New tricks!

Some helpful advice from "My virtual Eventing Coach". I was complaining about Training Test B and how much I loathe it. And this is the advice she gave me. I am excited to give it a try :)


Hi Holly!

Wow, good for you for being so aware of all of your problems, and how one problem effects the next! That may sound like a weird thing to say... but I find that many riders don't always realize why their problems develop. And you obviously have a good grasp on how one problem begins the "snowball of problems" effect. Now... on to how to fix it!!

You say that the beginning of your trouble in this test is in the transition from the free walk to the medium walk. This can often be tricky! One of the keys to this transition is the quality of the previous transition of medium walk to free walk. The more truly connected the horse is before the free walk, the more honestly they will seek the connection forward and down in the free walk. And the more they are seeking the connection while stretching down, the easier it tends to be to gather the reins and put them back into the medium walk.

Since your horse is the type to get excited, and anticipate going into trot as you ask him to do your transition back into the medium walk, I would always school this movement with a halt at the end of your diagonal at home. Free walk across the diagonal, adjust your reins, halt smoothly (even if your horse has already become excited), and stand still for a while, and reward. Eventually he will start to associate the end of the free walk with halting and standing, and also with your reward. It may take many repetitions to achieve that, but if you are consistent he will get better.

You can also regularly school some "connecting work" in the walk after your transtion back to medium at home - things like turn on the forehand and shoulder in. If you ever practice your dressage test, add in a little two minute walk schooling session at this point in your test, to get him really well connected before tackling the challenges in the second half of the test. Even though you won't have this luxury when you are actually in the ring competing, you will be creating good habits and getting your point across to your horse.

When you are in the ring competing, make use of the slight turn at B as you are coming back into the medium walk, by thinking of a step or two of turn on the forehand. Then it will be easier to keep him connected with a bit of shoulder fore as you do medium walk from B to F. Which will help to keep him more straight and on the aids in the next two transitions that come up quite quickly.

Since you know your horse already wants to be in haunches in the right lead canter, make sure that you do not use too much outside leg to ask for the canter. Let your outside leg move back slightly, but barely touch him with it. Your inside seat bone should be your primary aid to canter.

You mention that your horse tends to think you want him to canter when you are attempting to think shoulder in this direction. This is something that is likely always a problem, although it may show up more in this test because it comes right after the free walk, and you have just lost some of your connection.

I would really work on trot shoulder in to the right - and not just down the long side of the arena! Ask for shoulder in through the short sides of the arena (where you will tested by picking up the canter in this test), and on circles and turns. Shoulder in on a circle is a very useful and often overlooked movement! I think you will find that when you can do that well anywhere, your horse will not be as likely to confuse those aids with canter. And you will also find that you have improved his connection up into your left rein, which is the foundation of his problem with his work to the right. 

Good luck Holly! I hope that some of this helps you! Let me know if you have any questions.