How to easily improve your dressage test...and your score | ||
This article first appeared in a previous edition of Equestrian Life magazine. For more information or to subscribe, visit our home page here. Lyndal Oatley and Sandro Boy at Aachen, 2016. © Roger Fitzhardinge
Equestrian Life looks back on some top tips from Olympian Lyndal Oatley...
By Lyndal Oatley Nail your first halt A good first impression goes a long way in any aspect of life, but so too in Dressage. A super first halt can mean the difference between having to start straight away fighting for those points to push your score back up, or it could be the benchmark to begin your test, like a flirty tease of things to come. Simply looking at it as a halt is not enough. Instead break it up into components -
The all important halt. © Roger Fitzhardinge
Transitions A quick glance through the Grand Prix shows 13 of the 33 movements in the Judges directives on the Grand Prix score sheet highlight transitions within the pace, or in or out of a movement as key components to be judged. That is nearly 40% of the movements of a Grand Prix highlighting the importance of a transition. That to me means marks are being wasted, and this is the case whether you are doing a Preliminary test, or a Grand Prix test. This thought is kicked home for me when looking at my own Dressage test analysis, and it is highlighted that it was transitions where I lose the majority of my points…like a few percent lost!!!!!!!. So, practise, practise, practise all your transitions in and out of movements and gaits as that really is the simplest way to help your score! Accuracy I was just in Munich helping fellow Aussie Brianna Burgess, and hubby Patrik Kittel. With my focus on the qualifiers, it gave me a great chance to watch a lot of tests as this is not normally possible when I am competing. What drew my attention like a door slamming in the wind was the lack of accuracy from even some of the top riders. Some diagonals of changes or extensions for instance, ended up a whole marker before!!! To me thats an error of course, but it happened regularly. Execute each movement, whether it be on a diagonal line or at a particular marker with precision and aim. Focus on the letter you are aiming for and try and maintain straightness, impulsion and accuracy. If you are doing a diagonal line with a change at the end, it is not supposed to be executed on the wall but on the diagonal itself, so aim 1 metre to the inside of the marker to give yourself sufficient room to do a good change, end the diagonal, to then do a nice useful corner to prepare for the next exercise ahead.
Accuracy is important at all levels. © Franz Venhaus
Use your corners The corner is such a valuable opportunity to correct, and we all have a tendency to fly straight through it focusing on the next marker. Utilise every corner to gauge your balance and self carriage, your power and responsiveness to your aids - taking advantage of the corner to do a small half halt, to put everything together to come out of that corner ready to start the next movement as prepared as you can be.
It's important to use your corners. © Roger Fitzhardinge Visualise This is so important. Visualise the arena you are riding in - the letters, where the judges boxes are, the surroundings, anything and everything that will make you feel more familiar and at ease in the competition arena. I did this a lot for the Olympics, and it helps so much - even playing the London Games edition of Super Mario with Patrik. It must sound hysterical but it really helped! Also visualise your test. In real time, go through each movement, sitting down, and emphasise your breathing every time you think about it - it will help in the test I can assure you. I hope this is of some help. This is what I am focusing on in training right now and I can feel the benefits! Happy riding!
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