Tips for Prelim 7 & dressage in general

[i lv lenny]

Hi evry1

Iam going to my 1st dressage test in Dec which is Prelim 7. Anyone got any tips for this test or just in general? Also I only have brown jodphur boots and gaiters will these be ok as havnt got funds for black long leather boots at the moment :( (its only unaffiliated). I have some of the white bandettes aswell (which are meant to luk lyk white tape) do u think i shud use these around my plaits or just stik to plain plaits?? (My horse is black so i thort they myt luk quite gud??:confused:)

Thanks 4 ** help:D

[Dooley]

1/ remember you do this for FUN, so enjoy enjoy enjoy and don't wory about the results too much
2/ ride an accurate test.
Make circles proper circles, not eggs, 20 m is meant to be 20 m, not 15 or 30 :p
3/ keep smiling even if your horse decides to leave the arena before you've finished your test (if the sides are not fences but white boards this can easily happen - happens to the best, just laugh it off !)
4/ pat your horse at the end (if you make it to the end - haha) and be nice no matter how misbehaved he/she was . Again, smile !
5/ I think P7 has a free walk on a long rein in it across either the long or short diagonal hasn't it? That is a good one to get points for if you practise it well and ride it well - mask your instructor to show you how if you're not sure.

Oh and last but not least - I 'll repeat myself - ENJOY ! HAVE FUN !!!!

And good luck, of course :D

[iloveshearer]

Prelim 7 is a nice test to start with! Nothing too complicated in it. Just remember to enjoy yourself and not worry too much if things don't go to plan, it's your first time!

[mu0ljk]

That's the one I am going to be doing in acouple of weeks! I only have short boots and gaiters too so don't worry about that! :)

I would say practice your circles and practice your straight lines (straight lines is something we are not very good at - Dylan gets distracted!)

As other's have said, smile, pat your horse at the end and remember to look round your bends and make sure you don't cut your corners.

Oh, and have fun!! ;)

Good-luck and let us know how it all goes! :cool::)

[Gruntfuttock]

Best of luck ! I agree with everyone who says practice your circles and straight lines -so many people lose unnecessary marks on these, and with a bit of practice, you can pick up a lot of "free" marks where everyone else falls down.

Your boots and gaiters will be fine. You are allowed to wear short boots and gaiters right up to Grand Prix, so don't think you "have" to have long boots just because you are doing dressage ! I wouldn't use those white bands, they don't really look like tape and look quite unattractive IMHO. Just do ordinary nice tidy plaits and you will be absolutely fine. Don't forget to smile at the judge and most importantly, enjoy yourself.

PS. Please don't write in text speak - we have LOADS of room to write our messages here, so don't need to economise on character count.

[oldpunk]

I did prelim 7 yesterday as my first test for about 13 years!

Tips:
Try and have as much fun as we did! :D It was brill!
Even if your horse can't actually do shoulder-in, practice the aids. Comes in handy when they decide there is a monster at H and they proceed in working shy!
Be accurate. You are meant to change pace as your shoulder goes past the marker if it says, 'At M'
Breathe
Use all of the school. Yesterday, I was appalled at the people who cut corners
...I was also appalled at the amount of leaving the arena that went on
...and at the funny oval 'circles'
At unaff prelim level, horse does not need to be especially round. You can often get a good mark from accuracy and a generally pleasing a nd harmonious partnership so don't stress.
The second half is a right rush so practice doing lots of things in a short space of time. Out hacking you can pick a leaf or a puddle and decide to do FWLR, med walk, trot etc at these markers to help build obedience, without having to do boring old schooling. (My pony gets v bored.)
Also, try to finish the 2nd canter nearer E?B? (I forget which) to give yourself more time to get into a decorous trot and then walk.
Practice that FWLR - medium walk transition!
If you have the test read, a) learn it anyway and b) make sure your reader knows how much prep time you need for each move. (I would have slapped one of the readers I heard yesterday as she gave the poor rider no chance!) I allow at least 2 markers when reading.
Don't let the first lot of trotting get too long/flat or Dobbin might be a pain to get into canter.
Practice starting to canter on 2nd half of 20m circle, not only in the corner.
Try to figure out how long you need to 'ride in' i.e. how far into your lesson does he do his best work?

I also came over all snooty at people who slapped their horses loudly on the neck at the end of the test; a discreet rub is enough and you can wrap your arms round his neck and sob 'cos he was so good AFTER leaving the arena.

Whatever you end up wearing, make sure you are squeaky clean. I would have thought the brown boots would be OK for unaff at this level if smartly polished. Or can you borrow boots? Avoid bright numnah/girth. I personally wouldn't go for the white bands as I feel they are too flashy at this level. I would (and did!) go for sewn-in plaits and rubber bands can fall out if it rains! Remember your white/beige gloves and that the correct thing to wear with a hacking jacket (considered smarter than a show jacket) is a coloured stock or a shirt and tie, not a white stock.

Really good luck!

[GraceT]

[QUOTE=oldpunk;1459603]a discreet rub is enough and you can wrap your arms round his neck and sob 'cos he was so good AFTER leaving the arena.

QUOTE]

Had to laugh at this old punk:D

Some really good advice there though, espceially the practicing your markers while on a hack, trot at scary tree, canter sideways after bouncing leaves etc, gets you used to making the transitions.

I will argue with wearing white gloves though unless you have got steady eddy hands, black gloves are fine, white saddlecloth if possible, black plaiting bands, hairnet, white stock with jacket i think goes better with white saddlecloth but i think stock colour is personal preference not the dressage law!

[mu0ljk]

I only have a white stock and nobody has ever said anything to me. :)

I have to say/admit though...I did p7 on Sunday, but I forgot to pick up a clean white saddlecloth so had to use a rather grubby one....DYlan's white socks were not exactly white as he had been out all morning in the field....still I had fun! ;) And I came 8th out of 19 so quite pleased with that.

Have fun. :)

[GraceT]

Yes thats the main thing really-have fun!

[oldpunk]

[QUOTE=GraceT;1461191I will argue with wearing white gloves though unless you have got steady eddy hands, black gloves are fine, white saddlecloth if possible, black plaiting bands, hairnet, white stock with jacket i think goes better with white saddlecloth but i think stock colour is personal preference not the dressage law![/QUOTE]

To be honest, I'm probably out of date on dress code. Might get some black gloves if they are 'OK' then. Didn't realise everyone would have the white numnah's either - mine's black to match my tack.

[GraceT]

To be honest, I'm probably out of date on dress code. Might get some black gloves if they are 'OK' then. Didn't realise everyone would have the white numnah's either - mine's black to match my tack.

Black numnah for showing classes ie Working Hunter etc but def white for dressage :)

Black gloves hide a multitude of sins:p

[oldpunk]

Black numnah for showing classes ie Working Hunter etc but def white for dressage :)

Black gloves hide a multitude of sins:p

Okeydoke, ta.

Must admit, I'd been told years ago that the pale gloves were there TO expose bad riding which is why they were 'uniform' but pleased to hear that's gone.

[GraceT]

Checked the British Dressage website and it just says gloves must be worn but doesnt specify colour.

[i lv lenny]

Thanks for your tips, all very useful only 2 weeks untill i do the test now so i will let you know how it goes!

I've decided to grow my horse mane, feathers (he had pulled mane & clipped feathers when i got him) as his feathers are coming through very thick and he trys to kill me when I try and clip them out! So hes in between a traditional cob and scruffy at the moment as his feathers and mane aren't completely through yet and his mane is too long to plait. Iam worried about people thinking hes scruffy (even though I shouldn't worry about what others think lol) or getting marked down, will i??

P.s. My horse has gone really strong all of a sudden:confused:, any ideas why or what can help slow him down and get him in a better rhythm? I have been schooling alot so he could be getting bored? But I'm struggling to keep him in a nice rhythm and he starts running, any help??

Thanks again:D

[Morganna]

I am doing Prelim 7 this Sunday, just wanted to wish you luck:D

[oumbagirl]

There are soooo many things in this life which are sad, your horses are your blessing, they may not always understand what you want from them, but theyre always up for a nuzzle and a piece of apple at the end of the day:o

How much better can that get?

does 1 or 2% more really matter???? Well yes of course it matters because a great dressage test is brilliant especially your first, but remember its only temporary because you always have to beat your best score next time around. :rolleyes:

OUmbagirl

[mu0ljk]

Nah we do scruffy at dressage too! ;) I'm also growing DYlan's mane too so we go unplaited - just have fun and if your horse is getting a bit bored maybe go for some hacks instead incase he gets a bit school sour.

Have fun and don't take it too seriously. :)

[oldpunk]

I'm sure hairy is fine - a dressage judge will have no trouble telling the difference between hairy and dirty/don't care!

I used to have a hairy cob and he used to look really sweet with an arab plait in his mane and a plaited tail showing off his big round bum! We always used to get comments like 'charming horse'.

[GraceT]

I'm not plaiting on sunday because he woudlnt let me clip the hair closest to his head and the mane will cover it up!:D

[i lv lenny]

After all that preparation the dressage was cancelled on Saturday! I cant believe it!! Oh well we will try again next month.:D