Perfect practice
Perfect Practice
By Maribeth Dunlap
March 2009
I often give my students homework, usually something that we’ve been working on together, and something that they need to practice. I usually say something to them like, “remember, just don’t practice it - practice it perfectly.”
What is the difference between practice and perfect practice?
When learning a new skill, it takes about 100 repetitions to get it into your muscle memory. If you’re trying to over-come an old habit, then it takes about 10 times that, or 1000 repetitions to break the old habit and form the new one – or daily repetition for 21 consecutive days. So, first, it is very important to learn the new skill correctly the first time. And secondly, it is very important to practice the new skill perfectly so as not to form bad habits while programming the new skill into your muscle memory.
Perfect practice is, in many ways, learning to be a disciplined rider. It means not taking short cuts or the easy way out. It is riding with perfection and paying attention to every detail, large or small. Perfect practice means raising your standards, little by little, every day and every schooling session. You learn to expect a little more from yourself and your horse. You learn to expect nothing but your personal best and giving it your best shot. By practicing perfectly, you become more in-tuned and focused. Outside stimuli often disappears, your concentration and sensitivity levels rise, you’re better able to feel your horse, and all these things lead to a more harmonious partnership with your horse.
Practicing perfectly not only helps you to progress, but it also does the same for your horse. Like you, he also needs to practice the new skill perfectly to get it into his muscle memory. Perfect practice helps to establish a good work ethic in the horse and he learns much faster when the questions being asked are clear every time and do not vary, but remain the same. When you keep asking the same question, he is more apt to figure out the correct answer. When the same question is asked differently every time, then how can the horse answer it correctly? He can’t; he’ll most likely give a different answer, which only leads to confusion, frustration, and misunderstanding.
So often, riders ride inaccurate arena patterns. They take short cuts by cutting their corners, and riding sloppy circles. They often ignore the correct bend and having a consistent rhythm. They don’t pay attention to the details of the transitions and may not think much about their position and posture. Some riders come out to the barn more for social reasons. They spend their schooling time chatting about unrelated horse things and there is no logic, plan, or goal in their riding session. If you ride like this during your own practice time, then how can you expect to progress very quickly? If your instructor is reminding you, over and over, the same things during your lesson time, then maybe you need to think about how you are practicing.
You can begin perfect practice by the way you approach your schooling session.
Are you often rushed and struggle to find time to ride and school your horse?
Not having enough time is the first thing that often robs riders of perfect practice. Be sure to schedule enough time to do it right. If, after a long, hectic day, you still have only a limited amount of time to school, focus on one thing and do it perfectly. Don’t pick this limited time to introduce something new or work on something that challenges you. Rather, focus on something that you’re working on and coming along well. Spend the time perfecting and improving it. Use the time you have wisely.
Do you know what you need to practice?
If not, then ask your instructor to give you some homework. Ask her what you should be working on and what your schooling sessions should include. Most instructors give you a good idea of what you and your horse needs to progress, but, if not, ask.
Are you focusing on what you need to practice?
A good way to stay focused is to keep a riding journal. I ask all my students to keep a journal. At the end of a lesson, I usually ask them to give me three things that they learned or need to work on. This helps to wrap the lesson up and helps them to recall the main things that we focused on during the lesson. They then write these three things in their riding journal, along with the date, any questions that they have and want to discuss, and any other information that they choose to write in their journal. I ask them to do the same with their own schooling sessions and to refer to it often to help keep them focused on the work at hand and the ideas fresh in their minds. Review your journal and formulate a schooling plan and an idea of what you want to work on. Then practice it perfectly.
Imagine and practice perfectly.
Another thing that some of my students are very good at is to ride in their mind. They practice perfectly the new skills they’re working on in their mind. Try it and imagine riding the perfect half-halt and really imagine feeling the horse rebalance beneath you. Imagine sitting the trot with perfect posture. Imagine riding the perfect half-pass and feeling the power and strength of the horse. Whatever new skill or movement you’re working on, imagine practicing it perfectly. You’ll be amazed at the effectiveness of this exercise. Don’t imagine it less than perfect. Imagine practicing it, and practice it perfectly!
Ride accurate and perfect arena patterns.
One of the best things to learn to become a disciplined rider is to ride perfect and accurate arena patterns. This means that all circles are to be round, straight lines are to be straight, corners are not to be cut, figures of eight are to have two equal halves, and serpentine loops are to be of equal size. This also means that you must learn how large a 20-meter circle is and become comfortable riding it. This also goes for the 10-meter circle. You must discipline yourself to ride your horse on the track that you want, straight down the quarter-line or centerline. You must know when you are on the correct posting diagonal, and eventually how to automatically pick up the correct posting diagonal without looking. Practicing these things perfectly every time and every ride will help you to progress more quickly. Practicing these things perfectly is also good training for your horse. Riding perfect and accurate arena patterns has a great gymnastic value to the horse. It helps you and the horse to learn to stay on the aids as you guide him with your seat, legs, and reins. Using all your aids correctly to ride accurately helps to bend and frame the body of the horse. He learns to allow your aids to guide and shape him while you learn what aids and the varying intensities of the aids are needed to achieve your goals.
Become a detail-oriented rider.
Perfect practice means that you have to become detail oriented. Sometimes it is the little things that can make all the difference in learning a new skill, acquiring a better position, or learning a new movement. When schooling the lateral movements, it often comes down to the smallest details like the degree of the bend, maintaining the energy level, consistent rhythm throughout the movement, and the degree of collection. A strong and effective core makes all the difference in your ability to give an effective half-halt, which in turn, can make all the difference in schooling any movement. When it comes to dressage, it is about these little things, these tiny details that can make all the difference in the world.
When you practice perfectly, you give yourself the best opportunity to learn, progress, and achieve your goals. You spend the same amount of time either way, so why not practice perfectly right from the start. Don’t take short cuts or the easy way out. Don’t be a “slacker” as my one student would say. When you ride sloppy and inaccurate, you only rob yourself. You’re not spending your time, and if you’re taking regular lessons, your money wisely. So raise your standards, give it your best shot always, and expect your personal best every time. And always practice perfectly.
Photo: Maribeth riding Escarpa
~This article was written by Maribeth in March 2009 – All Rights Reserved - Used With Permission. ~
