The View From C:

An Overview of the New 2007 USEF Dressage Tests

By Betsy Berrey, Senior USEF Dressage Judge, Member of "L" Program Faculty and its Standing Committee

Every four years our National Dressage Tests change. In my many years as a competitor and judge I've been through at least six of these rotations. Sometimes the tests get longer and harder, other times they become a little shorter and easier. The 2007 tests are among the best we've ever had. They are both more rider friendly and more judge friendly than the previous set.

These 18 tests were created with ideas and suggestions from the USDF Test Writing Committee, gathered while I was its Chairman. We spoke with riders, trainers and judges about what worked and what didn't in the 2003 tests. Our ideas were then shared with The USEF Test Writing Committee which is composed of many of our top FEI judges. Their experience and expertise shaped the final products which are very good indeed.

In this article I'll describe the major changes at each level and highlight some valuable additions to the tests. For example, in First Level, riders receive a score for the transition from Free Walk to Medium Walk and have a choice whether to rise or sit in all of the trot lengthenings. The Second Level the tests are shorter and less taxing for horse and rider. The canter stretch circle has been eliminated because few Second Level horses could maintain the balance required. The transition from shoulder in to renvers is now done immediately at B or E, not over a 12 meter distance which was confusing to every one.

The new tests retain the fundamental purpose of any dressage test: to determine the correct training of the horse. The rider is there to demonstrate the horse's skills and abilities. The ultimate goal of our sport is to have the horse and rider moving together as one, making the most challenging movements and transitions look harmonious and effortless.

THE TRAINING SCALE

In all of the tests the basics are the 6 components of the Training Scale - Rhythm, Suppleness, Contact, Impulsion, Straightness and Collection. Each test at each level is an assessment of the horse's training and whether or not it is progressing correctly. If any of the basics are missing, not well-confirmed or poorly demonstrated judges make note of this to aid riders in their future efforts and to guide them onto a more correct path.

When we start out at Training Level most of us don't imagine that we'll become international stars but it is very important to know the path that leads to the top of our sport. Seeing the very best horses in the World Equestrian Games, in Las Vegas or at the Olympics gives us a correct idea of this.. However the path that leads upward is similar for all horses since correct training must be there from the beginning in order to move up the levels. Reiner Klimke said "Incorrect training is as if you buttoned a sweater wrong. In order to fix it you must unbutton it and start over again." Re-training is much more difficult than following the correct steps from the start.

When the basics and the Training Scale are used properly the horse becomes progressively stronger and more able to carry weight on the hindquarters. This in turn frees and lightens the shoulders, allowing lateral work, flying changes, pirouettes, piaffe and passage to be performed much more easily.

Remember that maintaining and enhancing the correct rhythm of the gaits is always foremost in the judge's mind whether you are riding Training Level or Grand Prix. The other elements of the Training Scale become more confirmed as the horse moves up the levels, with collection being introduced at Second Level when the horse is more able to engage and shift weight on to the haunches.

The New Tests -- Level by Level

Training Level

There are 4 tests in Training Level and the changes have been fairly simple. All of the trot work can still be rising or sitting. There are no bonus points for sitting so do what is best for your horse in order to show an active, rhythmic, working trot. Training Level Test 1 is unchanged. My one suggestion here is that when you practice the movements you ride 2 or 3 canter circles before executing the down transition to trot. Young horses have a tendency to fall out of the canter so don't over practice just doing part of a circle and then changing to trot. Also be sure that your horse trots when you ask, not when he decides on his own.

Training Level Test 2 has the same pattern. Be sure to pay attention to the two Medium Walk scores which cover short distances. The Medium walk should be lively, connected and in the correct 4 beat rhythm for high marks. Review the descriptions of Medium and Free Walk in the USEF Rule Book if you need a refresher on what the judge is looking for in Training, First and Second Levels.

Training Level Test 3 has two new elements. Movements #4 and #10 ask for the canter depart on the first quarter of the 20 meter canter circle. Be sure to prepare your horse so that you minimize the chance of a wrong lead which could then carry over into the circle, bringing down two scores instead of one. Movement # 12, which used to include a short diagonal and change of direction, now allows you to go straight forward before preparing for the trot stretchy circle left at C. For high marks on this movement, which has a co-efficient of 2, be sure to stay on the line of the circle, gradually allowing your horse to take the bit forward and down, with a consistent connection. Don't throw the reins away or keep them so short that the horse cannot possibly stretch over his back.

Another new and better, element in all of the Training and First Level tests is the half 10 meter circle from B or E to X before the final halt at G. You no longer need to worry about straightness from E or B to X but can focus on a smooth and consistent bend in the trot. Be sure you know where G is! This is the last letter on the centerline before C and it is right between M and H, only 6 meters from the end of the arena. Don't be afraid of getting too close to the judge - we are not spiders waiting to pounce.

Training Level Test 4 is easier to judge although the pattern is still the same. There is no longer a separate score for the straight canter strides on the long side after the 20 meter circle at E. This test also has a halt at G so be sure to actually get to that letter.

First Level

In First Level the best change is to allow the rider to rise or sit in all of the trot lengthenings. Remember to do what is best to show your horse's trot. There are no extra points for sitting but if you do intend to move up to Second Level it is important to master this for the Medium trots to come. Although the patterns are essentially the same there is an additional score for transitions in the walk movements in all 4 tests. Since the walk is the easiest gait to ruin, and since problems are usually the result of contact issues, the transitions from the Free Walk back to the Medium Walk are especially important.

In First Level, as in Training level, two of the final halts are at G. Here again you can make half a 10 meter circle from B or E to X rather than trying to ride a straight line. As training improves, and you move up the levels, corners are increasingly important. They should allow you to supple and re-balance your horse and help to prepare for up-coming movements. According to the USEF Rule Book "...when riding corners, the horse should be correctly bent and balanced and, at Training through Fourth Level, ridden as deeply as is appropriate to its level of training, into the corner."

Second Level

On to Second Level, which requires a higher degree of training, and greater expectations, for horses and riders. An athletic horse that has good natural gaits can be successful at Training and First Level without much additional schooling. However, in order to show collected and medium trot and canter the horse must have developed some ability to shift weight onto the hindquarters and to show the engagement necessary for lateral work and greater variations within the gaits. The horse also needs to demonstrate a greater degree of suppleness, throughness, bending and self-carriage.

The movements and requirements of Second Level have, for the most part, remained the same. However the tests have been shortened and simplified overall. The most significant changes can be seen in Second Level, Test 4 which previously had 34 movements and now has only 27. The two 10 meter trot circles after the first halt have been eliminated. The shoulder in now has a transition to renvers at the letter (B or E) rather than over a 12 meter segment. It is not a difficult change in bend and position if the horse and rider understand what is being asked for. Then only a stride or two is needed to accomplish the change.

One medium walk score has been eliminated and so has the canter stretch circle which was very difficult for most Second Level horses to do correctly. Finally the ending is easier with a turn down the centerline after the second medium canter, followed by a trot transitions at L and a final halt at I. Judging in California, Kansas and Wisconsin as well as Florida during the past few months I do see more riders at Second Level which is very encouraging. If you can score 65% or higher at this level moving up to Third should be doable as long as you and your horse have mastered single flying changes and half passes at the trot and canter.

Third Level

Now we come to the question of when it is time to move up a level. From the judge's perspective there are two views. One is that since, for example, Third Level is the first time that flying changes are asked for we do not expect to see the same degree of balance and elasticity that we would in an FEI horse. On the other hand, a flying change is a flying change and must be correctly shown in both directions. If you have not mastered this at home then it definitely won't work in a test. Everyone makes mistakes but if your horse's changes are often croup high, late behind, or very tense, you are probably not ready to ride Third Level. The same is true with trot and canter half passes. If they cannot be ridden with a degree of correctness, bend and balance don't try to master them in the show ring.

Too often when we sit at C we see horses struggling with the very movements that are critical to the new level. If your horse cannot give a solid, consistent performance at Second Level Test 4 then you are not ready for Third Level. Without collection and the ability to show the reach and roundness required for medium paces, your horse will not be able to show the lengthening of frame and stride required for extended trot and canter. You will also need to understand the difference between the free walk and the extended walk, which are clearly described in the USEF Rule Book.

The Third Level tests still contain the same required movements. However some of the test segments have been turned 180 degrees so that the judge can see certain movements more clearly. In the 2003 tests the half passes and flying changes often went away from the judge making them difficult to assess. At Third Level the medium paces do not have transition scores but the extended ones do. It is very important to demonstrate that your horse has the balance, suppleness and self carriage to move from collected to extended paces and back smoothly and obediently. Since the walk is the gait that is most easily ruined the tests at this level still have medium rather than collected walk. However the horse must now show an extended rather than a free walk.

Over the past few years there has been an intense debate about whether or not the double bridle should be permitted in Third Level. After much discussion it became clearer that the double bridle was simply a tool, designed to enhance the gymnastic ability of a horse that is already well along in his training. The biggest problem was that, like any tool, it must be used correctly. In the hands of an unskilled or unbalanced rider, it can be harmful to the horse, causing discomfort and resistance.

Everywhere in the US riders are now mounted on much better, more athletic horses than they were 5 or 10 years ago. Unfortunately riding skills have not kept pace with this important change. The USEF made an excellent choice in deciding that, to encourage better riding, the Rider score would now be a co-efficient of 3. As judges this allows us to reward good riding and to give lower marks to riders who have not yet developed the independent seat and elastic connection that are so important in our sport. The double bridle remains optional at both Third and Fourth Levels for the next four years.

As I judge horses through the levels and around the country the biggest missing piece is often the true collected canter. Remember that collection means quicker and shorter, more elevated strides, not slower and flatter ones. In the canter the clear three beat rhythm, with a period of suspension, must be maintained and the horse must clearly engage and lower the croup. The requirements of Fourth Level make the need to master this very clear. Fourth Level Test 1 is unchanged. However, it is important that you can ride movement # 18 which asks for five to six strides of very collected canter on a 20 meter circle, from quarter line to quarter line, correctly and consistently. Without the ability to show a "pirouette canter" Fourth Level Test 2 and 3 will be quite difficult.

Fourth Level

In Fourth Level Test 2 the trot work is similar but the canter work has changed. Instead of quarter pirouettes the test now asks for an 8 meter circle followed by a working pirouette with a diameter of approximately 5 meters. In the criteria of the movement you must "Develop very collected canter..." before the pirouette which is between X and V or X and P, and then continue in collected canter with a flying change at R or S. Under the Directive Ideas, the judge must consider "Clear definition of transitions; the collection and regularity of the canter in the working half pirouette, bend, balance and self carriage, straightness." In order to show all of these elements well you and your horse must be able to demonstrate a correct collected, and very collected, canter. This is also true in the last and highest test of this level which is the gateway to the FEI tests.

In Fourth Level Test 3 the trot work has been simplified by removing the two 8 meter circles that were at X in the middle of the medium trot on the diagonal. The test is further shortened in the walk work where only a halt and rein back of 4 steps is required without any walk pirouettes. Although the canter pattern for the pirouettes is new it does help in the execution of the turns. In previous tests the pirouettes were asked for out by X and many riders seemed to get lost out in the middle of the ring.

In the new test the canter work is similar to that in one of the previous Young Rider Tests. First you must ride three good corners, two on the short side of the arena and then a turn onto the line between P and V, going across the ring. The canter half pirouette is done before V and then followed by a turn at E, a flying change at X , a turn at S and a second half pirouette before R on the line between S and R. The pattern is very rideable if you have mastered the collected canter work in the previous two tests.

Conclusion

I hope this article has given you some insights into our 2007 National Tests. Watching The Winning Edge 2007 DVDs will further explain the changes and improvements. Chris gives a 15 minute warm-up for each level, going over the new movements while demonstrating them from the saddle. He rides every test of the level, on five different horses, and I judge them just as I would at a show.

As a final thought, remember this quote from Wilhelm Museler, "Riding Logic," published in 1937. "The End of all schooling and dressage is perfect harmony between man and mount -- Beauty. The horse must show that he feels comfortable and the rider must not betray how hard it is to achieve this!"

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