Starting Jumping...eek!

[Bubbles1989]

Well my Riding Instructor told us that on Wednesday we're gonna start jumping, obviously only a few small jumps but i'm really starting to worry! It seems everytime we do something new i fall off and i would rather not fall off whilst jumping (i know its inevitable really but not on my first attempt!), i'm already on the biggest horse there if i then fall off during a jump i fear i might actually do some more damage then just cuts and bruises!! Can anyone give me some advice on how to sit on my first attempts? and how to make sure i don't go flying out of the saddle!!! I know nothing about jumping at the moment so any advice will be great!! :)

[wanabe]

I think you've built up the danger of falling off beyond what it really is -- on small jumps. The bigger the horse, also, the less you'll feel the jump. The first time I took a cross-pole jump it was on a 17.1 HH gelding and I hardly felt the jump!

I'll tell you here before your RI does! Don't look down at the jump -- eyes ahead on some distant object. Heels down even more than ever. Don't anticipate the jump -- keep a stable body position and let the horse come up to you.

[sockonmyhead]

what wanabe said about jumping big horses is very true! i got used to jumping 15hh+ horses in the school, and today was put on a 17hh+!!! instead of jumping over the fence, he kind of stepped over it! :rolleyes:

don't be frightened of jumping. i started riding in february this year, and over this summer began jumping. my first jump was a xc fence :eek:! has your instructor gone through position with you? if not, they really should! i had been trotting and cantering in two-point in the school for about 3 weeks before i went over the first one!

and as they say, the first one is always the hardest! i nearly died when mr RI told me that i was going over a jump, but she counted my strides in for me so that i could get ready in time, and raffles (the horse i was on) looked after me all the way!

if your RI is worth the money that you're paying, then they will be building you up to it!

all the best!

[Tally.]

Think of the jumps as nothing more than a raised trotting pole, the first jump will be so small it will really just feel like a skip, and once you have gone ove it you will be grinning from ear to ear :D

[Cobgirl]

Best to start with small trotting poles, then raised ones. I used to jump when I was a lot younger. I loved it then, but hey now I am 57 years old and jumping is not for me anymore.

Take your time and also if you are frightened, you will be more tense and you need to be relaxed and enjoy it!! If you do not enjoy it, then I would say don't do it as there is more liklihood that you will fall. But give it a go and you might just surprise yourself!

Best of luck and remember, breathe and smile!

[~*sugarlump*~]

for the first few jumps they'll probabaly be small enough that it won't feel any different to a trotting pole.
keep heels down and hold onto a neckstrap or piece of mane if you're nervous

just b-r-e-a-t-h-e, relax, you can do it, convince yourself that you can do it and you will do it, that usually calms me down. jumping is fun once you get into it.
if you tense up the pony will tense up too, so just remember to chill:p

[Lubii]

I love my jumping! its absolutly the best feeling ever.
To start with the jumps will be soo tiny that you will probably not even notice it, Your RI will most likely just get yo going over trotting poles first and build it up to trotting poles with a TINY little jump at the end.

Just remeber to look up, I used to have a terrible habbot of looking down at jumps and ill tell you now, my fall count wouldnt be over 100 like it is now if I had listened to my RI and looked up.

Being a RI myself I know that your RI will know just what you are capable of and know how far to push you without scareing you out of your wits. Have trust in us RI'ers it makes it soo much easyer.

Good luck and I hope you have a great time!

[x-horsemad-x]

1st of all breath!!
Being scared id natural, dont let it conrol you though!
DONT LOOK DOWN! its a horrible habbit to het into and hard to stop! ( took me months! ) It also means you are less likely to fall off!

Most of all enjoy it! It may seem scary but by the end of it you will be glad you went through with it!

[Jumperjunky135]

Dont worry just stay in the two point because its much easier than posting then two point all of the sudden ALWAYS look ahead never down and KEEP YOUR HEELS DOWN If your still not ready just tell your instructor and maybe he/she will let you do really small poles at a trot. or something like that.

[Jumperjunky135]

Ps.... I have jumped a ton more than 18" so I do know how to jump just sayin'.:) Hope it helps!



~M~

[cwb]

I did my first jump last week and as Tetley picks his feet up high anyway, we trotted over raised poles like they weren't even there!

So when it came to canter over them, I didn't even notice that the RI had changed them into an X pole jump - I just thought Tetley had got a touch bouncier in canter!!

Just don't worry about it - you will be fine!!

[Pibstar]

little jumps are easy!!!! not so sure??? like the others said does depend on the horse. has your RI got you to practive two point position in trot without anything in front of you? I used to sing "mississippi... M.I.S.S.I.S.S.I.P.PI mississippi" as I came up to the jump to keep my breathing as my mollie throws herself over the jump so no matter the size you feel it. Most Riding school horses wont be like that though.

[--CloverBbz-X]

Jumping can be really fun but to be honest I prefer flatwork myself :D.

But little jumps can be hard work aswell, most horses just step over them! As long as you have the position right and theory you are 90% there.

The only real thing is making sure you've got enough leg to get you over it. I can't count how many times I've fell flat on ma backside, its a bit of a shock but you get back on again and try and clear the reast of them.

Your RI will probs tell you to do some control exercises first to make sure your horse is listening to you. Then some trotting poles followed by raised trotting poles, then a small jump.

Jumping's great, everyone has their first jump at some point and there will be a million worse jumpers than you. lol thats what i always think when im ridin to giv meself more confidence (:

[titch_]

18 Feet or 18 inches???

now i reed that i feel like a twat! lol

[Suzanne2]

God jumping, shmumping, seems to be taking over my life. I stopped for 30 years - yikes so old -then started again. Was loving it until last week when hit the deck. Now having kittens about doing it again next week. Know if I don't will probably never do it again, but then again,why am I doing it at all? Help!

[cwb]

Probably because you can and life is too short to worry about doing what you ought to - just do what you want to and enjoy it!

[coverblown]

coming up to the jump think "smile, I'm loving this" as though you really mean it - and you will.........

[Bubbles1989]

haven't had a proper jumping lesson because its been too dark but had a lesson yesterday where they hadn't taken the jumps down, silly horse... everytime we cantered he went for a jump! The first was just a small one and he tried to leap over it which i sat fine but the second one was bigger it was a X pole jump and i PANICKED! I couldn't pull him away and my riding instructor was shouting 'not over the jump!!' i slowed him down to a trot and he barged his way through it!! Not too sure what he was thinking there but it was a laugh! :p (RI didn't want us jumping yesterday because the ground was reeeeally wet) I kinda wish i'd tried to take him over it but when you're not ready its a bit :eek: