I'm just gonna go and keep doing that centerline and that halt over and over again until
it's right, and I've got to get my horse straight, I've got to get a halt, oh shoot I overshot the
center line, oh no, now back the other way, oh no I'm getting near X. Oh gosh he's not stopping, pull,
halt, now he's not, he's not, standing still. How do I salute? Hello everyone, in today's video,
I'm going to be giving you a secret, which is the number one thing that you can do to improve your
scores this year. So if you're showing, comment below, let me know what level you're showing.
First, I'm going to demonstrate the way not to improve your scores this year, and this is
something that I see happening a lot with riders. So it's like we're getting close to the show, and
we send in our entry, and suddenly realize that you need to start practicing the test, and practicing
the movements, and what I see happen is that people completely forget about the basics, and
they just start drilling the pattern over, and over again. I'm going to use the center line and
the halt as an example. So, okay, I'm gonna start my test, I'm going up the center line and I get
near X, all of a sudden I think, oh gosh, I have to halt, and I pull on the reins, and my horse
goes crooked. Okay, now that was a terrible halt, so I'm gonna trot, and I'm going to give my horse
a kick because they did it wrong, and then I'm just gonna go and keep doing that centerline
and that halt, over, and over again, until it's right. One thing that's very, very, important
in improving your score, and having a successful show, is the basics. So if you look at your test,
on the top left hand corner of the test, there is a box that says the purpose of the level, and
one of the first sentences says that the horse demonstrates correct basics.
What are the basics? The basics are the Training Scale. So, I have a masterclass on the Training
Scale, so if you want to learn about the Training Scale, it's like the number one thing that you can
do to improve your scores this year. The Training Scale is made up of six key elements, Rhythm,
Suppleness, Connection, Impulsion, Straightness, and Collection. You start at the bottom, and work your
way up to the top. Each level of the Training Scale is an essential ingredient to correctly
train your horse. The Training Scale Masterclass is designed to teach you everything that you need
to know about the Training Scale, and how to apply it to your horse. You'll have a plan, you will have
a system, and you will know exactly what you need to do to make progress with your horse.
So, okay, let's go back to my centerlines, and my halt. The first thing that I need to do to improve
my centerlines, is I need to establish a steady tempo, a steady rhythm, and I need to get my horse a
bit rounder, and more through, because a lot of the problem with my centerline and my halt is that
my reins were way too long, my horse was completely unorganized, he wasn't round, he wasn't in front of
the leg. So rather than just repeating the centerline and the halt, over, and over again, which is what
I see people do, you need to problem solve by going back to the basics. So I'm thinking, okay, rhythm,
suppleness, connection, getting my horse a little bit rounder, now I'm going to try to break things
down a little bit more, so rather than doing my my centerline with a halt transition, I'm going
to break it down, and just practice some trot-walk-trot transitions. This is something that's really
important when you're training your horse, is that if you're having trouble with something, break
it down into a more simple movement. So if you're having trouble with your halt on the centerline,
start by doing trot-walk-trot transitions on a circle, or on the long side,
and what I'm focusing on with these walk-trot-walk transitions, is the basics. So I'm focusing on
the rhythm, a four-beat walk rhythm. Closing my leg, a two-beat Trot rhythm. Good boy, I'm focusing on
that he's staying relaxed, and I'm also focusing on the connection, that I don't want anymore
or any less pressure in my hand, as I'm doing these transitions. So, if you're struggling with
your halts, this would be where I would start, is getting that rhythm, getting that suppleness, doing
some trot-walk-trot transitions on a circle line. The next thing that you're gonna do is that you're
going to practice doing some halt transitions on the long side. So it's easier to do the halt
transition on the long side, because you have the rail to support you. You also noticed how I let him
take a few little walk steps into the halt, and I'm not terribly worried just yet that he's halting
square, mostly I just want to focus on that he's listening to my aids, and pulling my tummy in, I'm
trying not to use my reins to stop him, I'm just using my reins to keep him supple and soft. Good
boy, so you can see how now that I've broken things down, I'm a lot more organized, and so is my horse.
Another good thing to practice for your center lines, is doing some 10 meter circles,
because a 10 meter circle is going to help you to get that turn up the center-
line nice and smooth, and correct. So once you broke it down like that,
then I would say okay, now I'm going to try my centerline, and my halt again.
You can even just practice going up the centerline, and not doing a halt transition, or you can
practice going up the centerline, and just making a transition first to the walk. Good boy, and then to
the halt. Oops, and so that was a little crooked, so I'm just going to close my leg, walk straight, and
try one more time again. So you can see how it's a lot more difficult to do the halt transition
on the centerline, because here, I have the wall to help me, but on the centerline, I'm out in the open.
So I'm going to try it one more time. It's really important
that you look up, and try to look for the judge. So like when you get to F, turn your head and your
shoulders, I'm looking for the letter C, I'm getting the letter C right between his ears, I'm using my
leg to keep him on the line, I'm pulling my tummy in, walking forward, good boy, and halt. Good boy,
so that's what's really important, is that if you're showing this year, which is great, it's
great to have that as a goal, but the biggest thing that's going to help to improve your scores is
actually testing the movements, and then going back to the basics to fix the problems in the movement.
That's really important, when you're training your horses, that you have to break things down into
simple, bite-sized pieces, so that your horse can understand, and a big part of that is focusing on
the basics, and the basics are the Training Scale. So when you have rhythm, suppleness, connection,
those bottom three pillars are super important before you ever even start thinking about doing a test
movement, or riding a test. That should always be the focus of your warm-up, so be sure to check out
the description, I have a master class about the Training Scale, which is open for enrollment if
you're watching this in real time, and it's a wonderful program, which will not only help to
boost your score, but also just help you to have a better relationship and a better connection with
your horse, so that you can make progress. Thanks for watching, be sure to like my channel, give me a
thumbs up, and I'll see you in the next video. Training a horse is a partnership of trust and harmony. In order to achieve this, you
must have a consistent, actionable training plan that works. This is exactly what I'm going to be
teaching you inside my brand-new, step-by-step program, the Training Scale Masterclass.