right important desicion made.. need your help esp wj

[Merlinz gal]

guys im turning to you,

when merlins fit and jumping again im going to start taking it seriously :) , if he can manage it maybe a few afilliated classes.
so the reason for this post.........

im looking to you guys for advice, on my position flatwork .......everything, i see all you guys like eventerbabe,rips,shaka and welshjumper doing soo well at things and i want to go far too im determined as muck and i dont care if i have to fall face first in the mud (so to speak :p ) to get there.

so any advice on my flatwork, jumping position etc is welcomed with open arms,

im going to post piccis of my flatwork on merlin and dancer so you guys can see my "true" style. so PLEASEEEEEE HELP :)

piccis on the way

[Merlinz gal]

http://img.photobox.co.uk/0460667648fd17a6ecb47239ca7b7600ee0034f85af2e523b1b9f0a8.jpg

http://img.photobox.co.uk/869325687ddda9246f6a117d41c9bf170b7dcf8762097e73077a163b.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/dreamin_of_depp/aba01733.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/dreamin_of_depp/fb702deb.jpg

i will get more ridden piccis tomorow and possibly a vid

[Just.Jump]

Well I'm not a huge expert, but your heels need to be alot further down for sure. A good way to tell is if you feel crippled a bit the next day :p I have a tendancy to push mine down so far in english that my feet get cold.
Also, roll your shoulders back, it'll striaghten you up a bit and give you a more stable position. I can't see if your doing it on Dancer, but also, eyes and chin up :)

That whole ear, shoulder, hip, and heel thing needs to come into play here also, so your lower leg needs to move back just a bit.

I'm glad to see you're determined!

[jUmPingIsLifE]

flat work- your lower leg could stand to come back a bit. sometimes though this is the saddle putting you in an awkward position so maybe check to see if that that is causing you to sit like that. my saddle tips the rider foward and forces your lower leg back! however (not that those pictures are the clearest) i believe your heels are down. as long as your weight is in your heels it doesn't matter how far down they are, some people are not physically able to put them down so far. and if your feet go cold it means that you are shoving your heels down by pushing on the stirrup, this will tend to make you tighter and brace to much against the stirrup. take your feet out of your stirrups and see how far down your heels go (while staying in the heel-hip-shoulder alignment) and that is how far down your heels should be while in the stirrups. my old instructer used to put her figures in between my foot in the stirrup and make me walk on with my heels down and if i pinched her finger she would pinch me :D
in all your pictures you are looking down i think, that head needs to come up. it will throw you off balance. your head weighs 7-14lbs and if its down its going to pull your upper body off balance. the whole head down thing tends to be a problem for me too though so your definatly not alone there! there isn't so much we can help you though by using pictures and telling you what you can change, you need someone on teh ground watching you ride to catch you on your mistakes and correct them right then so that you can feel the corrections more, rather then picture them like you would do while reading the posts i think. so just keep up lessons (you were taking lessons right? if not its a good idea to start!). however, you have a very decent position and you are a pretty stable rider i believe. i wont say anything on your hands/arms since we went over that enough when you posted about merlins outline i believe and i wont bring it up again.

over fences-
its really pixilated and blury so not the easiest to judge.
not bad...you definatly look confedint but probably a little to eager. you have thrown yourself a bit and jumped ahead. it looks like your knee is straight, you need to bring your bum back and squat more then stand so that there is a bend in your knee. your back is nice and flat which is a plus, it looks as though you are using merlins neck to balance though. and like me your elbows stick out a tad. and *cough* look up :p

lots of gymnastics will be good for both you and merl too even when you guys get back into the swing of things and he is up to snuff. you could work without reins and stirrups. another exersize is jack your stirrups up 4-5 holes from normal jumping length and ride jockey style. that one is a favorite of my instructers i believe she uses it to keep you back, you really cant jump to far ahead like that without falling right off over the neck open your hands up so they are nowhere near his neck. hehe i just love these fun little exersizes my instructer comes up with...enjoy them :D

[charlotte+jill!]

Flatwork - hands up and bend at the elbow (geez im forever having that shouted at me :rolleyes:) and heels down.

Jumping - pole work with merlin would be good ob only when hes ready as it looks like hes got under the fence. So this would help him get his take off rite :) (i wont coment on your position cos mine is very far from perfect :) )

Best of like Affliating etc.. and getting merlin fit again :D maybe ill see you around on the sj circit :)

[eventerbabe]

ok, in that last piccie, your arms are way too straight and it looks to me like you are forcing your hands down. heels are also not in line with the good old ear/elbow/hip/ankle line. one little exercise to help with that is take away your stirrups, lift your right thigh away from the saddle for a count of 4. place your leg back against the saddle but try to open your hip and let your leg fall back. it may feel funny but it really works at getting your legs back to where they should be. do it with the left leg a few times, then do both legs together. its amazing how much your legs will grow in length doing this exercise! i totaly agree with just jump, your saddle may be throwing you out, i've recently found out my saddle has been doing just this so its worth getting it checked.

the jumping pic; looks like you've tipped too far forward and aren't in balance with him. this will come when you get your lower leg sorted and a completely independant seat. chicken arms look to be creeping in aswell, but that is easily rectified.

but i can't see anything much wrong apart from those few points :)

EDIT: i gave up affiliated jumping when i was still a junior. really didn't enjoy it as it had lost all its fun. just be sure to keep things fun and not take it all too seriously.

[Merlinz gal]

THANY you THANK you THANK YOU :D:D.


im going to get some piccis of me riding tonight (obv no canter or trot work :p) and a few vids of me trotting and walking :)

anymore tips?? :D

[baxter]

quite a lot of good instructors talk of showjumping as "dressage until you leave the ground" have lots of dressage lesson, establish your seat, change your pace within a pace, ie, trot, collected, extended, medium, working, same with canter, helps horses to work through their own ability of paces when approaching a fence...and with your riding, LOOK UP and where you are going, its a common mistake and one of mine too, but in jumping and dressage and in fact all disciplines, you should be preparing and looking at your next move, fence etc... good luck!

[Merlinz gal]

heres the vid from today :

http://www.clipshack.com/ClipList.a...d=17&viewmode=3

or if that doesnt work go to clipshack.com
enter the site

then categories,
horses
and its the first one there

[xXSundanceBayXx]

you could bend your elbows a little and put your leg s bit further back :)

[Bay Mare]

Flat piccies:

Your heels are fine, you don't need to have your heels right down and if you look at a lot of dressage riders you will see that their feet are pretty much horizontal. By forcing your heels down you'll only end up shooting your lower leg forwards.

It looks like your foot might be a bit too far into the stirrup though, make sure that the stirrup is on the ball of your foot (though it's probably a jumping thing ;) ).

Look up! Your head is the heaviest 'organ' in your body so having your head down is going to affect your weight distribution (plus you're not looking where you're going properly ... very important in jumping :) ).

Think about your upper arms hanging down beside you, relaxed and heavy, then let your lower arms come up as though they're light and wanting to float up. That might not make an ounce of sense but it's how my old teacher told me and it worked for me :) Your arms are too far forwards and too stiff at the moment, you definitely need to bring your arms back to your side (but not glued there, you still should be flexible).

You're hunching slightly which isn't helping your arm position (your hands are also too low, look at the mouth/reins/arm line).

You're in a slightly 'chair' seat, as others have said you need to bring your butt forward/leg (from the hip) back. It might be that the positioning of the stirrup bars isn't helping you though!

Have to go and do some work but in the jump pic you're throwing yourself up his neck. You need to think about weight into the heels, butt to the back of the saddle, back straight and release with your arms. You're 'folding' far too much for the height of the jump, it isn't necessary (or desirable) at that height :) Because you're too far up his neck your lower leg has come back which will make you unstable and is throwing your weight onto his forehand which won't help him get his front end up and over the jump. It's difficult to tell but it looks like you might be leaning on his neck, you need to think about releasing along his crest a bit more.

You're very brave, I'd never get critiqued apart from by my instructor :)

[Merlinz gal]

You're very brave, I'd never get critiqued apart from by my instructor

well i need opinions from all angles and people to improve, plus i cant afford an instructor at the mo and not hoing to have lessons untill we can atleast canter,:)

will work on things you have all posted about and i do try and put my leg back but its a bit uncomfortable in that saddle as its a jumping one and has the thigh rolls at the back of it to put my leg right for jumping :p

[eventerbabe]

MG, i know what you mean. my saddle is an Ideal Jumping saddle and is not conducive to flatwork! hence why i'm investing in a VSD or proper dressage saddle in the next few weeks.

a good instructor should be able to teach you, even if you can't canter just now. i spent my last lesson in walk, on a long rein and without stirrups and got more out of it than a lot of lessons i'd had in the past where we'd done much more fast work.

had a look at the vids, but they came out really small on my computer so couldn't see much at all :(

[Merlinz gal]

yeah it is a shame but its a beautifull saddle and very comfy ......plus i cant afford another saddle right now let alone lessons, but i did do some non stirrup work yesterday.......:eek: lets just say its not only merlin who has to get supple :p

i know sorry about the vids, i will try and get some batteries for my camera and take some on there.

as i say ive turned to you lot because I WANT TO IMPROVE and hopefully atleast make grade c bsja on merlin (pending on how he goes of course:) )

[eventerbabe]

MG, try some pilates to help loosen off your legs a bit. i took up pilates 3 years ago and its not only helped my back (the reason i was told to do it) but improved my flexibility and posture.

you are very ambitious, so i've no doubt you will make it to whatever level you want to reach :)

[Merlinz gal]

ok will do :D

i done some non stirrup work in trot tonight and after loosening up i was fine:D

you are very ambitious, so i've no doubt you will make it to whatever level you want to reach :)

aww thank you very much :D but i doubt i'll make the cut but im gunna give it my all :D

[Luv 2 Trot]

shoulders back, heels down, look up and stretch up, thats what im told. LOL

[Merlinz gal]

right all taken note of :D

did 40 mins riding this morning and 20 mins this afternoon(no stirrup) :D