Let’s face the music

FREESTYLE AT ANY LEVEL CAN BE EMOTIVE, DRAMATIC – AND FUN. BUT HOW DO YOU BEGIN TO CREATE THE MAGIC WITH A GOOD FLOORPLAN? EMMA PENNY ASKS THE EXPERTS.

If you want to get creative with your dressage, freestyle is the ultimate. It’s a chance to do more of what you and your horse love, play to your strengths and have fun. And while creating a oorplan can seem daunting, there’s plenty of help to get started.

Sara Green, who has created many winning freestyle programmes, says the fi rst step is to get a copy of the o cial D test sheet for the level you wish to compete at. “This clearly lays out the compulsory movements, what you can do and what you mustn’t do.”

A visit to the D website will also be helpful, as you can download and print freestyle oorplan templates for planning your test, as well as reading the D uide to Dressage to Music. Sara says: “The guide is applicable to everyone, so don’t be daunted when it talks about rand Prix as the concept is the same at every level.”

While there is occasionally an option to do freestyle in a x m arena, most venues and all championships are in a x m, so it is better to use the larger arena. ake sure any arena you use is the correct size as any diff erence, even a metre or two out, can have a huge eff ect when you compete in music. t’s also a good idea to practice on the type of

surface you are likely to compete on; a deeper surface will ride more slowly than sand and wax, for instance. When it comes to creating your test, Paralympian ophie Wells advises looking at your horse’s strengths and weaknesses so you can highlight or disguise them, and thinking about any movements you THINK ABOUT particularly enjoy doing. “Think about the order of THE ORDER paces you want to ride. Is your OF PACES horse’s trot better after canter hould you walk fi rst if your YOU WANT horse needs settling e clever TO RIDE. about what enhances your horse. “It’s not compulsory to do trot BE CLEVER to halt in freestyle, so choose ABOUT WHAT a pace you can do a good halt from walk might be better, ENHANCES and the halts at the start and the YOUR HORSE. end are worth 20 marks, so they are important.” reestyle at Prelim and Novice have a minimum time allowed of four minutes and maximum of fi ve. This is timed from the move off after your fi rst halt to your fi nal halt, so entry to the arena is not included, making a walk entrance worth considering. ara creates oor plans by thinking about the trot work and canter separately. “Keep the paces together so that it doesn’t become too bitty. Work out what you are doing in trot, and then in canter and use walk to join them up. f you fi nd you are not on the correct

Julia Case and her 15hh Welsh ection D gelding Dylasau Dai arris (Elvis) thought they’d give freestyle a go last year and ended up as Petplan uine ummer ovice ron e freestyle champions. he and her trainer aine ailey worked on the oorplan together, focusing on playing to Elvis’ strengths.

“I looked at where I thought we could get sevens and worked to that. Movements which we are good at are nearer the judges, and the not so good ones at the far end. e’s also more supple one way, so changed our fi nale up the centre line to take advantage of that.”

Their test covered the compulsory movements fi rst. “We put any extra’ bits at the end, as the marks come from doing the basics right.

While she hired a x m to practice in before competitions, ulia rides to the music at home in a x m and works on transitions and test movements in the smaller arena.

She says the music really adds interest for Elvis, and helps with rhythm and regularity. They’re now working on the next oorplan for their step up to Elementary. Elementary.

ABOVE: JULIA CASE AND DYLASAU DAS HARRIS, SEEN WARMING UP, WERE PETPLAN EQUINE SUMMER NOVICE BRONZE FREESTYLE CHAMPIONS AT THEIR FIRST ATTEMPT.

TOP: THE HALTS AT THE START AND FINISH ARE WORTH 20

rein or end of the arena that you want to be at, you can be creative with half circles back to the track for instance.” loorplan symmetry and ow are important, as is making each movement very clear. Judges won’t know your test, and must ensure each compulsory movement is completed, says Sophie. “A symmetrical plan helps the judge anticipate what is coming next if the test doesn’t ow they will be guessing. It’s good to make it exciting, but you don’t want to keep the judge on their toes wondering what they’ve just seen. Make it really clear.”

Using the whole arena is key, and while the music is what determines where a transition occurs, rather than a marker as in ‘normal’ dressage, consider where you will make transitions to ensure they are not directly before or after compulsory movements in case you happen to be in front or behind your music on the day.

In a transition to canter, for example, Sara points out that planning this between M and C and then a 20m compulsory circle at C will not give much time to sort things out should your horse strike off on the wrong leg. It would be ‘safer’ to canter between M and C, and then have the 20m circle at S, for instance, so there is a second opportunity to get the correct lead between C and H without aff ecting a compulsory movement.

RIGHT: PARALYMPIAN SOPHIE WELLS ADVISES

LOOKING AT YOUR HORSE’S STRENGTHS AND

WEAKNESSES, AND THINKING ABOUT ANY MOVEMENTS YOU PARTICULARLY ENJOY DOING.

• Compulsory movements: These are the elements you’ll need to show in your test. • Time limit: Freestyles have a maximum length, design your test to show your horse’s best bits. • Find the beat: Choose music where the rhythm matches the feel of the pace. Then make sure tempo and beat match your horse’s footfalls. • Music matches: Find what suits your horse’s body type, paces, and style of movement, this will enhance your music marks.

“At novice level, make the medium trot obvious, even if the horse isn’t that good at it. Don’t ride it coming towards the judge – instead, go for a short diagonal where you can balance the horse round the corner, push them on across the diagonal and bring them back.”

Using the arena creatively, for instance, a diagonal line from the centre line or using the three-quarter line will give a point of diff erence, says ophie. he also designs oorplans so there is scope to cut off the end of the arena or make changes if the test is riding diff erently to usual.

Riders on ponies, which inevitably cover less ground than a large horse, may need to work quite hard to ensure all compulsory movements are covered in the time allowed, says Sara. nce you have formulated a oorplan, fi nd a x m arena to practice in, and ask a friend to come and video it, ideally from C so you can see what the judge sees. Ride it a few times, even in a few diff erent arenas, to ensure you are happy with it before getting the music done, says Sophie. “Also ask a friend or your trainer to ensure they can clearly identify your compulsory movements.”

Above all, both Sara and Sophie stress that your oor plan and music should be something you and your horse enjoy. While it is being judged, Sophie advises against trying to please the judge too much. “Do it for you and your horse – you need to have feel and empathy and to enjoy riding it.”

Download your pdf copy of the Petplan Equine Area Festival Freestyle advice brochure from the Petplan Equine Area Festivals page of the BD website.