Give It a Go Days a Dressage Canada Initiative

Give It A Go Days – A Dressage Canada Initiative

OnAugust 10 and 11, Dressage Winnipeg with the help of the Manitoba Horse Council and Dressage Canada, will be hosting Give It A Go Days at Bird’s hill Park.

All riders with a Manitoba Horse Council membership are eligible to give dressage a go. Riders , who have dressage experience, will be able to ride the test of their choice

and learn how to improve , given the help of an experienced senior dressage judge.

The Dressage Canada Give It A Go program is designed to encourage participation and provide a fun, non-competitive, stress free environment to

experience dressage and support the development of Canadian athletes and certified coaches across the country. This

program is being piloted first in the Atlantic Provinces, Manitoba and the Yukon, untilNovember 1st, 2013, During this

piloting phase Dressage Canada will test the interest in the GIAG program. Once the program has been successfully implemented in these areas,

it will be extended to the remainder of the Canadian provinces.

PROGRAM DETAILS

Dressage clubs may apply to host a Give it a Go Day in their area with either an Equine Canada certified

or provincially certified dressage judge (any level of certified dressage judge is acceptable). DW has secured the services of Doreen Horsey , a

senior dressage judge for the two day event in Bird’s Hill on August 10 –11.

Give it a Go Days are defined as non-competitive education / development clinics for riders and certified coaches

of all ages and skill levels. Participants register for the clinic directly with their club and

ride a Dressage Canada test of their choice (Training Level – Fourth Level) in front of a certified

dressage judge (any level of certified dressage judge is acceptable). The judge will provide feedback to the rider on

how to improve their performance in the ring. The rider will have an opportunity to work with their personal coach

to improve their performance based on the feedback received from the judge. The rider will then have the

opportunity to ride the same test again in front of the judge to measure improvement. No prizes, placings or

scores will be ranked during Give it a Go Days. Each rider will be allotted 45 minutes for:

A) the first test ride ( of the test of your choice),

B) discussion with the judge and practice for the reride,

C)the final reride of the same test before the judge.

Auditing of this clinic is free. The fee for this will be $75.00. If you choose to ride again on the second day,

a further $75.00 fee will be charged. Stabling is available at a cost of $27.00 total for the one or two days. If you do not want to

stable at the park, you may hand walk your horse, or tie it to a trailer in a designated area. If you choose to tie your horse to your trailer,

it must be supervised by an adult at all times. An entry form must be completed and returned to MerelynHunkin, DW Chairman. See

entry form for details.

BENEFITS

Give it a Go Days will benefit the entire Dressage Canada membership through the following opportunities:

• Encouraging participation in a fun, local, non-competitive environment;

• Access to a series of approved tests designed especially for the development of the dressage horse and rider;

• Providing a fun and supportive environment for participants to experience dressage;

• Developing and educating riders with emphasis on skills development and training;

• Increasing coach knowledge;

• Recognizing improvement in dressage test riding, equitation and mental training skills in riders;

• Rewarding improvement over winning.

This a great opportunity for riders in Manitoba, be they dressage club members or not, to give dressage a try. The tests for this opportunity can be taken from the Dressage Canada omnibus for 2013.If riders do not currently have access to these tests,they can be found on the Dressage Canada website, or by contacting MerelynHunkin, DW Chairman . The tests start at training level, which requires riders and their horses just to be able to walk trot and canter in both directions. Again, if you need any explanations of the tests or need an experienced caller for the tests, DW will try to help riders, so that they have a positive experience in dressage at he Give It A Go days!