Most riders don’t fail the Beginner Novice to Novice move-up at the show. They fail it in the weeks before — when they convinced themselves they were ready without actually checking the details.
The jump in effort between these two levels is real. The fences are bigger, yes, but that’s almost the least of it. The combinations come faster, the ditch complexes matter now, and the dressage expectations tighten. And if either you or your horse has a gap in confidence or education, Novice will find it and make it loud.
This checklist is not about whether you’ve technically competed enough at Beginner Novice. It’s about whether the skills are actually there.
First: Stop Counting Shows and Start Assessing Skills
Three cleans at Beginner Novice is not automatic clearance for Novice. I’ve seen horses and riders with six clean runs at BN who had no business moving up — because those runs were happening on scope and boldness, not on actual training. And I’ve seen pairs with two solid BN outings who were genuinely ready.
The question is not “have we done this enough?” The question is “is everything working?”
The Horse Side of the Checklist
He’s actually adjustable on course — not just rideable.
This is the one that gets people most often. A horse can canter around BN fences with moderate steering and moderate pace and get around fine. Novice requires you to actually shape the canter. Can you lengthen two strides before a combination? Can you compress four strides to five without losing forward? If you can’t make those adjustments in a schooling session, you can’t make them under pressure on course.
Test: Set up a line and ride it in both the number it rides and one stride more. If your horse falls apart or argues, you’re not there yet.
He’s confirmed over ditches and water — not just willing.
Willing is not confirmed. Willing means he went once last month with a lot of leg and a prayer. Confirmed means he sees the ditch, maintains his rhythm, and you could have a quiet hand. At Novice, these questions come up in combinations. Your horse needs to have an opinion about water and ditches, and that opinion needs to be yes — reliably, not occasionally.
He is not over-jumping to cope.
Scope covers a lot of holes at BN. A bold horse can over-jump a fence and still make the distance to the next element. At Novice, that sloppiness catches up with you. If your horse is getting an inconsistent takeoff spot and compensating with his back end or his boldness, that’s a training gap, not a move-up signal.
His dressage score is in the low-to-mid 30s with regularity.
Not one good test. Regularly. BN dressage is forgiving. Novice tests ask for more: medium walk, more precise geometry, lengthenings that actually show some ground coverage. If your horse is scoring in the high 30s at BN and you’re attributing it to tension or ring nerves, that’s information. Fix it before you move up into harder tests.
The Rider Side of the Checklist
You can maintain your position when the horse makes a mistake.
This is the honest one. When your horse spooks at a fence, chips, or adds a stride you didn’t plan — what happens to your body? If the answer is “I get left behind” or “I grab the neck strap” more than occasionally, your position isn’t secure enough for Novice. Not because it’s shameful, but because at Novice the consequences of getting left behind are bigger. You need an independent seat that holds when things go sideways.
You can see a distance and act on it — or stay quiet when you don’t.
Rider-manufactured distances are responsible for a lot of stopped rounds and falls. At Novice, you need to be able to get to a good spot without micromanaging every stride. That means either your eye is working and you can influence the pace two or three strides out, or you know to leave the horse alone and trust the canter you set. Both are valid. Interference that makes things worse is not.
You have a plan for your horse’s spook response.
Every horse has one. Some go wide, some go green, some drift left. What does yours do, and what’s your automatic response? At Novice, you don’t have time to figure this out on the fly. You need a practiced protocol — leg here, hand here, half-halt before this type of question. If you’re still surprised by your horse’s reactions, you don’t have the partnership yet.
Your heart rate is not the problem.
I’ve talked about this on the podcast — the rider’s nervous system is often the weakest link in a move-up, not the horse’s training. If you’re running at a 9 out of 10 anxiety level at BN shows and hoping it’ll get better at Novice, it won’t. It’ll be louder. Do the internal work before you add the external pressure of a bigger level. That’s not optional.
The Combined Criteria
These are things that only show up when horse and rider are working together — and they’re often what trainers look for first.
Can you rate your canter between fences without a fight? Not just once. Every time.
Can you get a forward, connected canter on a circle and maintain it for sixty seconds? This sounds basic. Try it when your horse is looky, distracted, and you’re away from home.
When you had a bad distance at your last event, what happened next? If the answer is “the rest of the course fell apart,” that’s relevant. At Novice you need to recover quickly. One bad fence should not define the round.
Have you schooled Novice-height fences at home recently, more than once, in a non-ideal situation? Meaning: not perfectly set up, not ideal footing, not your horse’s best day. That’s closer to what shows actually feel like.
A Note on Timing
Summer is a common time to attempt move-ups because horses are fit and there are shows on the calendar. That’s reasonable. But fit is not the same as educated. If you’re checking most of these boxes but have a few gaps, school those gaps now — at home, in clinics, with someone qualified watching — before you show at the next level.
If you’re not sure where your gaps actually are, that’s the most important thing to find out before you move up.
Moving up is a milestone worth doing right. A clean, confident Novice debut builds momentum that carries through the whole season. A rushed one plants doubt that takes months to undo.
If you want a trained set of eyes to evaluate where you and your horse actually are — and what to address before you step up — I work with riders on exactly this in clinics and lessons. Come ready to get honest feedback and leave with a real plan. You can reach out and book at samanthabaer.com/contact.
