# Jumping Photos



## AKPaintLover (May 26, 2007)

I have a video of this same show posted for critique, but I thought this would be easier for some people to view, and catch things. This is my 8 year old gelding in his second season jumping. His rider is also in her second season jumping, and they actually learned together (I know, sort of a no, no). She has good balance, and is a very natural rider, but she is looking to refine her skills. 

Please feel free to critique my horse or his rider (with her permission). 

Backyard Jumper








Warm up
















Cute face shot


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## prettypalfrey (Mar 12, 2007)

Your horse is beautiful. What a lovely face.


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## ~MavvyMyBeauty (Apr 16, 2007)

*Right, i've never actually critiqued anyone before but here goes. 

First thing I notice is that her leg's slipping back, her heel looks good but if she could get her leg more underneath her, she'd have a more secure base of support. She's looking up and ahead which is good her hands seem pretty good too.

So anyone feel free to correct me if i'm wrong. >.<

Cute pony too. =DD.  *


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## brittx6x6 (Mar 4, 2007)

First of all that horse is drop dead CUTE!!! ha ha ha

1st pic
Rider: She is pinching with her knee causing her lower leg to swing back and her upper body to come to far in front of the pomel(front of the saddle). She has a good release and is looking up and for her next fence which is great.
Horse: Nice even legs and ears forward. I can't tell where exactly his back end is but it seems as if he is jumping a little flat.

2nd pic
Rider: This time she is not pinching with her knee, but her leg is still to far back. She has a nice long release, as she has loosened the reins so she is not in the horses face. Again she is looking forward and up which is great. 
Horse: Great front legs!!! He is alert and paying attention. 

3rd pic
Rider: She needs to shorten her stirrup a good 2-3 holes. Her leg has slid all the way to the horses flank and she is throwing her self forward. But she has a good release which is great and she is looking up.
Horse: Nice form!!! Great legs again!! ha ha ha and great expression

Overall 
The rider has pretty good form over the smaller fences. Just work on riding without stirrups and two point on the flat and it should fix her legs. I love her releases and she has an amazing back. The horse is drop dead gorgeous and I wish I could have him. He has a lot of scope and I can see with a little work that he will achieve it with no problem!!

Very good job! keep us updated


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## AKPaintLover (May 26, 2007)

Thanks for all of your responses  It sounds like the consensus is to work on keeping that leg from sliding back. I also noticed that her toes seem to be out in the photos where you can see them...I don't know it that should also be corrected or not...does that tend to happen with jumping position, or should she focus on toes straight ahead also? 

Thanks for the compliments on my boy  I also agree that my gelding can be quite a cutie...english is definitely his look. You should have seen me ride western with him before I leased him out...Kinda silly  Funny thing about him though is that he is not a "people horse" regardless of the cute faces he makes on camera or how happy he looks when jumping. He loves to work, and really likes that sort of attention from people, but don't try to go snuggle/nuzzle with him in the field or he will turn into what looks like a grumpy old man with ears back and wrinkled lips and everything. I learned this of him when he was three, and have just accepted his less than perfect personality...at least he really enjoys being ridden (in fact gets jealous when we take other horses out of the field, but not him)  Just no unsolicited attention please!


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## Delregans Way (Sep 11, 2007)

I am in agreeance with the above posts...he has so much talent (the horse) and same with the rider...  Very very nice!!


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## AKPaintLover (May 26, 2007)

Thanks


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## Mathew (Feb 5, 2007)

*2*

Hi um the horse just seems to hold his head up a bit high and is jumping a bit "hollow" but he is very nice


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## AKPaintLover (May 26, 2007)

*Re: 2*



Mathew said:


> Hi um the horse just seems to hold his head up a bit high and is jumping a bit "hollow" but he is very nice


Are you taking about the first photo? The second two photos seem like the head is in a decent position according to the body position at that point of the jump. I tried to imagine his head lower, and it seemed like it would make for an awkward position? 

As for the first photo, should they really lower their head and round out more, even over such a low, jump? I think that jumper course was timed, so maybe speed brought the head up and hollowed him out? 

input please


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## EquiSoup (Dec 20, 2007)

The first photo is painful, only because your horse looks so loose and scary in the front end. But I do believe it's just the picture, as the rest look much much much nicer. 
Rider does look like she needs more confidence building on the ground. Pinching with the knee, causing her leg to hinge backwards. This is a scary feeling and not secure. 
I do think both horse and rider look talented, but both may need a little bit more work on some jumping basics.


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## AKPaintLover (May 26, 2007)

Please clarify with me (I am no jumping guru  ) Could his fronts look "loose" in the front because he is beginning the landing? It was a fast paced jumper course - I don't know if this impacts positioning of the horse at all? I would think his front feet have to come down some time??

As for the rider, she has started some jumping instruction, and will hopefully continue. She is hoping to refine her skills and fill in the holes from where she taught herself to jump  I don't think she lacks confidence - but is possibly just less aware of her leg positioning during the jump - she has a habit of focusing more on the horse than herself (diagonals during flat classes is another issue for her  )


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## EquiSoup (Dec 20, 2007)

That first picture could definitely be because of the speed of the class. He's hollow and does look likes he's charged through it. The other pictures look fine though. I wouldn't worry about it unless it happens over every jump. I have plenty of pictures of my jumper jumping very similarly to that because he was rushing, when normally he's very tight.


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## TheStables (Dec 29, 2007)

Nice square and even knees. Jumps flat over the smaller jumps. Scopier over the bigger jumps. The rider's legs are swinging back, but good heels. I like the horse over the bigger jumps.


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## AKPaintLover (May 26, 2007)

Thanks. Jumping is really seeming to be his forte  These photos are from his second season - he really seems to have that desire to jump. He seems to put way less effort into the smaller jumps, but is really taking to the increases in height with his jumps. 

She has had to work a bit with him because she does both hunter and jumper with him, and as a result he sometimes tries to rush the jumps a bit - which may flatten him out. 

The critiques of her legs swinging back seems to be pretty consistent; she will be glad to have something concrete to work on.


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## regardinghorses (Oct 26, 2007)

Hey there! It's me again. It's good to see some photos and not just videos ... it's a little easier to see form here.

In echoing other comments, she does need to tighten up that leg and get it up closer to the girth. Rule of thumb is that the stirrup leather should always be perpendicular to the ground. Lots of two-point work (no leaning on his neck to support her weight!), and two-point without hands (maybe on a lunge) will help strengthen her leg position. Once they get more comfortable with the gymnastics, and if you have a safe enclosed area, she can try going through a gymnastic with arms out to the side. (To do this: be sure to tie a knot in the ends of the reins so that they don't hand down; have her set the reins down over the ground line, put both arms out and hold them their, staying in two-point, through the gymnastic, pick reins back up at the final ground line). These are both great exercises for strengthening that leg position. 

Even when jumping lower jumps, Dusty does need to round his back and tighten up the forelegs. This is a safety issue, so hopefully this was an isolated incident. Gymnastics with bounces are great for both of these.

It's ok to have the toe turned out a little when jumping, and in her case, doing so will help her to grip with her inner thigh and calf and not her knee. I always thought about gripping my horse along the inside seam of my jeans; that seems to click with some riders.

Also, he does need to lower his head and round his neck more to use it properly over fences. He isn't really using it at all in these photos. Alas, I'm not sure what exercises will help with this. 

I would advise against jumping fences with as much height as in the third photo until that leg and base of support is stronger.

To end with a good note: the second photo is definitely the best of the bunch. I love her flat, relaxed back, and eyes up. She looks very confident. 

Happy jumping!


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## Magic (Jan 4, 2008)

Cute hose. love the face! the rider just needs to keep those elbows in! 

good riding though!


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## AKPaintLover (May 26, 2007)

Regardinghorses: Thank you for the detailed response, I will forward the info to her (actually she will probably jump on my computer and check for herself next time she comes to ride  ). I got her a gynastics book for christmas and she has been reading that. She also pulled out her 101 jumping exercises for some practice. She has been doing a lot more flatwork and some low height jumping grid work this winter (often bareback because it is just easier with all that hair and such) - I actually think her form is best when she jumps bareback  We will see how she looks after applying all of these great tips into her practice for a while 

Hopefully the gymnastics helps dusty to round out more on the lower heights - the flat look seems to correlate with the higher speed jumping classes. 

Magic: Thanks for the feedback


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## regardinghorses (Oct 26, 2007)

Awesome! It's great that you two are working to learn everything you can and do things the right way. They are a great pair and will just get better and better if they keep working the way they are.


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