Tag Archives: equestrian disciplines

How to Memorize a Dressage Test, by Ruth Hogan-Poulsen

Hi everyone. A lot of you have been asking me about how I begin to diagram a pattern or how I start to memorize a test.

I start with these blank arena diagrams. I find them useful for a number of things.
1. Memorizing regulation tests.
2. Learning the exact geometry of the arena.
3. Learning my exact tangent points for movements such as circles and serpentines.
4. Drawing my tests from beginning to end.
5. Drawing each movement according to where the judges are judging (this way I know when the judge begins judging a new movement).
6. Showing a student where a movement begins and ends exactly.
7. Mapping out individual movements when I start to create choreography for a freestyle.
8. Looking at the pattern from beginning to end of a new freestyle, to see if I have used the arena wisely.
9. Checking to see if I have included all required movements for a competitive freestyle.
10. Mapping out each movement of a new freestyle so my clients and students have something to study that is very visual.
11. Checking to see if I have been inventive with the pattern.
12. Checking to see if my movements are equally used from the left and the right.

…and many more!

So I though I would give these diagrams to you guys for your use. Feel free to print them off and use them any time you want, and while you are on my site, sign up for the newsletter if you have not already! You will automatically get the link for the diagrams in the welcome letter of my newsletter, so you don’t have to go looking for it!
Ruth

Link to FREE DRESSAGE ARENA DIAGRAMS:

http://www.ruthhoganpoulsen.com/downloads.html

www.ruthhoganpoulsen.com
www.mobilehorsemonitor.com
www.dressagefreestyles.com

Counter-Flexing in Canter, by Jane Savoie

Several of you have asked me if there’s any value in counter-flexing your horse while in true canter so I’d like to discuss that here.

1. Generally, you want to flex your horse in the direction of the canter lead he’s on. That goes for true canter as well as counter canter. So if you’re cantering on left lead, position his head so you just barely see his left eye and/or nostril.

2. I do often ask students to counter-flex their horses while cantering. For example, they’d just barely see the right eye or nostril when they’re in left canter. I do this to help riders feel if their horses are straight. Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=8812