Issue: troublesome transitions
Transitions between and within the paces are an important part of every dressage test and the judge will be keeping an eagle eye out for clear execution.
“I see riders panic about transitions, especially when riding trot-walk-trot and trot-canter-trot,” says Kirsty.
“I’m looking for a clear transition with three to four strides between each pace, but often they are rushed, as if the rider is desperate to get the movement over with.
“They will ride only one stride before transitioning again and it’s an easy way to lose marks. I’d rather see too many strides than not enough. Free-walk to medium walk and back also causes issues.”
How to fix it
■1 Constantly practising transitions on a circle can cause your horse to anticipate — remember to use the long side too. It’s harder, so when you come back to the circle it will feel much easier.
■2 Transitions are easier to ride if your horse is straight, so work on this too, not just the transitions themselves.
■3 Prepare well. Sit straight and use your body weight, not the reins, to ride the downwards transitions and keep your leg on.
■4 Transitions should be something you practise every day. Ride lots of them, anticipating what might go wrong so you can improve your correcting skills. Don’t over-ride a transition.
■5 For transitions within the paces, free walk to medium walk for instance, count the rhythm as you ride it as this shouldn’t change. If your horse gets stressed, you can do this out loud — this will stop you fiddling and help to calm him.