Findings:Much to my amazement, lots and lots of people botched their spins (which should be fairly easy), however not so. So let's go over this, step by step.
- Walk briskly halfway (most people were just under, so I told my group to take an extra step further than they thought). Stop and let your horse settle for 1/2 second, before you begin your spin, assess your horse's body position BEFORE you ask for the spin, is your horse bunched up where you will need to pull him slightly forward? Is your horse stretched out where you will need to push him slightly backward as you spin? Make your adjustments as needed during your spin.
- As you hit the 300 degree mark in your spin, look up to see where you want to STOP spinning...those that didn't, over spun by at least one step and it was VERY noticeable.
- Trot off briskly and keep your horse at your shoulder as you round cone 2 and make a nice stop next to cone 3.
- Again let your horse settle for 1/2 second, assess your situation and perform the 225 turn (how much is a 225? basically they wanted you to walk straight at the beginning of your arc, so look up BEFORE you finish your turn to make sure you know where to stop).
- Walk a nice brisk pace, making your arc large enough to give you a straight line to the judge upon finishing, but not so large that it takes you a long time to get there.
- Stop an arm and a 1/2 lengths away, upon dismissal peform your 180, look up for your stopping point at about 160 degrees and look for a point at the end of your arena to trot straight away to. Many people under turned and trotted off canted to the left...if they had looked up and finished their 180 and found a spot on the wall to trot to they could have avoided this error.
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