# Jumping Critiques Wanted



## morganshow11 (Dec 19, 2008)

Your legs are pushed back when you are lumping, they should b forward


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## AussieDaisyGirl (May 21, 2009)

Considering how long it's been since you've ridden, you did pretty darn well. I agree with your leg position being too far back. Your hands are a little shaky but nothing terrible. That's all I can see. You look good!


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## PoohLP (Jan 15, 2009)

Thanks. Anyone else. I know it is hard to see, but any feed back is appreciated!


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

For the dressage, use the corners more. Practice riding squares. Your horse appears to be bracing against the bit a little, and he's behind your leg a little and not tracking up in the trot. Add some impulsion and I'll be he steps nicely into the bit. You'll fix both things at the same time. 

Jumping looks good to me other than what other said about the lower leg needing the be at the girth. I like watching hunter riders. They just want to get there!


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## PoohLP (Jan 15, 2009)

MyBoyPuck said:


> For the dressage, use the corners more. Practice riding squares. Your horse appears to be bracing against the bit a little, and he's behind your leg a little and not tracking up in the trot. Add some impulsion and I'll be he steps nicely into the bit. You'll fix both things at the same time.
> 
> Jumping looks good to me other than what other said about the lower leg needing the be at the girth. I like watching hunter riders. They just want to get there!



Yeah, he's still learning how to carry himself (prior to coming to this barn, he was allowed to get away with a lot) and I'm still learning and getting a feel for how to ask him to do it properly and then how to keep him there. Thanks for the advice.


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## lovemyponies (Jul 26, 2008)

I think you did well with the jumping from what I could see but sort of hard to tell. I would say your leg needs to be more forward (at the girth) but it also seems like part of it was you trying to get after the horse in corners with your legs really far back and they came further up over the jump. Cute horse and a great start


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## HalfPass (Jun 12, 2009)

Hey there.
First of all I think you did pretty darn good for not having done so in so many years. For the dressage test I think the person who said to ride more into the corners was right by making that suggestion. I would suggest that you lower your stirrups because they look as tho they are the same length that you had them on the jumping course. You have nice long legs and it almost looks uncoforatable for the sturrupps to be so high.
Working on some transitions from the walk to trot and canter will also help. But remember that it has been a long time and you both looked great considering all that...
I think you both look great together...
HP


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## PoohLP (Jan 15, 2009)

HalfPass said:


> Hey there.
> I would suggest that you lower your stirrups because they look as tho they are the same length that you had them on the jumping course. You have nice long legs and it almost looks uncoforatable for the sturrupps to be so high.
> Working on some transitions from the walk to trot and canter will also help. But remember that it has been a long time and you both looked great considering all that...
> I think you both look great together...
> HP


You just made my day by calling my stubby legs long!  Guess that means Buddy is a good size for me. He's a real sweetie. He's being leased by a girl at the barn where I ride, but my instructor also gets to use him a couple times a week for lessons and that is when I get to ride him. He reminds me a lot of a bigger version of the large pony I had as a kid. 

Working the dressage stuff is all still new to me and it still feels really odd for me to have longer stirrups, even for on the flat. But I'm going to get to do some dressage lessons on a horse with more dressage experience over the next few weeks, maybe even working in a dressage saddle, so hopefully that will help me to get a better feel for it. 

Thanks for the input.


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## kerplop (Sep 22, 2008)

Wow, considering everything you've said about not riding I'm impressed!

The only thing I wanted to comment on was that it'll probably be in your benefit to lower the jumps to crossrails and practice getting around the course as rhythmically and smoothly as possible. You seemed to have some issues steering at points in the jumping videos as well as issues with getting your horse in front of your leg. It's all about the canter.


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## PoohLP (Jan 15, 2009)

Well, the problem is that the jump ring had just been completely rearranged the day before and this was Buddy's first time back in there, in which situation Buddy has a tendency to try to duck out/stop at the jumps, so the ride becomes much more defensive and much less smooth and pretty. You'll notice that the second course was much smoother and didn't have the drifting and sucking back that was in the first. 

Thanks for the advice though. In my lessons especially, we of course work all sorts of heights of jumps and steering challenges.


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## cash113 (Nov 7, 2011)

For the jumping ones, the second one was a lot better than the first, which is good cause it means your making progress. On the first one you missed a couple leads, but I agree with the sturrips being too long, because they making you lose a lot of control, and causing your leg to be too far back. The second one was much better, I kinda just skimmed it but I didn't see anything drastic. I would just suggest that with jumping, lower the jumps to crossrails or low verticals and just get the courses perfect, good lead changing, canter the whole thing( I saw that with a few you trotted up to to them) and just seeming to be more relaxed with it. 
As for the dressage I don't excell in it, I mainly just work on equitaion and jumping. But I can tell that the only thing is (I agree with the other posts on this) to ride more into your corners.

Hope this helped!!!


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

Well done, for having had a hiatus!!

On the flat, the horse needs to be much more forward!! Not faster, just more energetically forward. Definitely use the corners more. Corners are one of the hardest "movements" in this test. Every time a horse turns, they lose impulsion BIG time. You need much more leg driving through the corners (balanced by hand to keep it from becoming speed).

Don't lean forward on the canter depart. Many people think "galloping" position when they start the canter. By throwing your weight forward, you encourage the horse to weigh the forehand. Instead, sit back and use your seat to push the horse forward. You are dropping that inside shoulder a bit too much on the canter circle. This can encourage the horse to throw more weight onto HIS inside shoulder jeopardizing the bend.

Use that corner at the beginning of the walk. The judge won't appreciate cutting that easy corner off. Points will be lost there. At the end of the diagonal, do not think about the upcoming trot. You sent a clear signal of the upcoming trot that the horse felt, hence the jig. Quiet your mind until the transition point. This is one of the few places this test asks for accuracy and the judge will expect it. 

Make sure that next trot circle is round. You spent too much time on the rail flattening the circle.

All in all, I am being very nit-picky as every point off can be a big deal. You actually did very well.

Jumping....The video was at such a distance, it was hard to see your equitation. I have the impression you are grabbing a bit with your knees. This will make it very hard to keep your lower leg on the horse, allowing it to swing back. This unbalances your upper body allowing it to topple a bit forward. Keep your lower leg at the girth and as you go forward with your upper body, make sure your leg stays forward (you will feel the stretch in the back of your leg).


My biggest impression was disorganized. You are jumping one jump at a time. Then, after the jump, you think about the next jump. Start thinking about a jump course like a chess game. You must think three moves ahead. The jump in front of you must be jumped in such a way as to set yourself up for the next jump, which is jumped in such a way as to approach the third well. The whole course will flow much better if you always think two or three jumps ahead. Always prepare the horse for whichever lead you need after the jump. If you land on the incorrect lead, quickly do a simple change to help the horse stay balanced. This horse is not flexible enough to do a good counter canter yet. If you prepare for the turn before the jump, you will be surprised how seldom (after you have practiced) the horse will land on the incorrect lead.




> Well, the problem is that the jump ring had just been completely rearranged the day before and this was Buddy's first time back in there, in which situation Buddy has a tendency to try to duck out/stop at the jumps, so the ride becomes much more defensive and much less smooth and pretty. You'll notice that the second course was much smoother and didn't have the drifting and sucking back that was in the first.


The horse must be willing to jump sight unseen. If he sucks back, don't go defensive, go OFFENSIVE!! Ride more aggressively! Let him know, in no uncertain terms, that sucking back and quitting is not an option. I would rather see you over ride the horse than under ride him.


Good job!! You are doing well, so keep it up!


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## sarahkgamble (Nov 7, 2011)

I'm very impressed at your riding after not doing so for so long!

The only critiques I have is that in the first video, it looked to me like your horse was hesitating before some of the jumps. And also make sure that you aim for the middle of the jump, not the side. 

Overall good job!


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## Hali (Jun 17, 2009)

This thead is from 2009...


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## LeosAmericanShadow (Sep 5, 2009)

Agree 100% with kerplop. Work on straighter approaches to smaller jumps.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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