New Tools for Old Art

I am aiming Starlight toward a September show and thought I might as well memorize the dressage test so I could focus our "arena" work (the quotes are there because any arena I choose to use around here is actually just the currently-most-dry corner of a hay field). 

Random image saved from a google search.

In the past, I drew countless numbers of little dressage arenas on paper, K E H C, etc., then drew my test over and over, using dashes for trots, lines for walk and curvy dashes for canter.   Sometimes I would photocopy the arena template, and make it a bit easier.

All of these methods worked well enough for me to memorize the test, but they were tedious, and wasted scads of paper.   

Recently, my lazy brain combined with an iPad drawing program and came up with a great way to memorize tests, so I thought I would share it.  This will only work for those who have an iPad or other touch-screen gadget, but I suspect that is quite a few of you.

Once the image is uploaded to my drawing program, I can start the trot with a purple "crayon."

I already had downloaded an app called Draw Free to my iPad, because I'm going to start a superhero comic, and I will be using the iPad to do it (I KNOW! Fun! Right?).  The cartoony little drawings that have accompanied my blog posts recently are examples of my attempts at drawing on the iPad, and by them, you can see my superhero comic is going to be uber sophisticated. 

Anyway, from there, I found a random image on the internet of the small dressage arena, downloaded it and used it as the "photo background" on my drawing program.  Using it as the background, I can draw the test on top of the image of the arena, erase it, draw it again, erase it, and so on, until it is firmly lodged in my little brain.

Love it!  Had to share!

Ahh, the completed test.  Anyone want to guess which one it is?  Hint: Think eventing.