It's Going to be All Right

This week the new 2019 dressage tests came out. I figured I'd go through some of my first impressions just for fun. I also figured I'd use Arrested Development gifs to do it because why would I not?

I'm going to just go over the major changes. There are some minor ones to some of the tests where the movements are the same but reversed or there are letter changes. To be perfectly honest, I didn't read every single test with it's old version open and compare. I just didn't.

But I totally read them enough to have an opinion though, okay?

My facebook notifications when the new tests came out

The introductory tests are basically the exact same. Same with Training 1 and Training 2. I'm supportive of not changing those tests. Training 2 is a fabulous test, in my opinion.

Woohoo less new tests to memorize!

Training 3
I do like that they added the three loop serpentine rather than keeping the loop. First, on a nutty young horse, a serpentine a) gives you more time in the court and b) gives you more time on a curved line in case your horse decides to explode. They also take away having to ride the canter across the diagonal, which is nice on a young horse with a giant canter. By far getting through that short side in that canter was the hardest part of Training level.

I do kind of think that the loop is important for riders to learn to ride... though I think given where I am as a rider, I prefer the serpentine. The next time I show Training 3, it will probably be on a nutty young horse. It'd be nice to see that loop show up in the rider test for this level. I, er, didn't look to see if they had new rider tests.

Thanks for more time in the court, T3

First 1 & 2
They kept these tests pretty much the same too. I'm happy about that as well!

I hate change

First 3
I hate what they did to this test. IMO the trot work is too easy in the new test. I think that the leg yield zig zag was a wonderful movement. If you're sitting there celebrating that you never have to do one of these, you're wrong. Learn to do this movement. Learn to do it well. Not learning how to do it properly will come back to bite you in the half pass and in the half pass zig zag. There's a reason why it was included in the first place.

LEARN YOUR FUCKING ZIG ZAG

Second 1
I think the changes they made to this test are GREAT. There are no canter to walk transitions and only two walk to canter transitions. I did think that asking someone to do a walk transition out of counter canter in the first test you ever ask for a canter to walk in was kind of asking for some shit. Most horses won't find that difficult, but riders sure fuck it up royally (myself included).

My only qualm is that maybe people will just do this test and then skip through to Third without truly learning how to do a canter to walk transition. But that happens already, so whatever. But seriously, just like the leg yield zig zag, canter to walk transitions happen for a reason so learn to be real fucking good at them. I don't know a horse with a halfway decent canter pirouette that can't do a bomb ass canter to walk transition.

Probably my favorite change is making this test more accessible
Not that TC and I had any issues with the old test, but man I can
see this being a big help toward a lot of First Level + riders

Second 2
I'm quite disappointed with Second 2. The trot work is pretty much the same, which is fine. I liked how that rode when I rode it earlier this month. For the canter work, they've basically taken 2-1 and put it into this test: simple changes in a serpentine and then just going across the short diagonal and down the long side for counter canter. I'm not cool with this. This means that 2-3 is the only test with what I'll call "real" counter canter. I mean, you can crank the horse's head to the side in this pattern, but doing a full half 20m circle in counter canter requires you to actually ride it mostly properly.

Plus, it's the same pattern as 2-1 except that now you do a canter to walk vs a canter to trot transition. I dunno, it feels repetitive if you were to ride both tests in the same day, which I plan on doing.

Literally there is only ONE test with REAL COUNTER
CANTER??????

THEN as if they want to kick me when I'm already down, they have you end with medium trot on centerline. Fuck that. I hate this test.

Why do you want to see my sad, strained face in medium trot
on centerline???

Second 3 & pretty much all of Third Level
Why change something that's already perfect?

I love you, 3-1, you're written so well (except that damn trot half
pass pattern, it's not steep enough!)

Fourth 1

There is only a minor change in this test but it makes me happy! Instead of picking up the canter right after a walk pirouette, you get to turn off the line and go to C before picking it up. I think that's really exciting. 

THANK YOU especially as someone who has
a horse who gets slow in the walk pirouettes

Fourth 2

They left this test the same, which is fine... When I had to do 4-2 it included working half pirouettes but these are much better. I'm torn between being like "if I had to do this shit, so does everyone else" and also thinking that 4-2 doesn't look so un-doable for TC in the next couple of years...

Maybe half working pirouettes?

Fourth 3

I had such high hopes for the 4-3 guys. The last time they made changes I was just fucking not having it. Luckily I didn't have to show it since I didn't have the horse to do it. 

Me about the 2015 4-3 test

This time I'm painfully aware that TC will (hopefully) be showing this test. I need to do it for All Breeds, I need to do it if I'm doing regionals... ugh. 

When I have to do 4-3 on TC

Alright... they did do one thing I like. They took out that fucking double rein back bullshit. My horse will hopefully be the most perfect animal by then and be able to do any amount of rein backs in a row, but I'm really glad they took it out. 

Before I read the canter work

They have left the other stupid movement in there that I hate: the 10m half circle in counter canter. Look, I get that a horse knocking on the door of Prix St George should be able to do a 10m half circle in counter canter. But just fuck that movement, okay?

They also took out the four tempis and just have three tempis on a double coefficient. This kinda sucks but kinda doesn't, and it depends on the horse. Rico and I (mostly me) were always better in threes than in fours, so it'd be nice to get 2x the score for the threes and just not have the fours. BUT there are fours in PSG so why not have both or just the fours in 4-3? I don't understand. 

Where are the fours???

Generally, my feeling toward 4-3 remains the same. I hate it. And now I have to ride it. Like this particular version of it. Ugh. I don't want to do it. 

Please no