I do an exercise when teaching of putting something like a cone in the corners to show a rider that they must go outside it to be in the corner, but inside it to be on a circle!

You don’t want to go so deep into the corner that you lose impulsion and forward momentum. In basic training I always make sure a horse and rider are moving freely forward first before beginning more precise corners, as there is nothing worse than a lovely trot down the long side and then slowing to nothing in the corner!

Your corners need to look the same on both reins, ie the same amount of going into the corner and the same suppleness. Bear in mind in training this may take a different approach on each rein to achieve the same result. Lots of horses bend too much one way so will probably require being ridden straighter to achieve a truer bend while on the opposite rein they will need to be encouraged to bend more.

Use the corners to set up the next movement. For example if it’s a corner before a medium trot across the diagonal, use the corner to rebalance and sit the horse back on its hocks, don’t come flying round the corner on the forehand. If it’s a corner before a half pass, come around the corner into a few steps of shoulder in to prepare a good half pass, rather than thinking now what after the corner!

Different arenas are set up differently and be careful your horse is not confused if it’s not the same as home.  If in an indoor arena the correct size you will have the support of the walls, if a sparsely boarded arena marked out on grass there could be many big gaps and your horse does not know he must stay inside! Don’t forget to steer!

Practice makes perfect and again you can use some videoing to see what it looks like from a judge’s perspective. Good luck!