Carl Hester on how to ride the best test you can

Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro take their first look at the 2012 Olympic arena in London

“The biggest mistake is not riding in the warm up how you ride at home.”

“We try to have a warm up program that we take to the competitions. I don’t believe that the people you see warming up at competitions do that, and I’m probably not talking about the top level, more the lower levels. They don’t work on the relaxation, and they don’t think outside the box either.”

Carl and Wanadoo settling in before the CDI at Jerez

“If your horse has a different personality at the show, you have to think of ways of treating it. People aren’t adaptable enough. The techniques you use for relaxation, stretching, walk breaks, things like that, a more competitive or nervous rider doesn’t pay enough attention to that. ‘I’ve got a test to do so I won’t keep stretching him until he’s relaxed, I’ll just get on with it.’ That’s pressure. If you are lucky enough to have a trainer, the trainer can’t always get to the ring with all of the students to actually say, ‘This isn’t what we do at home. Let’s go back and do what we do at home and build it up.’ Riders need to have a warm up program.”

Charlotte and Barolo going for a stroll at Jerez

“There are lots of little tips that can really help people, because when we consider what most people lack, it’s forward riding in balance. They either do forward riding out of balance, and then they take the impulsion away to make it feel better, or because it’s easier to sit to. It’s an awareness of the horse’s body, and how it moves, and at what pace do you balance it best. Because that’s what you’re doing with everybody. Teaching is, generally, we’re not talking about movements, teaching someone how to balance their horse, so it feels nice to ride, and it’s not a pulling, overbent, running mess.”

“You still have to stick to your basics of waiting until you get the stretch from the horse, waiting until you get your relaxation. That’s where people need a hand sometimes.”