# Please Critique My Jump Position



## TwisterRush (Sep 8, 2009)

you look like you are going to jump OVER your horses neck, But... it also looks like your heels arent down very much, so bring those down... it would be easier to give a critique if you had a side shot of you jumping.


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## blush (Feb 10, 2007)

^^ Yes, I agree getting a side shot of you jumping would be much more critique-able haha. :]

From what I see, you need to shorten your stirrups a hole of two. It looks like you are "searching" for them over the jump and therefor your heels have popped up. Your leg has also slipped back a bit, but once those stirrups are shorter, your legs should fall into the correct place. :]
Your upper body isn't too bad, you are deffinitely jumping for your horse here rather than letting him come up to you. Just keep your sholders tall and let his jump close your hip angle. I really do like your release however, and how you are looking up and over the fence, not at it. :] :]

Super cute horse by the way. And I love your facial expression haha.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Your horse is terribly cute!
First off, I love how you're looking up. The next thing I notice is that it seems as though most of your weight is in the right stirrup - see how your hips are tilted that direction? I would check to see if your stirrups are even and the girth isn't too loose; both can be culprits for uneven hips. Then I would suggest really concentrating on making sure you have equal weight through both stirrups. 
Your legs certainly aren't horrid! A few exercises I can recommend to strengthen legs: work on your two-point on the lunge line or loose if you trust your horse. Drop your reins, but hold your position as if you have them still. Remember to sink your weight into your heels. Try "airplaning" your arms out to the side while maintaining your two-point position. Then try a "superman" with both arms up and forwards. Start at a walk until you find your balance and can do a few circles each direction without falling backwards or forwards. Then try a trot, then canter, then you can add in poles and jumps. Concentrate on sinking your weight down and not tipping too far out of the saddle. Keep your butt centered. Don't grip with your knees. 
The above exercise will also help with what I think I see is you maybe balancing a tinch on the horse's neck? Roll those shoulders back and keep that chest open and square. 
Good luck! I would love to see update pics!


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## PoohLP (Jan 15, 2009)

Yes, I do think I jacked the stirrups up at the end of this course because I kept reaching for them. I'm still finding what feels "right" on my stirrup length. 

I do look very determined, don't I? That jump was either the last one on the course or the second (in which case, we'd just had a refusal, so I was thinking "you will jump the jump, you will jump the jump!")

Bliss (the pony) is a cutey! But I feel like I look giantoid on him. He is a fun little jumper though - very athletic.

Anything else you guys see?


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## PoohLP (Jan 15, 2009)

JustDressageIt said:


> The next thing I notice is that it seems as though most of your weight is in the right stirrup - see how your hips are tilted that direction? I would check to see if your stirrups are even and the girth isn't too loose; both can be culprits for uneven hips. Then I would suggest really concentrating on making sure you have equal weight through both stirrups.


Great catch on the hips. I didn't even see that until you pointed it out. I'll have to ask my trainer to watch for that next time I have a lesson.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

PoohLP said:


> Great catch on the hips. I didn't even see that until you pointed it out. I'll have to ask my trainer to watch for that next time I have a lesson.


I have a similar problem - my problem is my ribcage - UGH (when I do ride - off on injury at the moment!) I have to really concentrate on not twisting through my ribcage. It's all about muscle memory, and having another pair of eyes on the ground to yell at you is fantastic!


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## Equuestriaan (Nov 5, 2008)

Your release is perfect.


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## GeminiJumper (Jun 12, 2008)

Its kind of hard to critique you from the angle that the photo was taken. You both look very well turned out for the show! I'm not quite sure what type of release you're doing but you need to close your fingers. They look like they're open. I would also reposition your stirrup so that way the outside bar of the stirrup is touching your pinky toe and the inside bar is angled to be next to the ball of your foot. That will allow your to flex your ankle and get more heel depth because from this view in the photo, it looks like you're standing in your stirrups. You might be a tad bit to far out of the saddle considering the size of this jump but once again, the photo angle makes it hard to see. Over all, nice job!


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## horseloverd2 (Jan 23, 2009)

Not sure if this was said but your back posture looks good.


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## PoohLP (Jan 15, 2009)

Thanks everyone for the critiques and the complements. It's great to hear what I'm going right and wrong. I've definitely been working with my instructor on not coming as far out of the saddle on smaller jumps and she says that will come with time and practice - just a matter of correcting an old, bad habit left over from the Hunter ring. She's been having me trot larger jumps (not larger than I normally jump, just larger than we normally trot!) so I can really get a feel for being thrown out of the saddle when the horse pats the ground instead of propelling myself up on my own power, and I think that is really helpful, both for my seat and for forcing me to have a tight leg to support the horse off the ground.  

It feels really weird to me to have the stirrup on the outside of my foot. I was trained as a kid with the peacock stirrups, so we were always taught to have the inside bar touching the ball of the big toe and then straight across, but I've read about doing it the way Amber suggested and am curious. Maybe I'll play around with it one day. 

I'll make sure to get update pics, maybe at the clinic I am attending in December.


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