??? jumping and a horse's outline???

[Bronya]

Really confused here . I always understood from watching top riders and from my lessons (get the horse off the forehand etc) that when jumping you ask for engagement from the quarters and an outline with a high head for turns between jumps, then release the horse once on an approach so it can raise its head and see the jump properly - say six or more strides away. The outline should come from the natural engagement and you have a light contact all the time. Right? Or wrong?

 

[Iron Maiden]

I don't worry about outline when I'm jumping, although I do try to get the horse working well when I'm warming up. The 'uphillness' you want for jumping won't necessarily be accompanied by the sort of roundness you aim for when you are doing flat work. When it comes to approaching the jump, I tend to check back about 5 strides out to get the horse onto its hocks then sit pretty quiet so the horse can focus on what its doing, but keep a contact so it doesn't fall onto its forehand.

Here's Flynn going xc last season, he's not exactly on the bit but he's certainly uphill and he feels like a boingy rubber ball, it's fabulous!