Memorizing Dressage Tests

                                                                                                                                              

The top tips for memorizing your dressage tests!

1. This part of dressage is the mental part, so look at it with a more 'classroomy' view. How do you memorize things in school?

2. The general different learning styles are: Visual (piece of paper sort of work, looking at images and even making flip books/ animations of where you'll be going and what you're doing. 

3. The other ways about it are verbal, physical or logical. Some of these can overlap though. There are other ways people use that they make up following their own learning patterns and habits.

4. Visualization ~ It takes around 21 days to form a habit. You need to start memorizing your dressage test ASAP. Not one day before if you can help it :') 

You can sit in a comfy chair or lie down on a bed, and close your eyes. Take some deep breaths and try to visualize your test in front of you. 

Visualizing your dressage test is going to help you do two things. First, it’s going to help you memorize your test. Secondly, when you visualize the perfect ride, you program your subconscious mind to ride correctly. That’s because when you do “perfect practice” in your mind’s eye, your muscles will fire in the correct way. As you visualize, go through your dressage test stride for stride. Fill in as much detail as you can. What are you wearing? What does your horse look like? What does the arena look like? What color is your jacket? What color are your gloves? Fill in as many details as you can AND include your senses. Hear the rhythm of the footfalls. Feel the contact with your horse’s mouth. See your horse’s head and neck out in front of you. Smell the fly spray. Also, add emotion to your mental movies. Experience yourself feeling calm, relaxed, poised and the harmony of being at one with your horse. 

Physical ~ Do your test on foot. Another thing to do is walk and trot, and canter the parts of the dressage test at home, You can also do this in a regular dressage arena if you want. Of course it will take you a long time to walk, trot and canter around an entire dressage arena , but it definitely works to do this. If you have a big rectangular area or just mark off an area and trot down the center line, do your halts, trot off, plan where you’re going to turn, walk where you’re supposed to walk, canter where you’re supposed to canter. So you actually have a chance to physically practice. 

 Know your dressage test “forwards and backwards”. When you can pick any point within the dressage test and you can answer those two questions, you really own that test. Also, if you do happen to blank out in the middle of the test, you’ll be able to remember where you are very easily.

Source = 5 years dressage competitor Intermediate level & paired with information from a International dressage rider and dressage judge, qualified BHSI Instructor.