QUESTION: “I have an Appendix Quarter Horse and he loves to canter. When and after I am done warming up (our typical warm up is 20 minutes), I work him at a trot and he always tries to jump into the canter. My trainer told me to keep the outside rein on him and that does not help him. He still does it. What should I try now?
Answer submitted by Kerry Petty:
We are looking for when the rider's body is at the letter for a movement to be done. As for being late or prompt in general the higher the level the more we expect you to be accurate. However if you are at a lower level and you have between 2 letters to start the movement then you are expected to achieve the movement then.
Judges also take into account are you clearly asking and your horse not listening, are you losing the current rhythm or tempo as you are asking ( i.e. comments like hurried, sluggish, resistant to aids) or are the aids nearly invisible?
Probably the most common misunderstanding by competitors in judging at the letter is in thinking that no matter what it looks like it is better to do the movement or transition at the letter even if you have to kick or pull to get it. This is WRONG! Sacrifice some accuracy to show that the horse is balanced and calm when doing the movement or transition.
Answer submitted by Sue Hughes:
The movement should occur when the rider’s body s in front of the letter. The example of canter at C is a good one, but the free walk would have time to develop as the horse went across the diagonal. It should be sustained at its maximum from quarter line to quarter line. In some tests the rebalancing back to medium walk also is developed between the next two letters. The rebalance should be done more quickly – but still without tension – as the horse move up the levels.