Dodson & Horrell Article: Sponsored Rider Richard Davison Shares His Top Tips…
1. When warming up at competitions do not get too fixated on the movements in the test but instead allow enough time for suppling your horses muscles and getting your horse to respond to your leg and rein aids. Many people do too many repetitions of the actual test movements whilst warming up and this can lead either to the horse losing confidence in that particular exercise or simply that all the good stuff is left behind in the warm-up arena instead of the competition arena where it matters.
2. At home practice riding different sized corners. A corner is a quarter of a circle. In a highly collected gait that should be a quarter of a 6m circle which means leaving the short side 3m before the corner and arriving at the long side 3m after the corner. At the other end of the training spectrum, with a novice horse in working gaits it should be a quarter of a 10m circle – so that 5ms from the corner. The point corners are a strategic exercise which need planning and practising.
3. When you come out of the competition arena its tempting to have the post test discussion immediately. But instead spend a few minutes cooling down your horse. Its really important to avoid stiff tight muscles which result from a neglected cool down. Normally we trot slowly for a few minutes in a stretched frame and then walk for another 5 minutes or so. Its difficult to be precise as it depends on many factors such as the length and demands of the test, fitness and temperature of the horse etc but don’t underestimate the importance of this phase. You can chat over your test later in the coffee bar!!
For a link to the article and Dodson & Horrell website, please click here.