| Here is a question I get all the time about the riding | | | | studying my videos from the show I realized that |
| your freestyle at home vs. riding your freestyle at a | | | | Dream Lady was GROWING at the horse show. Her |
| show | | | | adrenaline and eagerness at the show made the size |
| Question: | | | | of her stride increase... and not just a little. My solution |
| I have ridden my freestyle a number of times in | | | | was to reevaluate her pattern and match it to the size |
| competition. I have ridden it time and time again | | | | of her stride at the show and not to the size of her |
| perfectly at home and know my music very well. | | | | stride at home. |
| This is my question. I ride my test perfectly at home | | | | Having said that, you have to be careful to still strive |
| but when I get to a venue... I am ALWAYS ahead of | | | | for the horse's PERFECT BPM and not create your |
| the music!!! It's not a big problem because I know the | | | | music to a tempo that is too fast for your horse. In |
| music so well that we can 'adapt!!' But I am never riding | | | | Dream Lady's case, she was not actually going |
| the same pattern twice! Is there an explanation for | | | | "faster" she was just increasing the length of her |
| this? What can I do so that I know where I am going | | | | stride. In other words, she was still walk/trotting and |
| to end up in my pattern at a show or new arena? | | | | cantering to the beat of the original music, but she was |
| Answer: | | | | covering more ground with each step. That was why I |
| This is a very common problem. In fact, I had the same | | | | was ending up so far ahead of my music. |
| problem with my mare Dream Lady when I first | | | | Knowing this made it easier for me to create a pattern |
| started competition in the first level freestyle. I could | | | | that was more appropriate for her. Then I KNEW |
| also go through my test and pattern with the music | | | | where I would end up at the show and was not |
| over and over at home perfectly. Then when I would | | | | guessing and making things up as I went! Hope this |
| get to the show, I would find myself so much in front | | | | helps... |
| of the music I had time for an extra movement! After | | | | |