When training, you should always carry your whip in your inside hand, so the left hand if you’re on the left rein, and right hand when on the right rein. Therefore, you change it over every time you change rein. But it’s different when you’re riding a dressage test.
If you change your whip in a test, it looks untidy and is a distraction for the judge. Also, you might compromise the accuracy of a movement whilst your reins are in one hand.
As you go up the levels, rein changes become more frequent, have to be completed in faster paces, and are included in more complex sequences, with no time before the next movement begins. You could end up looking like a baton twirler, flipping your whip from one side to the other all the time. Instead, pick a side for your whip and stick to it.
What about the salute?
Every test finishes with a halt and salute on the centre line facing the judge. At the end of your test, with your horse in a secure halt, you should display immobility first before saluting. This just means wait a second or two in the halt, showing off how well your horse can stand, before saluting the judge. The salute consists of dropping one hand down by your side and simultaneously giving a nod of the head.
You don’t salute with your whip hand. So, if you choose to carry the whip in your right hand, for example, here’s what to do when it comes to the salute.
Keep the whip on the right hand side of the horse, and take the top of the whip’s handle (along with both your reins) in your left hand, leaving your right hand free to drop down by your side in your salute.
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Happy riding!
