?
Let go, let them make the mistake and reapply the pressure to correct the mistake - but let them make it first!!
This is how we cue train. We also want our horse to remain doing the task asked until we change the ask. This allows us to compound the aid and ask more complex cues of them. If you are using all your aids to ask for just the simplest ask like maintain forwardness, you have no other aids to communicate other things you need like bend, yield, transition etc.
3. Engagement
The reason why engagement is so hard to understand is because of the way it is taught.
At best it is taught by inside leg to outside rein; at worst to hold the horses head down and tap or drive the hindquarters through. When taught at the worst, it creates a rotation of the pelvis which is false engagement and stresses the horses back.
Engagement is not the horses hind quarters coming under more (although that is the end result) but a transitioning of weight from forehand to hindquarters that creates deeper flexion through the hocks and haunches. They squat deeper into the movement.
4. Independent seat
There was a long time of my riding career where I was naïve enough to think my position didn’t really affect my horses potential.
It is however, the most limiting factor in our horses potential.
Dressage is the art of dance between horse and rider. It doesn’t matter how good a dancer your partner is if you don’t have the posture and dancing skills yourself. We know this from watching dancing with the stars.
5. Accuracy
Accuracy is THE easiest way to improve your test results. It is the first thing you are marked on and the easiest thing to mess up.
Preparation, looking ahead and knowing your test is key allow with being able to actually break down the geography of the movements.
