10 Dressage Hacks for a Better Score

Lily is a non-conventional, short-coupled, tension-packed eventer... I imagine her to have been a slinky in a past life. If you couple this with my sparse dressage knowledge you'll understand why I used to curse dressage! It is the devils advocate though, sets you up for the whole event, and for that reason I have grown to accept it and respect it.

In our early eventing days we were capable of a 'pretty' test for a very average high 30's score so I dismissed the boring flatwork training and pursued the fun jump training. What an idiot! Flatwork is the basis for EVERYTHING! A pretty test for 38 will not do anything for you, not only from a competitive perspective, but also from one of morale. You'll find that if you enter the SJ on a bad test score then you're more likely to hold your breath and ride like roadkill post Rigor Mortis; you'll be jumping to try and leave the poles up. On the contrary, if you enter the SJ on a decent test score then you're more likely to ride with confidence and relax; you'll be jumping to implement your skill and have fun. That's what it's all about at the end of the day! So, here's 10 dressage hacks that have improved our scores and might help you too:

1. Understand the score sheet and play to your advantages

2. Enter the arena and ride that first centre line with the belief that you are Charlotte Dujardin's soul sister

3. Be proud; the judge (and anyone else) is there to watch you

4. Ride every movement with complete accuracy because walk at 'A' really does mean walk at 'A,' not halfway between 'A' and 'K'

5. Use every inch of space you have available and look where you are going... it gives you an extra second or so to prepare

6. use your leg (impulsion is key) and remember that each movement is cyclical; using appropriate leg will move your horse up through a movement and forward into a contact, your horses legs will do the rest underneath you and that's your cue for the next movement *N.B* don't get distracted by how good/bad a movement was because it will break the cycle and affect the next

7. Don't ride through your test too many times before event day, smart horses will pre-empt movements or transitions

8. don't hold your breath because your horse will copy you

9. Don't worry about an outline; grabbing at the front end puts a horse behind movement and unhinges their back end - trust me when I say that it feels DISGUSTING

10. If you remember all of this and leave the arena knowing you did your very best then don't be disheartened if your score isn't what you expected because dressage judges do have favourites