Classes

[Anne]

Have just watched a jumping class at my yard and thoroughly enjoyed the whole 2 hours .... I love watching experienced riders ... it's amazing how different every rider and horse looks!

The owner of my loan horse was jumping her new horse, and he has such a beautiful trot and canter and is just so elegant over the jump .... another rider was jumping a much heavier-set gelding, but he too was a joy to watch .... very controlled to the jump and then he seemed to float over very calmly and cleanly.

Another was riding a very excitable young gelding who kicked his hind legs in the air on landing and then bucked ... his rider was obviously nervous and although she jumped him over lowered poles, she eventually decided to retire .... I think she was incredibly brave to keep trying and I hope she won't give up ...

All the riders appeared to adopt slightly different postures both on approach and over the jumps, and I couldn't hear what the instructor was saying, so I'm not sure whose was exactly right, but one thing for certain is ... they were all far superior riders than I can ever hope to be ... oh to be able to canter and jump as gracefully ... :(

Ah well, roll on next flat lesson :( :)

Anne

[DavidH]

Hi Anne,
I have to agree that watching a horse jump well is a sight for sore eyes, but I don't believe there is such a thing as a superior rider, only more experienced riders! In time anyone can gain the knowledge and experience to jump correctly if they really want to. So don't give up your dreams so easily. Remember how difficult it seemed just to sit on a horse at walk and how does it feel now? Keep working on the flat, that's where you spend 99% of the time when jumping.

[Wally]

Go and take a long hard look at the best in the world. How many of them maintain a perfect position over every jump? There is theory and there is practice. You are not always presented with the perfect jumping horse, even the best show jumper can fluff it. So long as you are secure in the saddle, you don't intefere with the horse as you jump and you are happy, go for it. Some times the only way to stay on and not hinder the horse is to throw away the reins and lean back and look and feel terrible. But the fact that you can adopt these unorthodox positions means that you are an adaptable rider. maybe not pretty or graceful all the time but balanced and sympathetic.
Practice the perfect position and listen to your instructor but don't worry if you are not always graceful.