A new Introductory test has been introduced by British Dressage this year, the Intro C. It looks like it is going to be a very good test, depending on your horses weak and strong points!
There is a lot more walking than the other two intro tests, which is great if your horse has a good walk! However, if your horse has a poor walk, you may want to consider doing one of the other tests, where there is very little required. Intro B probably has the least walking involved.
There are also a couple of new and potentially tricky movements. One is a three loop serpentine in trot. This is new to intro, so it will be interesting to see how judges mark it. The second new, and tricky movement is two 10m circles, where you give the inside rein. This is a very good movement as it tests how much your horse relies on both reins to hold the contact and bend around the circle. There has also been a bit of debate as to how long to give for. In trot the guideline is 3 strides. If we assume this is the same for walk, is it still strides or steps? As for larger horses, 3 strides can easily be half a 10m circle.
I am doing this test towards the end of the month for the Ex Racer open class on E Dressage and I am really looking forward to it. However, I am unsure as to how it will go or how it will be marked. Scottie has quite a good walk, so this could be the test for us! I have been practising the 10m circles and so far they are going okay. I can give the inside rein without losing the circle, however, we do lose a bit of our outline and by the second circle we start to lose a bit of rhythm. So we still have a bit of work to do but I am looking forward to my feedback already!
Last Updated on 07/08/2018
