How To: Learn the Pattern

One of the questions I'm asked frequently as we head into show season is this:  "How do I memorize the dressage test?"  There are many many ways to learn your pattern, whether it is a short showmanship or equitation pattern, or a longer reining pattern or dressage test.  In this case, the variables affecting which is the BEST way to memorize it include the learning style of the human, and the learning speed of the horse.

Here are some ideas for learning OFF of your horse:

Find a large room in the house, and make a pseudo-dressage arena by sticking post-it notes with the dressage letters on the floor.  I use my kitchen because the sticky notes stay there on the floor pretty well.  Then, holding your printed copy of the dressage test, ride the pattern on your own two feet, in the arena you created on the floor.  Enter at A at whatever gait is specified, then halt at X.  Do your salute (I always end up saluting the dog as he watches me do this from C).  "Ride" through your test, beginning to end.  Once you have been through it, ride just the first few maneuvers several times in a row.  When those are committed to memory, add the next few maneuvers to the first few.  Eventually you will have your entire test memorized in reference to the letters on your kitchen floor!

This works well for visual learners, as they can see the copy of the pattern in their hand, and see the dressage letters on the post-its on the floor.  For kinesthetic learners the motion of "riding" the test in the kitchen is particularly effective.  For auditory learners I suggest reciting the dressage test as you ride it in the kitchen.

Additional ideas are to find a video of your test online (youtube can be particularly helpful) and watch someone ride it.  Or draw an arena with letters for reference points on a large piece of paper, then using your pencil, draw the test several times from start to finish.

I use quite a bit of imagery as part of my meditation, riding the test thoroughly in my mind each night before I go to sleep.  When I have been particularly nervous about a show, I will often start the imagery early in the "mental video" by picturing loading the horse into the trailer the day of the show, and go though everything: arriving at the grounds, tacking my horse and fastening all the buckles, riding the warm-up, all the way through riding the test itself.  If my mental picture goes awry, like my imagination "sees" my horse spooking at the judges stand, I pause the image, rewind it to where things were going well, and replay the mental video, making sure that things go smoothly this time.

Suggestions for learning ON your horse:

As an auditory and kinesthetic learner, something I have found to work particularly well for me is to ride my lesson horse, or another horse with whom I am NOT competing, and have someone call out the test to me at home.  I ride through the test twice with a caller, then try to ride it without the caller.  By the third time through, the horse usually knows the test better than I do, and starts anticipating and can correct me if needed.  This is why I do it with a horse who is not competing at that test because I don't want him anticipating in the show ring.  But it helps me to learn the test at home.

Once at the show, about 10 min. before my ride time and after my warm-up I give the printed copy of the dressage test to someone standing around (preferably my groom or someone cheering from my barn, but you'd be surprised how many random people are willing to help you with this!) and recite it to them having them correct me if needed.  This cements the test in my mind, and then I am ready to ride!

Cautions:
Don't ride the test from start to finish with your competition horse.  He will learn it faster than you and anticipate the next maneuver when in the show ring.  Ride movements in different orders and in different places in the arena so he will become familiar with the maneuvers without anticipating.

When practicing off of your horse, be sure to engage all of your senses when picturing the ride in your mind's eye.  Smell the hair polish, feel the stick of the saddle leather on your breeches, see the braids in your horse's mane, hear the soft padding of your horse's hooves, and taste that bit of salt on your lips.