Drill Riding 1

Drill riding can be a great way of getting more out of your schooling sessions and having some fun with friends as well. Put simply, it's sets of synchronised movements between riders, often performing mirrored type movements around the school. It can be great way of training your horse to turn away from and towards other horses, ride in close proximetry to others and to listen to you more for aids.

Even a simple movement like a change of rein, if you are riding side-by-side with another horse, is quite tricky as you'll need to adjust your horse's pace as you swap over from being on the inside to the outside. At the same time your partner will be having to do the opposite.

To start with drill riding you'll need at least 4 of you and horses that will behave themselves if ridden close to others as well as a marked out area to practise in.

Drill Riding can be performed in the following ways:

In single file - one behind the other
In succession - one at a time
By rides - the ride being divided in half
Double ride - both halves together
Whole ride - all together.

Start with simple movements, and decide on a numbering system so you know which team you are in when splitting up. You might just number as Team 1 (1 to 4) and Team 2 (5 to 8) or take odd and even numbers.

Note: when working in the school in opposite directions, rides should pass left hand to left hand to avoid confusion (and crashes).

A few tips for riding in teams

Select your two best riders/horses to be the lead of both teams. They will have a large effect of setting the overall pace and everyone else will be looking to them to know which way to go when they forget.
When you have split into two rides, make sure you know to which ride you belong, who your lead file is, and who is directly in front of you in the ride; this becomes very important and helpful with some of the movements.
When performing a movement opposite a partner who may be on the other side of the school try to keep your shoulder level with each other. Horses come in many different shapes and lengths, so if your and your partners bodies are level the ride will look neat.
When manoeuvring by rides, watch where the leading rider first moves off the track, and mark your 'turning spot' within the arena, so you have more time to prepare when you repeat the movement.
Start simply by going down the centre line and separating into rides Number 1 team going left/right and Number 2 team going right/ left.
Finally, it will be a great help to have somebody on the ground to call the movements and help you with positioning.

Movements to Start With

Splitting along the centre line

Click to see the animation (44k in size)

The whole ride turns down the centre line then divides into rides; even numbers go one way, odd numbers the opposite. By the time you reach the long side you should aim to be level with your partner on the opposite side.

Meet as pairs

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Aim to join up with your partner as you turn onto the centre line. This is a very good exercise to train your horse to turn towards and away from other horses as well as learning how to regulate your speed to keep together.

Pass left to left

Click to see the animation (52k in size)

Turn down the centre line in pairs, separate again at the other end of the school. Then, when the both the first and last member of the ride is on the long side, turn left/right across the school. This is where you need someone watching to call the turn. Both rides turn off the track simultaneously and the riders pass each other as they cross the centre line. Across the centre line, the Number Two ride passes to the left-hand side of the Number One.

Crossing over

Click to see the animation (54k in size)

This is where it gets fun! For this to succeed the riders must try to keep their distances and ride straight across the long diagonal, crossing at X (the centre of the school). The Number 1 rider goes first, followed by the Number 2 rider (opposite ride). Avoiding your partner by riding a curved or wiggly line means you are in the wrong place on reaching the far side of the school.

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