I have a REAL problem remembering my tests. I didn't used to, but now it seems after so many years, so many tests, I mix them up. Sometimes it is because I try to do too many at once, and 5 or 6 tests of different levels could be confusing.
Does ANYONE have trouble with this ? I HATE having them commanded, but my newest coach says it isn't worth the stress and just get someone to call them. I have done that. but I can't really hear over the gasping of my breathing[fitness issues], and I have had callers take me off course. Anyone got any good ideas?
Oh, and present second level mare remembers them SO well, I tend to practise them out of sequence...perhaps that is some of the problem. It's not that I forget completely, it just that I'll insert the movement from ANOTHER test....much to the delight of my students!! Embarrassing!

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I've only done a few tests and I have them called even if I have them memorized. I know if I don't, I will get so anxious about the possibility of forgetting that I WILL in fact forget. The reason I know this is because that's what happens to me on jumper courses! Remembering the course is my big, big challenge and the one thing I get anxious about at horse shows.

I did manage to start to go off course in a test once even though it was being called (I wasn't listening, obviously); I was trotting on the rail and asked my horse to turn down the center line. She did turn as I asked, but I could feel her body saying "No Mom, this isn't right!" I listened to her, got back on the rail, and realized she was right. This was in spite of usually practicing the moves out of order so she wouldn't anticipate. She is one smart horse! My coach has always made a lot of jokes involving telling my horse the courses and tests instead of telling me. BTW, that wobble knocked me down from a first to a third in that class (I only do schooling level shows in dressage)
Hi, Donna:

I don't have trouble memorizing tests, but when I'm coaching at shows at which I'm also competing I do tend to get my tests mixed up with those my riders are riding. Whenever possible I have my tests called, in addition to memorizing them. I usually complete the test without any memory of having heard the caller, but the stress is less and if I have one of those OMG moments the caller is there for me. I have riders competing at every level from Intro to GP, and I usually compete with more than one horse, so the potential for mix-ups is profound.

If your problem with having them called has to to do judges let me tell you that judges find it easier to have tests called as well. We have a lot to concentrate on while you're riding your test, and the subliminal prompting of the caller makes our job easier - you do not make a negative impression by having your tests called.

Something else you might want to consider is riding the same test several times, or the 1st and 2nd or 2nd and 3rd tests only in a Level, rather than riding all the tests in a Level. The tests have been written to promote progressive training and skill development, and were not really meant to be ridden in series at each competition. Rather, you should be working your way through the tests in numerical order, which will assist in preparing you and your horse for the step up to the next Level. Riding tests out of sequence is a little like going to school for Grade 1, then Grade 3, then Grade 2, etc.

When you're worrying about the mare remembering the tests think about FEI horses and FEI Para horses, who ride the same tests at every competition for YEARS. You perhaps need to practice the requirements of the tests as stand-alones, rather than as short sequences out of order, which doesn't serve to keep the mare on the aids and only mixes you up. For instance, my mare is competing at Third Level, so I NEVER school flying changes immediately after short diagonals (or on them) or after 1/2 pass, I only ride them on lines following those movements. The only time I request the change on the line in the test is in the test, the rest of the time I keep her guessing, which also keeps her listening to me.

I hope this helps!
I REALLy like your suggestion of riding only certain tests in a level. That makes it easier. Oddly, I don't forget the tests between different horses, just the several tests on the same horse. I usually only do 2, but have done more, treating the first ones as a "judged" warmup.
I wasn't aware that judges could benefit..I HAD felt it didn't give as "prepared" am impression, and my older coaches would always argue" if you don't know it, you shouldn't ride it because you obviously haven't practised it enough.\"
So you have enlightened me. I WILL use a caller, and I agree, once I am focused on the prepare...the movement will follow.
What I meant about out of sequence, is in the test itself, not in the sequence of the tests. Is that muddy enough?
Thank you for your suggestions. I am hoping to improve enough so that I only have one to remember...but fear that that day is a ways off.
This is a really interesting discussion! When I was riding up through the levels, I had even my very basic tests called for me because it eliminated a big stress. If you are riding a bunch of different tests in one weekend, it is no wonder you might get some of the movements mixed up!

That being said, learning to think and strategize in the ring, is one of the most important goals for any rider.
Listening to someone else while you are riding your test takes you out of your own head and your own self-talk while you are riding because you are somewhat dependent on the outside intructions.
If your caller is your coach, that can be an advantage, because when they read "Shoulder in at F" what you hear in that split second might be their instructions from home such as "Half-halt, prepare, not too much neck, etc.)

At some point though, I think it is important to ride the test without a reader, because it forces you to take total responsibility for your test and acquire a very sharp focus. Self-talk does become a habit and it teaches you to think in the ring, to be proactive and to make decisions while you are in there, rather than sub-concsiously waiting for your instructions.

I have been fortunate to be able to take my current horse up to the St. George and I can tell you, it is MUCH easier to just have to know one test! What I forget, my horse remembers (thank goodness) and we both know the test so well, that my subconscious takes us around, while I focus on my strategy for riding the various parts of the test.

What does everyone else think? I
Cannot help you out there but it must be a pretty common problem as I see a lot of the coaches go off course - especially after the test is changed.

In fact one of the competitors at the recent World Cup went off course because the test now called for a halt at A!
Hey, I didn't know that! I don't feel like such a dope...at least I'm not the only one. I am always amazed at my 20something students actually remembering all their tests and all their friends. I HAVE to find a supplement for this. Menopause sucks!!
Hi, Donna:

I NEVER had trouble memorizing or remembering tests until I had my daughter. Before that, the only person I really had to think about for much of the time was myself (my husband and clients were reasonably self-sufficient), but I found (and several of my clients have found) that motherhood interferes in a huge way with one's ability to truly focus long enough and closely enough to (a) learn the test and (b) remember the thing when the chips are down.

With regard to Barbara's comment, I believe that riders need to know their tests, and should not be actively listening for the caller (except in those blank moments), but as Barbara said, just having a caller removes a lot of stress. As you progress as a rider, and particularly as a competitive rider, you will find that you must ride tests from memory at Provincial, Regional and National Championships, but hopefully by then you will have the process worked out.

Don't be afraid to practice the tests in their entirety. I make it a practice to ride my tests through twice with each horse one day per week. I ride my warm up, and then make myself ride through each test completely twice. Between each of those "test" rides, I walk on a long rein and analyze the ride, then I repeat that test working on the holes which became apparent. If you do that regularly (I do it Thursdays) you and your horses will start to relax and go with the flow of the test, and you will find those areas which need particular attention or different preparation. We do not, in this country, have enough opportunities to ride tests in competition (unlike in Europe, where one can compete every weekend), so we have to approximate the requirements at home. I have had horses learn tests completely after riding them only twice in competition, so you can't get around the anticipation problem by only riding complete tests in competitive situations. Rather, ride the tests completely much more often, and teach your horse to wait for you.
Hi Jan, I love your approach, it makes a lot of sense. I had a different issue which is improving, but I found that chemo didn't seem do my memory any favors. It's pretty much back now, but stress is also a factor so I've used a reader. I agree, I generally don't hear them, but it relieves the stress. In fact, last year the only one I recall was when my reader got nervous and lost their place and had to catch up:) It was a confidence boost when my brain kicked in and said - NO keep going, you have it right. Mostly I'm just trying too hard to get too many things right. My own goal is to show more and just get practice doing it this year.
One of the tricks I've learned comes from my background in advertising and art. Everyone learns in different ways and using all your senses can help. One of the things that helps me is to get off my horse and literally walk the test myself. My husband also greatly enjoys watching my 'canter'. I think it may help because I'm physically doing the test and not thinking about the 10 million other things like heals down, right shoulder back, pole up.... I also type or write the test out, read it out loud to myself, anything that uses all the ways in which your brain learns and takes things in. Hope it helps! Good luck at your shows this year.
Obviously, you are all talking about dressage. From a western perspective in trail it is very much like jumping or hunter where you get to walk the course before you ride it and reining is much like dressage where your memory is very important because we don't use "callers". So, when I memorize patterns I dance them on the ground with out my horse and when I get it into my memory like part of me I teach the maneuvers to my horse, then put it together in the last week before the competition as a complete pattern.
Hello again, everyone:

Lisa makes a good point. While we were competing at the European Championships in England in 2006, my Dad suddenly developed "selective amnesia" and couldn't remember his dressage tests. I sent him to the laundry facility (where no one ever went, wonder why?) at the competition venue to practice walking, trotting, cantering, flying changes, 1/2 passes, pirouettes, etc. on his own feet in the perfect quiet rectangle provided. He still practices his test patterns on the deck behing my parents' house, and it's made a huge difference. As Lisa says, we all learn in different ways, and this method seems to engage body sense and spatial awareness for those who struggle with those issues.
This was how I did it as a kid - I love Cindy's description of dancing the pattern! - and I've found it works well for me as an adult. My spouse and offspring are hugely amused by my behavior in the backyard. Last month, waiting for a parent to come pick up the child I was carpooling, I started driving the test in a deserted parking lot! The funniest thing to me was feeling the muscles down my back and through my legs trying to cue the car.

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