Flatwork / Dressage Beginner 15 min

15-Meter Circle at the Trot

Focus: Accuracy, Bend, Balance

Equipment: 4 cones or markers

Place four cones marking the quarter points of a 15-meter circle at E or B.
Pick up a working trot and begin riding the circle, aiming to pass directly over each cone.
Keep your inside leg at the girth to maintain bend. Your outside leg sits just behind the girth to prevent the haunches from swinging out.
Use your outside rein as a supporting rein to control the size of the circle. Avoid over-bending through the neck.
Ride 5 complete circles, then transition to walk and check your horse for straightness on a straight line.
Change direction and repeat on the other rein. Note which direction feels easier for your horse.
Progress by riding the circle without cones, then checking your track in the footing.

Making an egg shape instead of a true circle because the horse drifts toward the gate.
Over-bending the neck while the shoulder falls out, creating a bulging circle.
Sitting crooked with more weight in the outside stirrup.
Rushing the tempo as the circle size decreases from 20 to 15 meters.

Shrink to a 12-meter circle for 2 revolutions, then leg yield back out to 15 meters.
Add halt transitions on the circle, maintaining the curved track.
Alternate between 15-meter and 20-meter circles at the same arena letter.

Tip: Think of your circle as a clock face. At each quarter point, briefly check: is my horse's body uniformly bent from poll to tail?