Learn Dressage Tests: What Kind of Learner are You?

Determine Your Learning Style

In order to effectively learn your tests in a way that will maximize your performance, you first need to know what type of learner you are – visual or verbal. A good coach also needs to know what type of learner each of her students is. With my own students, I ask a single question: “When I say the word “church,” what do you see?’ If you are a verbal learner, you will see in your mind the actual word “church,” perhaps handwritten or typed out. If you are a visual learner, you will see a physical church. Some people are so visual they will even see people going in and out of the church and note the clothes they are wearing.

How you memorize your tests depends on what kind of learner you are. If you are a verbal learner, you can just take the test and write it out, or say it out loud to yourself to learn it. If you are a visual learner, you will need to take arena diagrams (there are a number of websites that have printable arena diagrams) and draw the test out, movement by movement.

Inside and Out, Forward and Backward

In addition to memorizing the actual sequence of the test, it’s important to know what the requirements are at your level. If you are riding training level, you should know that 20-meter circles are required, whereas in first level it’s 10- and 15-meter circles. Knowing what is expected at your level helps you know as you ride the movements what the dimensions should be, regardless of whether it’s test one or test three of your level.

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You should also know the flow of your test, not only forward, but also backward from one movement to the previous one. When you know what precedes a movement, you can improve your preparation for the next movement. For example, after a trot lengthening in first level, I know I have to balance my horse for a turn at A onto centre line for the leg yield. In my last extended trot in the intermediaire I test, I know that it comes directly after a canter-to-trot transition, so I need to make sure I prepare through that transition and the second half of the short side for what follows. Knowing the flow both forward and backward will help you make better use of your corners and half-halts as you prepare for the individual movements.

Practice Makes Perfect

You should not only practice riding tests at home, but also away from home – either at schooling shows or at someone else’s arena. If you have two arenas at home, warm up in one and then go to the other to ride through the test.

When we are going towards a competition, my students and I ride through an entire test once a week, but not more often than that. To avoid over-training, I break the test into the two parts that are naturally created by the walk in the middle. One day I will practice the first half up to the end of the walk. On another day I will practice the second half, starting from the beginning of the walk. I always have my students perform the walk in both segments because the walk is the most neglected gait. Riders tend to use it for cooling down or resting, forgetting that it is also a working gait. It’s also useful if you have issues in the walk, such as tension arising from coming from the trot, or a tendency to get behind the leg in the walk leading to the canter.

You can also “ride” your test unmounted to learn it, using your living room or back yard. If you are good at visualizing, you can “ride” it by seeing yourself riding the test. Another way to learn the test is to watch it being ridden, either a video of yourself riding through it, or another rider. The only caution I give to that method is that you should always watch a good rider perform the test so that you aren’t in danger of mimicking bad riding.

Finally, if you have more than one test in a day, don’t try to memorize them both at the same time. You should already know both tests before you get to the show, but when you are reviewing before competing, do the tests one at a time before each ride.

The chair of Dressage Canada’s Coaching Committee, Wendy Christoff was the first coach in Canada to become certified as a High Performance 1 Coach – Dressage (formerly Level 3) in the new Equine Canada/NCCP program. She has trained a number of riders and horses to the FEI levels, including several NAJYRC medalists. With Pfalstaff, Wendy was the reserve member of the Canadian Dressage Team at the 2010 World Equestrian Games. She and her husband, Gordon, own and operate Blue Heron Farms in Delta, BC.