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If you have a question you would like to ask the Trainers or the Judges, you can E-mail it to Janice at smithj6@core.com The question, along with the answer, will be added to this page, or to the Ask The Judge page

QUESTION: How can I tell when my horse and I are ready to move from showing in walk-trot classes to training level classes? Answer

QUESTION: On one of my tests, I had a comment that my horse swished his tail at the halt. How does that affect my score? Answer

QUESTION: What are the aids for a good, square halt? Answer

QUESTION: My horse is tight in his jaw and neck, how do I get him to be soft, supply and relaxed?   Answer

QUESTION: “When a test dictates a movement at a certain letter, for instance Canter at “C” or Free Walk “HXF”, what do you use to determine whether the movement is prompt, late or early? Should the change occur when the rider’s leg is at the letter, is it when the horse’s nose is at the letter, or is it some other determining factor?”  Answer

QUESTION: "If you don't have an indoor arena and want to try to continue progressing thru the winter months, what are some good exercises that horses and riders can do while riding in the snow?"   Answer

QUESTION: I am new to dressage and showing. How can I get a dressage headset on my horse in preparation for going to shows? What equipment will I need to purchase? Draw reins? Side reins? Special bits? Thanks for the help!  Answer

QUESTION: I have a hard time keeping my thumbs up when riding and my hands steady when posting. Are there any exercises or techniques to help correct my hand position?  Answer

QUESTION: When I do a circle, my horse drops his shoulder, how can I keep him more upright?   Answer

QUESTION: My dressage tests often have comments like "losing energy" or "needs energy", what sort of exercises or aids do I need to create and keep energy?  Answer

QUESTION: To get my high strung Thoroughbred focused, I do a lot of circles, swinging on and off the rail, serpentines, gait changes, half circles, etc. Anything but go straight down the rail and around. I find it very difficult to do these maneuvers when in a warm-up ring with all the traffic. Do you have any suggestions on what can be done in this type of situation to help the horse focus on me rather than all the distractions?  Answer

QUESTION: What is and how do you perform a half halt, and how is it utilized effectively? Answer

QUESTION: What is the right time to start teaching a training level horse lateral movements and what movements should be started first? Answer

QUESTION: When coming down the centerline and asking for the halt, how can you keep the horse straight? Answer

QUESTION: Could we have a discussion on balance, rounding, collection: when and how? Most riders in training level are concerned if their horse is not "collected". Perhaps a discussion of when a horse/rider is ready to round the horse, and why it is not necessary/required at training level? Answer

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