# Critique our Flat and Jumping!



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Well, you two are really starting to look like PARTNERS! good work.

I still see a hint of the locking in the elbow that makes your hands point downward when movement in your body, to adjust to him going up , over, and down, makes your hands point down becuase the elbow does not open and close enough.

I thought you actually rode better in the video wearing pink. you had your leg more forward and less pinching of the knee and looked more capable of any kind of sudden change in speed or angle or pitch.

but, to see how much more relaxed your horse is is just wonderful!!


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## finn113 (Aug 21, 2012)

tinyliny said:


> Well, you two are really starting to look like PARTNERS! good work.
> 
> I still see a hint of the locking in the elbow that makes your hands point downward when movement in your body, to adjust to him going up , over, and down, makes your hands point down becuase the elbow does not open and close enough.
> 
> ...


I agree on the elbows! I noticed how stiff I looked when I watched it too, along with me throwing my hands on top of his neck over the jump instead of waiting for him. The pink clips were actually after the ones of me in blue, so I guess I improved without even knowing! Thanks for the feedback tiny!


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## finn113 (Aug 21, 2012)

I forgot to mention, these clips are from late January and early February


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## SaraM (Feb 14, 2014)

What do you use to take these videos? The quality is really great for critique!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I am so glad you did not give up. I think you two are well matched. in time , you will be a really lovely pair. when I see a horse and human work together well, it's such a satisfying feeling.


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## finn113 (Aug 21, 2012)

SaraM said:


> What do you use to take these videos? The quality is really great for critique!


I do beauty and equestrian YouTube videos, so I use my high quality camera for my viewers to see everything more clearly instead of just my iPhone. My camera is the Sony HD Handycam, and I get my friend to film me whenever I get the chance!


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## finn113 (Aug 21, 2012)

tinyliny said:


> I am so glad you did not give up. I think you two are well matched. in time , you will be a really lovely pair. when I see a horse and human work together well, it's such a satisfying feeling.


I am too! And thank you very much I agree 100%!


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## xJumperx (Feb 19, 2012)

(Dressed in Blue)
Is there a particular reason you ride in a light seat? You seem very unstable, with a lot of pinching at the knee. Your body hunches forward and seems very unbalanced. I believe you would be much better suited in a full seat. 
Over the jumps, you are still pinching with your knee, and not using your leg or core. This is causing you to sit back too early, and occasionally popping Finn in the mouth. Over the jump where you tumble the rails, there is a lot going on there. You don't set Finn up correctly for the jump, and pull with that rein instead of opening it. I also assume you aren't giving him opposite leg aids either, considering the pinching at the knee.
You do a very good job at looking where you are going, and you seem like you are a very lovely rider, you just need lots of no-stirrup work, and balance work. 

(Dressed in Pink)
A hundred times better!!
Here, you aren't clasping with your knees so much. You are still very tipped forward though. Sit back between the jumps! Other than that, there is a lot of improvement between those two clips. Excellent!


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## LoveTheSaddlebreds (Jul 9, 2009)

I love the straightness you attained in that line during the pink ride. 

Either you or your horse seems to have a short eye, meaning you see the shorter distance coming to a jump. Maybe it's more comfortable for one of you? Either way, when the jump is a crossrail or vertical, you can let the horse take a longer spot (I don't mean TOO long, now) and it will look much lovelier over the fence. When the jump is wider like an oxer, then you DO want to take that deeper spot to make it easier on the horse to clear it. Practice adding a stride one line, and on that same line the next go around subtracting a stride.


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## Rideordie112 (Dec 7, 2013)

I agree with xJumperx. In the blue you looked really stiff and you were constantly pinching with your knees, but in the pink you weren't doing that so much, but still maybe work on sitting talk with your shoulders back and giving clearer aids. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## finn113 (Aug 21, 2012)

Thanks for all the feedback guys I really appreciate it! I took your advice and the other day I jumped Finn with a full seat at the canter and after a couple tries, we approached maybe a 2'3" oxer slowly, took off calmly, and wasn't all crazy after the jump like he used to be. I agree that the full seat made me look much more relaxed and loose, and it gave me more control over Finn to and after the jump! I still use half seat at the canter on the flat because it is more comfortable for me, but I will really start working on my full seat when jumping. Thanks guys!!! XOXO


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## caseymyhorserocks (Apr 5, 2010)

Heels down! This will help you in keeping your leg in front of you and lead to a more solid position.


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## RMorr1177 (Mar 24, 2015)

You two look great together. My recommendations with your body positions are to lean your shoulders back a little further and slow your body down, don't push so much with your body, this will allow you to push your horse from behind into his bit and make your horse look like they are taking bigger steps. Also, your leg position is good, but there is some swinging so concentrate on gripping a little more with the back of your calf.
Also, I noticed that your wrists are bent and turned in which makes you loose contact with your horse so I would try to work on that also.
When your jumping I found an easy way to keep my legs still and my heels down over fences was right before the jump is push my heels as far as I could in my stirrups and this helped me. It also helped me push myself back so that I wouldn't lean down over for the fence to early.
You and your horse are a great team, and your a pretty rider. I hope my tips have helped you. Over fences and on the flat you looked GREAT!


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

I have to stress that I am not a huge fan of the hunter seat, being a dressage and jumper rider. I like a more a fluid seat with a less rigid body.

What I noticed that I would like to see you work on is your lower leg. You are grabbing with your knee way too much. As a result of the tight knee, your lower leg is unable to wrap on the horse. Your lower leg can't make any constructive contact and the leg is swinging around. You need to relax the knee, wrap your lower leg enough to be able to make light contact with the inside of your upper calf. This will help keep your lower leg still and in the correct place on the horse's side.


Over fences, the lower leg is slipping back over the fence, for the same grabbing with the knee. This will tend to cause the upper body to be a little too unbalanced and will tend to topple around a bit too much. 

I think it is a bit too early to use the automatic release you are using. Your upper body isn;t balanced enough to keep your hands able to follow the horse. I would have you use a crest release on either side of the horse's neck (not up on the crest) until you can fix the knee/lower leg....which will help fix the balance of the upper body. THEN you can use the auto release well.

So, you may be thinking...DANG, can;t she say something nice?

Why, yes I can. Now for the good stuff. I really think you have a lot of talent, and I LOVE your horse!! You are trying a bit too hard to look still and quiet and, if you were relaxed, would probably have looked a lot better. I think that the pair of you can go a LONG way! You both have what it takes.

Good luck and keep up the good work. Too bad you aren't near me (or maybe you are??) I would love to get my hands on you two. I might ruin you though....you might end up jumping or...GASP....eventing!!


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## freia (Nov 3, 2011)

Once Allison says something about jumping and equitation, there usually isn't much more to add 

But I'll try...
On the flats in the very beginning, at the canter: your body is very busy. It's like you're pumping, trying to move your horse along. Your hands are remarkably quiet considering all this motion, but if you look carefully at your hands, you'll see that there's no way you can keep them quite still for your horse. When you're in the 2-point or half-seat, be realaxed and quiet. You want to lift your body over the saddle so as not to interfere with your horse's movement and balance. Your horse will canter just fine without all the movement from you - likely better without all the movement. Balance your body and seat over the deepest part of your saddle, use your lower legs like Allison explained, so that you can use your lower legs and knees (and hips) as shock-absorbers. Then just keep your body still and relaxed while letting your horse move freely underneath you. You'll find that you get far less tired that way too!

On the jumps, I noticed that your horse gets popped in the mouth right as he's landing. this comes back to the release Allison talks about. Take a close look and see what's happening to his mouth there.

You two look like you're both really having fun and enjoy doing this together. I'm with Allison - out of the formal hunt-ring and hit the cross-country course! WoooHooooooo


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I think the OP has been working hard to get her horse to slow down and take things a bit more calmly, so going out onto the cross country course might be the opposite of what she is trying to achieve. but, then again, maybe he is meant to be an eventer. He's a real champ of a guy, a brick house ! (if you can say that for a gelding)


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## freia (Nov 3, 2011)

tinyliny said:


> I think the OP has been working hard to get her horse to slow down and take things a bit more calmly, so going out onto the cross country course might be the opposite of what she is trying to achieve. but, then again, maybe he is meant to be an eventer. He's a real champ of a guy, a brick house ! (if you can say that for a gelding)


Well, then Iwould say she's done a great job of calming down her horse. Not knowing that history on this guy, I couldn't tell that that has been a struggle.


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## EpicApple (Oct 19, 2014)

An awesome rider in the making. Your horse looks very quiet, rhythmical and relaxed. (sounds like hunters could be something he'd do well on) Like a few people have pointed out, you do have a tendency to pinch at the knee, which causes your lower leg to move quite a bit. This could be distracting if you are in an eq. class and cost you some points. Also by pinching at the knee, you don't have a stable "base" of leg support. That is also why your heel has a tendency to go up. The Fix: lots of work without stirrups, sounds dreadful, but does wonders. In some clips it seems that you could benefit from shortening your stirrup leathers one more hole. When riding into a deep distance try to think on holding your shoulder up, instead of panicking and going into a "snapping" two point, or throwing your hands forward. It's a great tip I got when doing hunters. Judges are not fans of that "deep" spot into the jumps, but you can help and pretend it didn't happen by just relaxing and keeping the shoulders up. no big deal. 

You did pop your horse in the mouth when landing, a quick fix would be to hold mane before, during and one stride after the jump. It creates a good habit of waiting and allowing the horse to take you while saving their mouth. I think it might help with relaxing your elbows over the jumps since some people mentioned with the elbow "locking" problem. but I could be wrong. You guys are a beautiful pair and I really hope my 5 cents of advise turn out to be helpful.


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