Oct 20, 2021

10 Tips to Ace Your Dressage Test with Marilyn Payne

USEA/ KTB Creative Group photo.

Marilyn Payne is one of the most experienced and respected ground jury members in eventing. She has adjudicated at every top event in the world, including two Olympic Games. Here are her top tips on how to impress the dressage judges - at any level.

1) I always tell my students that they need to ride in the test exactly like they do in the warm-up or at home. Many people freeze when they enter the ring and are afraid to do anything or to make a correction. Pretending everything is fine doesn’t do any good. Even if you make a mistake in one movement, correcting and ensuring the horse responds means that the following movements will be better.

2) Set out with a positive attitude and expression: “Watch out, judge, here I come!” The same applies to the end of the test. Even if your test hasn’t gone well, looking miserable won’t help. Avoid getting visibly frustrated. Stay positive and remember that the collective marks are awarded after you have finished; if you smile, pat your horse at the end, and make it look like you are happy, subconsciously the judge will think, ‘Well, that wasn’t so bad…” Fake the judge out a bit!

3) Don’t be afraid to make corrections, but don’t make them harshly. Too often riders can’t control themselves, and the horse gets worse. Horses are very sensitive and feel our tension and frustration. Take a deep breath, make a clear, soft correction, and off you go again. Judges appreciate it when riders make corrections and love to give higher scores when the test then keeps improving.

4) Think about your overall presentation. It’s a show - show off your horse’s best qualities. Lots of event horses aren’t fabulous, big movers and never will be, but everyone can train their horses to get high scores for movements such as the halts, center lines, and transitions. Judges are not looking at the quality of the gaits in these movements. School the things you can do well and do them the best you can.

5) So often people don’t properly prepare for transitions; think ahead. Good transitions really make a difference. Not only will it affect the transition’s score but it will also affect the next movement.

6) One movement a lot of riders lose marks for is the walk. In the free walk, you want to get the horse to stretch down, cover ground, and swing through his back. This will only improve the connection and the quality of the gait. Also, too many riders shorten their reins and get tight when they want to go back to medium walk. The only thing that should change in the medium walk is the length of the reins. The quality of the walk and the march remain the same. Don’t overdo it - just walk the walk.

7) Be accurate! Anyone can practice that. Too often you can’t tell the difference between a corner and a 20-meter circle. Be more precise with the size of circles and center lines. Use cones and try to have someone watching; practice riding 10-meter circles in corners. Losing half points for accuracy really adds up.

8) At the end of the test, make sure you halt and stand quietly. A halt should last a minimum of three seconds. It puts polish on the whole test. Also, if you aren’t quite square in the halt, don’t try to correct; moving will only lower the score. If you are very straight the judge cannot tell if you are square or not.

9) Be sure to pick up your tests and read them carefully. Even if you think the judge scored too low, you can definitely learn from the comments. Judges try very hard to give you suggestions to help you improve your ride in the future. They love to see good rides and give high scores, so learn from your test and help make that happen.

10) Keep looking for opportunities to watch tests from the judge's perspective. Try to watch tests from the short side of the arena, sit with judges at clinics or schooling shows, and of course scribe for judges. You will find scribing both eye-opening and very educational. Judges are also very willing to discuss rides with you when they are done for the day.

Hope to see you soon down riding confidently down the centerline!

Jul 02, 2024 Educational Activities

USEA Educational Activity Highlight: Sherwood Forest Hunter Pace | Sherwood Oregon | July 13, 2024

What’s a Hunter Pace? The Sherwood Forest Equestrian Center's Hunter Pace is a cross-country-style course around Sherwood Forest over various natural obstacles/terrain. The course ends with a final treat for riders to take in stunning views of Mt. Hood with a loop through the old Far Hill Farms field. The beginning of the course will first start with a warm-up loop around show jumping obstacles in the outdoor ring at Sherwood Forest and then riders will continue directly onto the course. Sign up as a solo rider, pair, or team.

Jul 02, 2024 Profile

No Longer Dreaming: Claire Allen's Goal of Qualifying for USEF Eventing Young Rider Championship is Now Reality

Claire Allen remembers when she was 11 years old, having just made the switch from the hunter/jumper ring to three-day eventing. She told her new eventing trainer that her goal was to one day compete in the United States Equestrian Federation’s Eventing Young Rider Championships.

Jul 01, 2024 Competitions

Alliston’s Busy Weekend, Braitling’s Reuniting with Five-Star Mount, & Kalkman’s Advanced Victory Highlight Twin Rivers Summer H.T.

As he was finishing tacking up his horse in preparation to navigate the cross-country course at the 2024 Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials, James Alliston expressed concern about navigating the 101 Freeway. That’s because as soon as he crossed the finish line aboard Intermediate level winner Addyson (Ampere x Nickerbocker) at 10:38 a.m. on Saturday—his fifth cross-country round of the morning with three at Preliminary and two at Intermediate—the West Coast-based five-star rider had to drive 185 miles on the 101 Freeway from Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, to San Francisco International Airport to catch a 4:35 p.m. flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

Jul 01, 2024 Education

USEA Podcast #364: All Your Grooming Questions Answered

There is so much more to proper grooming than keeping your horse picture-perfect for the horse inspection. Good grooming practices are critical to proper horse management, no matter if you are planning for your next FEI appearance or your Starter level debut. To help you maximize your knowledge of grooming practices, we opened up the opportunity for USEA members to submit any questions they might have on our Instagram and Facebook stories. In this week's episode, Host Nicole Brown sits down with three of the highest-regarded grooms in this industry, Max Corcoran, Emma Ford, and Stephanie Simpson, and asks them all of your questions and more to help you perfect the art of grooming.

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