After I have that figured out, I will frequently and randomly throughout the day and for several days prior, run through the test in my head. If I forget something or can't remember how it goes, I bring the test up, refresh my memory, and then close  it and try a few more times.

 

I want to be able to know the test well enough to be able to run through it in my head without mistakes and without hesitation. Because much of the quality of your next movement will be predicated on the movement prior. So you need to be able to know exactly what is next in order to prepare before you get there. (This is also why you'll never see me with a "reader" at pure dressage competitions. Personally, I think it is a little tacky, but mostly because I want to know far in advance what I'll be doing and how it all relates). For example, if you have a medium trot across the diagonal to a halt at C, you need to be preparing for that halt before you turn the corner.

So how do I actually memorize the test itself?

 

I can't speak for everyone's brain and their successful learning habits, but for me, I like to memorize the movements in relation to the *location* in the arena, not the specific letter.

So what does this mean?

 

It means that I don't get caught up in memorizing if a movement is from S to P. I memorize that I head across the "middle diagonal". If I already know the movements on how I get to S, then I'll be A) heading in the right direction, and B) be at the correct part of the arena. So all I actually need to know and memorize is that the next movement is, for example, a free walk; and that it is across the "middle diagonal". (This is my term for what I call the location from S to P, P to S, R to V, and V to R). At least to me, it makes a lot more sense than memorizing specific letters that have no meaningful relation or pattern to each other.

 

A glossary of other terms in how I memorize my tests. You can use your own, but this is how I describe it:

-Middle letter: this is E or B

-Extra letter: this is any of the RSVP letters that get added when you upgrade to the 20x60 arena

-Corner letter: pretty self-explanatory - these are MHKF

-3/4 (three-quarter) diagonal: in terms of the full 20x60 arena, this is the diagonal that does not go from corner to corner, but rather one letter in to the corner, or vice versa (i.e. K to R, or S to F). I will often differentiate between starting at the corner versus starting at the 2nd letter by saying "2nd 3/4 diagonal" to mean that I start at the 2nd letter in. If I start at the corner, I usually just call it the 3/4 diagonal.

-Similarly, I also say the "3/4 longside" or "2nd 3/4 longside" to signify a movement that takes place in the large arena down the longside but not the entire length. Oftentimes, you may have a lengthening/medium that takes place, for example, F to R (3/4 longside), or P to M (2nd 3/4 longside - signifying that I wait until the 2nd letter out of the corner)

-Middle diagonal: as described above, this is in the standard arena, going from R to V and S to P, or vice versa.

-Half diagonal: from corner to middle letter or vice versa. This is applicable in both the small arena and the large arena.

-Middle longside: this would be a movement from S to V, or R to P, or vice versa. (Such as a shoulder in)

-For centerline letters, I usually describe it in relation to turning onto the centerline or being close to the judge. For example, if you turn onto the centerline at A, and then have a leg yield L to M, I would say "2nd letter leg yield to corner". Or if you halt at G: "Halt at end". If you halt at I: "Halt 2nd letter from judge".

 

You can use or come up with your own terms for all of this, I know it may seem daunting to read it, but as I said, I just use it to memorize where my movements are in relation to the arena, not trying to memorize a specific letter, which is much more confusing to me.

 

Stay tuned for Part 3 for a full example of how I would mentally describe a test in my head to memorize it and perform it!