Harry Potter gymnast and dragon charmer.

13. Jumping Course Tips

Showjumping: <<<<< list of riders elites in bold. riders name-horse

Dove - cracker

Hannah - Quinn

Blaire - tango

Hugo - mayhem

Willow - starburst

Jace - robin

Cross Country:

Arianna - autumn

Onyx - jet

Harper - starlight

Leo - moonlight

Dixie - nemo

Zane - fasts sparks (sparks)

Fortunately we have been doing these half days for a while and I sometimes teach the higher up groups so I do get to know there names and such. But if the worst comes to the worse I can always call the horses name instead.

Breack ended quickly and with that started the next jumping session. I watched as the riders tied up there horses on the smaller arena then went and started to assign people to certain jumps and all that. They had obviously done something like this before as they first laid out the jumps on the floor before starting any kind of height.
Whilst they were getting along with that and then putting them all up to a certain height that was within all their comfort zones, me and the girls were in the smaller arena putting up a small practise jump.

Eventually the entire course was up and everyone settled down to lisen to what I have to say. I know I am very important.
"so as you know this is the last but of competitive course jumping you will do today." this got a selection of groans from the riders. "but don't worry the girls have a fun activity planned for you in the after noon. And no it's not more drills. I know that is what teachers all think are fun but I promise you this is acturally fun." I said with a smile as I had caught some of the apprehensive looks I was getting." so back on topic. In a bit you guys are going to walk the course trying to find the fastest and most efficient route for you and your horse. I have a few tips to give you for when your are walking it and these are them.

1. Know your goal

Before you walk into the ring, it's essential to have a goal in mind. Are you trying to win the speed class?

Is your only goal to have a clear round, no matter the place? Do you just want to get over the whole course without falling off?Or are you going to let an inexperienced horse learn his job, even if it means knocking a few poles?All of the above will change the way you ride the course and the risks you're willing to take in terms of approach, turns and distances
(taken from https://www.fei.org/stories/lifestyle/teach-me/4-tips-walking-showjumping-course all the tips are)

2

.Plan your ideal line
While things might not go exactly to plan in the ring, it's always good to have your 'ideal ride' plan in mind.
So if you're walking a combination or related distance, position yourself at the point of the first jump where you want to aim to land (normally the middle, but this might change for a jump off course for instance!) and walk the exact line you want to take, right up to the next fence.
This tip is especially important on curved lines, as straying from the line you've walked could add in or take off extra strides.
So if you're planning on taking the inside line during a jump off, walk that line rather than the safe middle one so that you know what ride you're going to need to get there safely and easily.

3. Look around for any distractions
Look at where your horse will enter the ring, where you'll canter your circle before the first fence, and any spooky or distracting parts of the arena that your horse is likely to take notice of.
This might be a fence with a scary filler underneath, a fence where you're jumping from the sun into shade, or external factors like judges' boxes, grandstands, or banners.
If you know your horse is likely to want to drift towards the arena gate or shy away from the horseboxes parked on one side, make a mental note of where they are and be ready to correct the behaviour before it happens.
This one is not as essential for today as we arnt going to add in any deliberately scary factors but it's a good thing to thing about anyway.

4. Only walk the course once
There's no need to walk the course multiple times.
Do it once properly, and then take a couple of minutes to stand in the centre of the arena and go over everything in your head.
Make sure you know where the start and finish flags are, that you know what order the fences are in, and that you know how many strides and what lines you plan to ride between jumps.
If you get nervous right before you jump and fear that you might lose your way, then leave the warm up ring a few minutes early to watch 2 or 3 rounds and refresh your memory before you go in.
There you go that is my big massive speech done. So hopefully you all listened to those tips. Off you go and walk the course!" I finished with a smile. Those tips are ones I give to every show jumping class I have. They are also the main thing I tell to anyone. What can I say they are really helpful. Anyway for all you non horse nerds out there let me explain a few things for you. Walking the course is literally what it is. The riders walk the course on the route they are expecting to take. But I'm gunna be honest, you have a living breathing
500 kg animal under you, what could possibly go wrong...? But hey I'm not complaining.
Today we aren't looking to take the fastest route as we are looking for hoe they react to this technicaly difficult course they have designed.

Blaire on tango go first. She clears the first 2 jumps with a even and collected stride. Getting a good height over all of them and not showing up any problems. The 5th jump is where the problems start. It's a bright and colourful oxer with swirly wings (the side bits of the jump that hold the poles (the thing they jump over) up) to try and get a reaction out of the horse. But blaire handles it magnificently and pops tango over it without any trouble. She fines he's it with some faults (points you try and get the least points) because she had nicked a few down. But only 2 out of the 16 which is a very good round.

I watched the next few offering encouragement and tips for improvement after each of their rounds. Unfortunately though I couldn't stay and watch all of them as I still had to go and help the cross country group as I didn't want to just watch the end. so with a cheery wave and a good luck I headed off to flame to go and seek out my next group.

Please do comment if you didn't understand any of that horsey language... I tryed to exain but... Yea.