United States Eventing Association

Amy Jablonovsky is a U.S. Equestrian Federation "r" dressage judge who runs her Hessen Dressage in Fort Collins, Colorado.

“Circle small.”
“Oval shaped.”
"Circle too large.”
“Not 20 meters”
“Circle to be centered over X”
“Do not ride corners on circles”
“Use your touch points”

These and a number of other comments I have heard repeatedly over the years as a scribe and have also used myself when judging. Though the difficulty many riders seem to have riding a 20-meter, or any size circle, has puzzled me, I never really considered “Why?”

It wasn’t until I gave a lecture on tips to improve your dressage scores that I understood why riders have such a hard time riding circles. After drawing a rectangle for a small dressage arena on an erasable board, I asked participants to provide the letters surrounding the arena. With a bit of uncertainty, the audience named the letters surrounding the arena and told me where to place them. Sighs of relief and smiles.

Then I asked many meters were the long and short sides. Quick responses and smiles. Then I asked what was the distance from the corner to the letter K. There was some self-conscious shuffling of feet and anxious looks. I penned the answer, 6 meters, on the board. I then asked how many meters was E from K. Nervous silence. I wrote 14 meters between K and E. From there the group finished the distances around the entire arena and were further able to figure out the touch points for 20-meter circles. Ahhh!

Now I knew the “why” many riders struggled with circles; they did not know the dimensions of the small dressage arena! Prompted by a desire to help riders, I developed the small dressage arena quiz, so riders could answer questions about the arena and plot the details on a diagram to further enhance learning. The initial launch of the quiz at a mini-trials resulted in rave reviews. I then sent the quiz to Nancy Knight at USEA who thought it was a great idea. So here’s The Small Dressage Arena Quiz. Enjoy.

The Diagram** is yours to keep to map out circles, serpentines and single loops.

1.) What is the length of the long side? _______ meters.

2.) What is the width of the short side? _______ meters.

3.) What are the 8 letters around the arena? Place them in the correct order on the diagram

4.) What letter is in the middle of the arena? ______ (Write it on the diagram)

5.) What 2 other letters are on the centerline? _____ and ____ (Write them on the diagram)

6.) Where do you enter the arena? ______ (Draw a gate on the diagram)

7.) Where is the judge’s stand? ______ (Write it on the diagram)

8.) How many meters is it from the corners of the arena to the first letters? ______ meters. (Write the distance on the diagram

9.) How many meters is it from the letters near the corners to the middle letters on each long side? ______ meters. (Write the distance on the diagram)

10.) Where are the 4 circle points for a 20 meter circle at A or C? At ____ or ____, at ____meters down the long side, at ____, at ____ meters down the long side, at ____ or ____. (HINT: Where on the long sides will your circle touch the rail? Mark circle points on the long side on the diagram. NOTE: There are no corners on circles. The circle begins and ends at A or C.)

11.) Where are the 4 circle points for a 20 meter circle at E or B? At ____ or ____, on the centerline at ____meters, at ____ or ____, on the centerline at ____meters, at ____ or ____. (HINT: Draw a line across the width of the arena between the circle points on the long sides in #10 to find the 2 points on the centerline.

12.) What is the distance from A or C to X? ______ meters.

Knowing the arena dimensions, the location of the letters, the correct geometry of the figures and the location of the circle points will help you train your horse better and help improve your scores at the shows. Correct training makes your horse the best partner and athlete he/she can be and you to be a better rider.

Answer Key

1.) What is the length of the long side? 40 meters.

2.) What is the width of the short side? 20___ meters.

3.) What are the 8 letters around the arena? Place them in the correct order on the diagram.

A, K, E, H, C, M, B, F (All King Edward’s Horses Can Make Big Fences)

4.) What letter is in the middle of the arena? _ _X__ (Writte it on the diagram)

5.) What 2 other letters are on the centerline? _ D__ and _G_ (Write them on the diagram)

6.) Where do you enter the arena? __A__ (Draw a gate on the diagram)

7.) Where is the judge’s stand? __C__ (Write it on the diagram)

8.) How many meters is it from the corners of the arena to the first letters? __6__ meters. (Write the distance on the diagram

9.) How many meters is it from the letters near the corners to the middle letters on each long side? __14__ meters. (Write the distance on the diagram)

10.) Where are the 4 circle points for a 20 meter circle at A or C? At _A_ or _C_, at _10_meters down the long side, at _X_, at _10_ meters down the long side, at _A_ or _C_. (HINT: Where on the long sides will your circle touch the rail? Mark circle points on the long side on the diagram. NOTE: There are no corners on circles. The circle begins and ends at A or C.)

11.) Where are the 4 circle points for a 20 meter circle at E or B? At _E or __B__, on the centerline at _10__meters from X, at _B_or __E__, on the centerline at _10 _meters from X, at _E_ or _B_ . (HINT: Draw a line across the width of the arena between the circle points on the long sides in #10 to find the 2 points on the centerline.

12.) What is the distance from A or C to X? __20__ meters.