when is it time to move up a level?
When the horse is happily moving forward and able to work through the tests with excellent scores, it may be time to consider moving up a level. The general rule of thumb is that a horse and rider who score in the sixty percent range may consider moving up a level. Any lower than that means that there is still work to do and movements to master.
A horse and rider can work on the next level without a doubt, but for competition purposes the horse and rider should show at the level that they are most comfortable and confident in that it can be shown off.
In order to do things correctly you will need a riding instructor to guide and instruct you. A great instructor should be able to make you a better rider than him or herself. The use of a video camera to record you is beneficial so you can replay your rides over and over to break them down further to study what happened and why. Riding in front of large mirrors will show you what exactly you are doing and when. Timing is everything. Most importantly, you will have to learn to ride by feel. Having a gifted touch comes to only the talented riders and the rest have to learn to develop the sense of feeling of what good riding and training is all about. That will take you back to needing a riding instructor again. Even instructors have instructors
When things go wrong, the first thing you need to do is analyze the situation, what happened and why it happened. Perhaps the horse needs to go back to simpler exercises and start again. Moving on to more difficult maneuvers is quite tasking on horses and negative behavior may arise because of it. Perhaps when performing a troubled spot, switch directions and try again. A different view point may be just what the instructor ordered. If it does not work, you can always try again tomorrow. Sometimes having a day off or taking a time out will help both the horse and the rider to learn and focus properly. The bottom line is to always seek help if you cannot achieve what you are aiming for. Make sure that your instructor is qualified to teach you what you want to learn. The riding instructor does not need to be certified by such and such an organization but he or she does not to be able to connect with you and relay proper information. Sometimes a coach can be found in the oddest of places. For example, a great coaching session can come from a dressage steward and not necessarily the coach III. It is all about communication and understanding. There are many clashes compared to how many clicks that there are amongst horse and rider as well as rider and coach. Find someone who you trust and can learn from. Also, make sure that you are progressing in your riding and understanding. A coach who makes your riding regress is not a coach at all. The coach should have no incentive to compete against or overpower any of their students. Instead a coach should strive to make his or her riders higher than ever before even if that means riding higher than the coach himself! But most importantly, make sure that your horse is happy, healthy and pain-free. There is nothing worse than forcing your horse to work just because some super qualified coach is instructing you to do so, even when you know it is wrong for you and your horse. Be a thinking rider and try to see the world from your horses view point. There is less chance of injury if you have a sympathetic understanding with your horse and the same can be said for the riding instructor. Nothing good ever comes out of force.
There is no need to rush because the more time spent on the basics means the foundation will be strong. Dressage is the stuff of which legends are born.
Setting a goal & Staying Positive
The first rule of thumb is to always set realistic goals. Make your goal attainable and reasonable. Start small and work your way higher.
Dressage testing and evaluations offer a lot of good feedback in the individual scoring system. Being judged on a chart of percentages offers a chance for everyone to understand the value in a good score. Some may aim for higher scores at the same level and some may opt to move up a level after achieving sixty plus scores. That is the beauty of dressage. You get to take out of it what you want. In the end the horses are happier as the competitive world tends to place the horses at an odd disadvantage even though they should be the center of focus and attention.
The evaluation tests are more about seeing how a horse and rider are doing in their training progression. The comments that are received for each individual score should be thought as constructive criticism in a positive manner and not as harsh, condescending insults. The feedback from each judge is valuable and should be geared towards a better understanding of classical horsemanship. The goal of every judge is to provide a prospective on how each movement could have been better. If this is not possible then a rider has definitely reached a peak and should move on unless of course he is already in Grand Prix!
Hitting a Plateau
It is not uncommon for some horses and riders to hit a certain level of training where it seems like they cannot progress. This happens to a lot of horse and rider combinations. Sometimes the rider will need to further their education and take some riding lessons with more advanced coaches/instructors. Sometimes it is the horse who just needs a little more time to mature and blend into the progressional program. In some cases horses hit their ceiling and cannot physically or mentally perform any higher than their last achievement. It may not mean the end of their career rather that they have hit the level that they find to be difficult.
As long as both the horse and the rider are enjoying their time together then nothing is wrong. That is what horsemanship is all about- enjoying the sport! The biggest concern is to not give up. The rider needs to be confident in the level they are riding for show or events, then he can school a level higher at home until that level becomes more solid. There is nothing wrong with riding a certain level for many years, after all only two percent of all horses make it into the Grand Prix level. As well, do not expect smooth sailing because every time you move up a stage or a level you will find new difficulties to try and overcome. It will become more complex with many factors interdependent on each other. This may lead to confusion for a while but that is not a bad thing, instead it is a learning experience. Sometimes confusion can feel bad, but it merely means that there is a new concept that one is not familiar with and needs to step outside of his comfort zone in order to tackle the problem head on. Enjoy all of these steps and stages that promote your riding towards your end goal.
Dressage is not just a sport but it also is an art and takes many years to perfect if one is ever so lucky as to be able to say that. Dressage also involves careful analytical thinking and consists of science. That is what makes it so intriguing.
Just as every horse is different, so is every rider. Some riders need to focus and become assiduous while other riders need to relax and take the efforts in stride. Sometimes doing less is more.
It is important to keep trying and practicing, riding with careful consideration and calculations, while enjoying surges of progression but also enjoying the practices in between those moments of clarity, understanding and evolution. In fact, most of our deepest thoughts of understanding and learning are done during these in-between stages of the levels. If it is resistance that is holding the horse back, that simply means that the horse’s musculature system has a weak spot. The only way to overcome the lack of muscle tone is to keep practicing and never give up, even if it takes the horse’s entire lifetime to produce.
A horse and rider can work on the next level without a doubt, but for competition purposes the horse and rider should show at the level that they are most comfortable and confident in that it can be shown off.
In order to do things correctly you will need a riding instructor to guide and instruct you. A great instructor should be able to make you a better rider than him or herself. The use of a video camera to record you is beneficial so you can replay your rides over and over to break them down further to study what happened and why. Riding in front of large mirrors will show you what exactly you are doing and when. Timing is everything. Most importantly, you will have to learn to ride by feel. Having a gifted touch comes to only the talented riders and the rest have to learn to develop the sense of feeling of what good riding and training is all about. That will take you back to needing a riding instructor again. Even instructors have instructors
When things go wrong, the first thing you need to do is analyze the situation, what happened and why it happened. Perhaps the horse needs to go back to simpler exercises and start again. Moving on to more difficult maneuvers is quite tasking on horses and negative behavior may arise because of it. Perhaps when performing a troubled spot, switch directions and try again. A different view point may be just what the instructor ordered. If it does not work, you can always try again tomorrow. Sometimes having a day off or taking a time out will help both the horse and the rider to learn and focus properly. The bottom line is to always seek help if you cannot achieve what you are aiming for. Make sure that your instructor is qualified to teach you what you want to learn. The riding instructor does not need to be certified by such and such an organization but he or she does not to be able to connect with you and relay proper information. Sometimes a coach can be found in the oddest of places. For example, a great coaching session can come from a dressage steward and not necessarily the coach III. It is all about communication and understanding. There are many clashes compared to how many clicks that there are amongst horse and rider as well as rider and coach. Find someone who you trust and can learn from. Also, make sure that you are progressing in your riding and understanding. A coach who makes your riding regress is not a coach at all. The coach should have no incentive to compete against or overpower any of their students. Instead a coach should strive to make his or her riders higher than ever before even if that means riding higher than the coach himself! But most importantly, make sure that your horse is happy, healthy and pain-free. There is nothing worse than forcing your horse to work just because some super qualified coach is instructing you to do so, even when you know it is wrong for you and your horse. Be a thinking rider and try to see the world from your horses view point. There is less chance of injury if you have a sympathetic understanding with your horse and the same can be said for the riding instructor. Nothing good ever comes out of force.
There is no need to rush because the more time spent on the basics means the foundation will be strong. Dressage is the stuff of which legends are born.
Setting a goal & Staying Positive
The first rule of thumb is to always set realistic goals. Make your goal attainable and reasonable. Start small and work your way higher.
Dressage testing and evaluations offer a lot of good feedback in the individual scoring system. Being judged on a chart of percentages offers a chance for everyone to understand the value in a good score. Some may aim for higher scores at the same level and some may opt to move up a level after achieving sixty plus scores. That is the beauty of dressage. You get to take out of it what you want. In the end the horses are happier as the competitive world tends to place the horses at an odd disadvantage even though they should be the center of focus and attention.
The evaluation tests are more about seeing how a horse and rider are doing in their training progression. The comments that are received for each individual score should be thought as constructive criticism in a positive manner and not as harsh, condescending insults. The feedback from each judge is valuable and should be geared towards a better understanding of classical horsemanship. The goal of every judge is to provide a prospective on how each movement could have been better. If this is not possible then a rider has definitely reached a peak and should move on unless of course he is already in Grand Prix!
Hitting a Plateau
It is not uncommon for some horses and riders to hit a certain level of training where it seems like they cannot progress. This happens to a lot of horse and rider combinations. Sometimes the rider will need to further their education and take some riding lessons with more advanced coaches/instructors. Sometimes it is the horse who just needs a little more time to mature and blend into the progressional program. In some cases horses hit their ceiling and cannot physically or mentally perform any higher than their last achievement. It may not mean the end of their career rather that they have hit the level that they find to be difficult.
As long as both the horse and the rider are enjoying their time together then nothing is wrong. That is what horsemanship is all about- enjoying the sport! The biggest concern is to not give up. The rider needs to be confident in the level they are riding for show or events, then he can school a level higher at home until that level becomes more solid. There is nothing wrong with riding a certain level for many years, after all only two percent of all horses make it into the Grand Prix level. As well, do not expect smooth sailing because every time you move up a stage or a level you will find new difficulties to try and overcome. It will become more complex with many factors interdependent on each other. This may lead to confusion for a while but that is not a bad thing, instead it is a learning experience. Sometimes confusion can feel bad, but it merely means that there is a new concept that one is not familiar with and needs to step outside of his comfort zone in order to tackle the problem head on. Enjoy all of these steps and stages that promote your riding towards your end goal.
Dressage is not just a sport but it also is an art and takes many years to perfect if one is ever so lucky as to be able to say that. Dressage also involves careful analytical thinking and consists of science. That is what makes it so intriguing.
Just as every horse is different, so is every rider. Some riders need to focus and become assiduous while other riders need to relax and take the efforts in stride. Sometimes doing less is more.
It is important to keep trying and practicing, riding with careful consideration and calculations, while enjoying surges of progression but also enjoying the practices in between those moments of clarity, understanding and evolution. In fact, most of our deepest thoughts of understanding and learning are done during these in-between stages of the levels. If it is resistance that is holding the horse back, that simply means that the horse’s musculature system has a weak spot. The only way to overcome the lack of muscle tone is to keep practicing and never give up, even if it takes the horse’s entire lifetime to produce.