Questions for Dressage Riders

[SadMumSEN]

1- how many dressage tests do you do in a day at a competition on the same horse ? I have never done more than 2, but have read the rules and it suggests a max of 4 for my level. I’m considering doing 3 next week for the first time, (2 unaffiliated, then a BD repeat of one of those tests). If it’s relevant I do short easy warm ups.

2- how many lessons do you have in a week/month ? I’m currently doing 1 weekly lesson but find I don’t have enough time to practice what I have learnt in between, by the time I’ve hacked, lunged, accounted for current horrendous UK weather, etc. Should I be practicing more ? Or just stick with weekly anyway ? Opinions appreciated!

3- what are you main aims each season ? Qualifications for PetPlans and Associated Champs seems achievable for low level, is there anything else I should be thinking about or any leagues ?

More of an allrounder but…

Personally I’d never do more than 2 classes.

I have lessons probably on average twice a month. Which works for me.

Usually 2 classes as I have no hope of remembering 3 tests!
I have lessons as and when I feel I need them. I went through a peroud of having them weekly but then got to a point where I felt I couldn't ride unless I was having a lesson! I tend to have 1 a month and then in the run up to a series competition ie Areas, I would have 2 per week for a month just to sharpen up but only work on 1 or 2 specific movements per lesson.
Associated Champs are more achieveable imo than Areas/Nationals etc. It is fairly easy to qualify for Areas/Regionals but then you get slammed with all the professionals. We have qualified for Nationals twice but I didn't go because I knew we wouldn't stand a chance of a top 20 placing and it is a lot of money!
Associated Champs are more truly amateur so you stand a better chance of placings.

I'd be an all rounder too, never got above ele in dressage competitively so not an expert by any means. I've never done more than 2 classes in a day (dressage or jumping rounds). I can see the attraction of doing 3 since most of the cost and effort is in getting to the venue and in theory both I and the horse should be plenty fit enough for the amount of time it takes to ride 3 tests, even accounting for warming up between them too, but there's something about the adrenaline buzz of being at a show that's tiring, my boy is about as steady as they come and even he doesn't really relax properly between tests so I'd worry if there was a lot of waiting around between times - I wouldn't want to overface him. But maybe enter for 3 next time you're out and see how you feel, can always withdraw from the third or take it easy if you feel he's tiring?

Lessons wise I usually do 3 a month, 1 with my show-jumping coach (would do more but he's very expensive), 1 polework group clinic with a lady that visits the yard once a month and 1 private with my regular/flatwork instructor. So it's quite varied and I don't tend to repeat the exact same things I've been working on in the lessons when schooling at home, although obviously I do have the 'feel' and quality of whatever we were working on in mind even when hacking etc. I think lessons are really great for keeping you ticking over and quickly sorting out issues so if you can afford the £ I'd keep it up even if you don't ride that often in between. I think if I had unlimited budget I'd have 3 lessons a week tbh and never school on my own in between times!

Aims, well I've slightly lost my competitive edge these days and with transport etc so expensive I probably don't bother as much as I used to with leagues and qualifiers and regional finals and so on as I can't always justify the expense of going to the fancier venues, I quite like just competing against myself these days and always trying to improve on last times score etc. but that's a very boring answer!

Yes I’m finding every week too much - I think I’ll drop to every other so I get chance to practice and cement what I’m learning 😁

I agree that qualifying and actually going are 2 different things ! All festivals are miles from me anyway, so other than BD points and bragging rights to have qualified, it seems a bit of a waste of time.

Re. 3 tests - im low enough down the levels to still have a caller, plus the BD test is a repeat of one of the unaffiliated so actually only 2 tests to practice. Maybe it’s still too much in one day.

I do only 1 or 2 tests to keep her 'oomph' - she has to have a relatively long warm up so don't want to do too much.

Lessons - 1 every 2/3 weeks to keep us busy

What about My Quest - which is up to Novice?

1 - I do 2 tests in a days competition. to qualify for areas I learn 2 tests for my level, then do those 2 tests at 2 separate competition dates to give me the best chance of getting 63% + in case of mistakes etc in a test
I confirmed with BD you can do the same tests multiple times.

2- I have 1 lesson a month as that's all I can currently manage with small children. It takes me 4 or 5 hours to load my horse, drive to my trainers, do a lesson and then go back so it is a big time investment for me. My trainer will give me points to work on then I send her a short video a week or so later for feedback to confirm I've got the right idea.

3- my main aims each season are Qualifications for PetPlans and progressing my ability and experience with lessons

Always do two tests per comp, wouldn’t do more as feel it’s too much and don’t want to frazzle my horses or test my memory too much!

we’ve been doing Areas but just moved one of my horses up to ‘silver’ so we can go for the Regionals instead, more prestigious, need 20 points but only tests over 66% count.

For me a lesson every week is too much however I do have clients that come every week as they have youngsters and it does tend to work very very well! But once a fortnight would be ideal as you need to practice the work whilst not relying on someone to tell you all the time, so you can begin to develop the feel.

I have a very good trainer I go to and I go every calendar month. I get more out of this one session that never have out of another trainer. He's not cheap, he won't be your best mate but is very professional and very successful at what he does. On top of this I would go to test clinics as well but with list1 judges, Richard Baldwin does this and they are excellent depending where you are. He's based around the Midlands.

In terms of BD competition I will check what tests are for regionals and do that test and another every time I go out. This season I will have 2 horses so after a couple of times out, 2 tests each.

I usually do 2 classes at a show. Between the environment and the work, that's enough for my horse (who is still quite young.)

I do 2 lessons a week on average over the winter, and aim for 3x per week in the summer.

My aims aren't to qualify for anything; I've qualified for a few years in a row now and not gone for various reasons - last year it was because I didn't think the experience would be good for my horse. I just look to improve scores and get more consistent results, more than anything.

Thanks for all of your responses very helpful indeed 😊

I have a half hour lesson every week with my 4 year old horse. Because I am not very experienced at bringing on young horses and it helps to get advice on what to work on, and only 30 mins because he cant concentrate for longer! Used to be a hours lesson every month or so for me and my older horse ( more picking me up for my bad habits! )

And not more than two tests of jumping rounds ( on my older horse)