PREPARING FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP

​There are lots of chances these days to ride in a championship competition, whether it be an unaffiliated league final at your local equestrian centre, an affiliated grass roots championship, an area festival final right up through to Regional Championships and ultimately the Nationals.

How often have you thought when you are training or even warming up at a show and think 'blimey, I think I’ve got this nailed! If I can get it like this in my test then we are flying!' And then you go in for said test, and well…. it doesn't quite work out like that?! 

Our Brand Ambassador, International Dressage Rider Becky Moody shares her top tips for success after the bell goes.. 

In this training feature, our Ambassador, Dressage Rider Becky Moody shares the scales of training.
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The scales of training are like the building blocks of dressage training, they are a really useful checklist to use, especially if you are training a lot on your own. 
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The scales are: rhythm, suppleness, contact, impulsion, straightness and collection, and throughout them all you also need balance. It's not as simple as working on one and then progressing to the next - they are often interlinked, but they do help to give you focus and direction in your training.

Some horses naturally rush fences, whilst others can develop bad habits as the season progresses, so how do you nip the problem in the bud or correct seasoned old habits?

We asked our Ambassador Gemma Tattersall for her training tips ahead of the season.
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“This is a great exercise to help horses rushing between fences. The placing poles teach the horse to remain in the same rhythm throughout a combination or line of fences. You can use canter poles before and after a fence, so they don’t rush in to the jump or away from it. This in turn should lead to the horse being able to jump a whole course in a lovely rhythm. This exercise can be modified very easily to the level of horse and rider.

Ahead of the British National Dressage Championships, we asked one of our fabulous riders, dressage rider, Sara-Jane Lanning for her advice for preparing for a championship show..

There are lots of chances these days to ride in a championship competition, whether it be an unaffiliated league final at your local equestrian centre, an affiliated grass roots championship, an area festival final right up through to Regional Championships and ultimately the Nationals.

If you qualify for any final you are there by right and therefore have as good a chance of anybody else at doing well. But you can help your chances by preparing for all eventualities!