DressageArena.org

I am going to have to second Jamie. Hun, you ought to take a couple of lessons. I have taken my first two dressage lessons in 10 years in the last two weeks. I just rode the intro A test 2 times for the first time this Monday. It is very easy. You don’t have to worry about the frame so much, but it is VERY important that you ride through the corners and do not cut them off. Also, when you do the circles at E and B, be sure to keep your inside leg near the girth and your outside leg further back. Squeeze tightly with your inside leg and use your right ring finger to massage the right reign. Your horse should stay the circle because your leg is pushing him out but should turn his nose in toward the circle. This is the second key to scoring high on your intro A test, make the horse bend into the circle.

As Jamie stated, HXK is walking the diaganol of the arena, H & K are letters on the outside of the arena, and X stands for the center of the arean, which is also the place that you start and stop the test, where you salute to the judges.

Free walk means that you let your reigns out loose so that the horse drops his head down parallel to his body (think western horse). Also, his hind legs should be steping slightly ahead of where his front hoof prints were left. Think–just jumped a round and now I am letting him and I relax.

Definately have a dressage trainer come to you. I learned/was refreshed about all of this with only 2 lessons! My trainer came highly reccommended, is excellent, and I actually took a number of lessons from her about 10 years ago. She is pretty much the main dressage trainer in my area.

Also, the dressage positions is VERY different from hunt seat/jumping. You keep your legs much further back, shoulder blades together, elbows more bent, post all of the way up out of the saddle, sit more on your back seat bones not pubic bones, etc. In the last two weeks, it has been a mental (and physical) challenge for me to constantly think about molding my body into this position, as I am on hunt-seat auto-pilot!

Anyway, I just took 2 practice intro A tests this Monday. So, don’t worry–there’s no laughing here ; )! Good luck, and find a trainer in your area who comes highly reccommended. If you have been riding for a while, you will have no problem taking an Intro A test after a couple private lessons.

Remember, bend the horse in the circle (his nose should point inward, but not his whole neck), and ride into/through the corners (do not cut them off).

Good luck!!!!!!!

~Your fellow dressage newby

P.S. I asked my instructor about a good book to read on Monday, and she reccommended Mary Wanless Ride with your mind essentials. Also, Dressage A to X is a great intro book. If you go to amazon, you can look inside part of the book. http://www.amazon.com/Dressage-Definitive-Riding-Competing-Revised/dp/1570762783/ref=sip_rech_dp_10

frame yes

Dressage?

I usually put Italian dressage on my salad.

(Thousand Island is good too, but too creamy)

I would get a trainer lol. But HXK loop free walk if letting your horse have his neck down and have a loose flow gate. Here is the ring since X it is in the middle you must go from H then to X then to K let your reains be free at H and start gathering them up by the tiem you get to K. Dressage mean "training" I believe in German if not some language lol. Good Luck

http://www.regencymini.com/images/rings.gif

BTW If it is Intro A or B I don’t belive a frame really matters but they would like you to. Any other tests than yes a frame is desiriable, but doing the test comly and at a CONSISTENT gate I belive is a #1 priority.

Ok…breathe!

She can get points off for being in to much of a frame at the beginning. Starting dressage tests are more about control and the horse’s natural movement than being in a frame.

OK, this is your basic dressage arena:
http://www.horsedata.co.uk/images/Misc/Arena20x40.jpg
(just in case you haven’t seen it yet).

First, your HXK means you are going from H, through X, to K. You are crossing the diagonal.

Second, the free walk. There should be a difference in your free walk and your medium walk. You medium walk is what most people do with your horse – reins collected, horse is stepping specifically. Free walk – let your reins loose and your horse’s head should drop to well below the whithers. This shows that you have started working on getting the horse to use her back and start rounding up and engaging the hindquarters. So, head dropped and striding out more than in the medium walk. When you get to K, you are to pick up the reins again.

How do you get your horse to drop her head? Work on long and low. Get into a 20M circle and ask her to bend her head to the inside and outside – a few strides one way, stride or two break, few strides the other way. When she starts dropping her head, give her an extra break. To get her to bend, direct rein. leg used to keep her on the circle.

This can be done at the walk, trot and canter. Just make sure she can consistantly do the gait, both ways, before moving on to the next gait. After she can do all gaits well, pick up your reins again and ask for forward propulsion as you do. Inside leg pushing the energy into the outside rein. Outside rein should have constant contact and she *should* be bent just slight to the inside so the inside rein is a bit loose. Outside leg keeps her on the circle if she wants to wander. She doesn’t have to be perfect at first and it will all depend on what kind of shape she is in and how tense of a horse she is.

Dressage tests are great that at the beginner level, the judge almost always gives you personal comments and a bit of her professional advice. Each part of the test is also judged, with comments – this will help give you an idea of where your horse is in training and what needs to be worked on before the next step.

And don’t forget to have fun!

Ok, so HXK loop free walk means that from H, you will loosen your reins to the buckle and steer with your legs. Move your horse to the centre of the ring (where X is located) and then move your horse back to the rail by the time you reach K. Also, by the time you reach K, you should have started gathering your reins up in order to prepare for the next movement, which is probably at A.

My guess is you are doing just a schooling dressage show?? You should work on putting her in a frame before you show and get her responding to the bit and you….much before a show. Since it’s a schooling show, having your horse on the bit WILL be judged, but the judges may be a little more lenient about it. You should at least have her relaxed enough and the hindquarters engaged for the dressage test but have some fun! If it’s a schooling show, you probably will also be allowed to have a "reader".

As for getting your horse to frame up, do a lot of work (such as bending, flexing, transitions, change of direction, etc.) to rock her onto her hind end. 20 m. circles work great – give and take with the inside rein while encouraging bend with the inside leg at the same time along with keeping a steady outside rein to stop her from buldging her shoulder and steady outside leg to keep her from overbending. Really push her up into the bit with a forward movement because it is easier for a horse to move into the bit at a forward pace than a slower one.

Edit: as someone below me mentioned, circles and corners are very important! visualize riding a square and this should help you – I always used to get marked down for having oval circles lol. And remember a 20 m. circle isn’t always a 20 m. circle. If you are circling at C, your circle should come out to almost X and a 20 m. circle at B should come out halfway between B and M, H and E, E and K and B and F. If you are confused, here’s a diagram:

http://www.classicaldressage.net/images/arena20.jpg

ok, I’m totally not sure if this is right but:
you know the letters in the ring well, X is the middle so I think you have to do a loop: go to H than to the middle(X) and then K. I’ve done that before but I don’t know what it’s called, maybe it’s this. Do you know what I mean? And ya, your horse has to be framed.
good luck on the test!