Seeing A Stride

[TS]

When jumping my instructor always says "see your stride" now I know what she means, but I can't see it! Sometimes my jumping is fine - I think this is more luck than judgement - but often it is like cat jumps.

Can anyone give me an easy way to see the stride?

[Danni]

I am delighted to see this topic on the bulletin board .... it is something I have been trying to figure out for ages! I hope someone out there can explain - thanks in advance !!

[DavidH]

I'm afraid there is no easy way to learn to see a stride. It takes a great deal of practice. You could use grids with 3 or 4 canter poles before the first fence. This will place the horse correctly each approach and in time the distances will become natural. Problem is the correct stride for one horse will be wrong for another.
The good news is..... you don't need to be able to see a stride unless you are jumping at a very serious level! What you should concentrate on is making sure the horse is back on its hocks with plenty of impulsion, not speed. Approximately 3 to 4 strides bedore the fence soften the contact slightly and keep your leg on. Let the horse sort out the stride for you. At worst the horse can only be 1/2 stride wrong. The bigger problem comes when riders try to anticipate the take-off point and then fold forward too early. This creates a sudden change in balance and puts most of your weight on to the horses forehand at exactly the time it needs the front end light to be able to come up. The outcome of this is generally a short extra stride which makes the jump feel very awkward. Try not to anticipate the take off and just let the horse come up underneath you. Contrary to popular belief it is not a serious crime to be little behind the horses movement providing you slip the reins allowing the horse complete freedom of his head. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't ride for a stride if you see a good one. Rather don't get hung-up about not seeing one. Relax and let the horse do the jumping. Your job is to get him to the fence with the impulsion to jump, his is to sort out the jump.
Good Luck

[fionahogg]

Try trotting into a small cross pole, then when you think you might be about a canter stride away, ask the horse to canter that last stride into the fence. Then when you can do this OK, canter the last two strides into the fence after trotting in. Then build it up to 5-6 strides - once you can do this, you should be OK with cantering all the way in. To start with, you could use markers on the 'edge' (know what I mean?!) of the approach to give you a guide as to where to canter. Also remember you will need to give the canter aid a little bit in advance to give the horse time to react so that you don't end up only cantering for half a stride!

Hope this helps.

Fiona.

[TS]

Thank you for your replies,I think I have been doing what David suggested so my horse is putting in a half stride, very uncomfortable! I shall try going with him and doing the other suggestions, we shall see how we go!

[fionahogg]

If you think you are anticipating take-off and therefore upsetting your horse's natural rhythm, try this if your horse is honest enough to stay straight and actually jump the jump! If he's not, then I wouldn't reccomend it!

On the approach to the jump look away from it so that you aren't looking towards the jump. Then, when you feel the horse take off, go with him into your jumping position. That way you don't anticipate take-off and the horse can just sort out his own striding and you also get a better jumping position because you don't tend to throw yourself over the jump.

[fionahogg]

Also if you do try this, remember to have someone on the ground, as you won't be looking where you are going so there is more of a possibility that things may go wrong...!!

[Maria]

As David says for fences up to 3ft or so (plenty big enough for me) you don't really need to see a stride - just have your horse going forward in a good rhythm and let the fence come to yoi.

The trend in teaching jumping has now moved back to focusing on the quality of the approach and also allowing the horse to think for himself and get himself out of trouble, rather than worrying about seeing a stride.

[nrob1982]

Showjumper Rob Hoekstra has a new video out in which he talks at length about this issue, saying far too many people waste their time worrying about seeing a stride.
He pretty much echoes what David said earlier on the thread, unless you're jumping at the highest level you shouldn't be concerning yourself about it too much. He says concentrate instead on a canter with an even rhythm. And Mr Hoekstra probably knows what he's talking about as he won the Hickstead Derby last year.
If your horse is cat-leaping it's probably because he's in too deep. This is usually because you've come into the jump too fast. If the canter speed is right, with a good rhythm, most horses will sort their own stride out. If you watch great jumpers like the Whittakers what strikes you most is their lack of speed coming into fences . . . even their jump-offs rely on tight turns rather than galloping between fences.
Of course, it's easier to talk about it than actually do it! Best of luck anyway.

Neil

[showjumper13]

Aha! I can help you with this. :) I learned how to develop my 6th sense for seeing my distance by learning how to count strides. Set up a low crosspole, in the middle of your ring, something really easy for you to jump. As you approach the fence, try and simply estimate. When you think you're 3 strides away, start counting. Go "1, 2, 3!", along with the strides your horse takes. If you're lucky, after the 3rd stride your horse will jump the fence. If you counted too late or counted too early, just approach the fence and try again! After a while, you'll get the hang of it and you'll be able to see your stride, and you won't need to count out loud. However, even up until now, I still count strides in my head. It's an invaluable tool, and my distances usually come out perfect. Good luck!! BTW, seeing your stride is not easy, it takes a lot of practice.