Member update: BD Test Plans

Following feedback from members on the BD Test Plans, we have conducted a full review and can now update members on some important revisions.

The new BD test system has been in operation for six weeks since the start of the new season on 1 July 2024 and we have received constructive feedback from our riders, coaches and judges. A team of volunteers have worked with our office staff to undertake a full review of the test plans, to ensure that the diagrams are a correct visual representation of the movements.

As a result of this review, we can confirm that updates are required for six of the test plans at Novice and Elementary level, as detailed below, to clarify the movements required. These will be reissued automatically to anyone who has previously purchased a copy of any of the test plans affected, whether in physical or digital form.

Please note that these amendments apply to the visual test plans only: all written tests and score sheets are correct, and no changes are required. Therefore, the tests that were available to download for free, from 1 December 2023 to 2 June 2024, are not affected.

Replacement copies will be provided for the following six test plans, to bring these in line with the written versions. A summary of the changes to each test has been provided below:

Novice 2

• Additional transitions have been marked on the diagrams for movements 7 & 14.
• The wording of movement 13 has been amended to read: ‘FM Show some medium canter strides’.
• The diagram of movement 19 has been amended to only show the halt and movement 18 has been adjusted accordingly.

Novice 4

• The wording has been amended for movements 6 & 12 to improve clarity of the give and retake requirement.
• Wording for movement 13 has also been updated to read: ‘P Working canter’.
• The diagram of movement 17 has been amended to only show the halt, and movement 16 has been adjusted accordingly.

Novice 6

• The wording of movement 16 has been amended to read: ‘KLB Change the rein in working canter’.

Elementary 4

• The wording of movement 17 has been amended to read: 'M Transition to collected trot, MC Collected trot'.
• The additional transition has been marked in the diagram of movement 18 for clarity.

Elementary 5

• The wording of movement 21 has been amended to show the correct directions for half 10m circles.

Elementary 6

• The wording of movement 23 has been amended to show the correct directions for half 10m circles.
• The diagrams for movements 5 & 9 have been amended to show trot I-X as part of the movement.  Movements 6 & 10 have been adjusted accordingly.

Any members who have purchased a physical copy of these test plans, either individually or as part of a set, up to and including 7 August 2024, will receive an updated replacement copy free of charge.  Please allow up to seven to ten days for delivery.  We appreciate your patience and understanding while we get these dispatched.

Members who have purchased a digital copy of these test plans will receive a link via email so they can download a replacement free of charge.

All test plans purchased via the BD shop in either digital or physical form from 8 August 2024 onwards will have included the correct updated versions of the six tests, as detailed above.  Any minor typos or grammatical errors that have been noted as part of this review have also been updated on the download options online.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all members who have provided feedback on the BD test plans, as well as our team of volunteers who have generously given up their time to conduct a full review and provide expert feedback on the visual representations of the BD tests.

The BD test plans are available from the BD shop in three formats: standard, large font or judge’s view from C. These can be purchased individually, by level, or in bundles. Written test sheets without the diagrams are also available in either A5 or A4 (large text) printed formats. All physical test sheets are printed on coated stock.

All BD tests are also available individually for download, so you can choose to view and save on your mobile device for easy reference or to print via computer at home.  Please visit the BD shop on our website for the full range of options available.

BD SHOP

If you would like a reminder on how the test changes affect championships and qualification for the remainder of this year, please click the link below to read the BD test change summary published on Thursday 27 June.

BD TEST CHANGE SUMMARY