# Need Critique on my jumping position



## Sparkles (Apr 30, 2009)

Your leg slipped back, because it looks like you anticipated the jump. Wait for your horse to jump you before you jump your horse. If you open your shoulders, more you will be able to distribute your weight a lot more evenly throughout your body. I like that you're not looking to your horse's mouth for balance, however, some contact would be better then when you have now. Your release is over-exaggerated for the size of the fence, if you would take up some rein you wouldn't have to stagger for them after the fence.


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## sandsarita (Jan 20, 2008)

The main thing that I see, is that you are rotating from your knee. You can see that because your leg has slipped behind you and the center of your balance is too far ahead. Really work on keeping your calf on the horse, staying deep in your stirrups, not pinching with your knee, and letting your horse close your hip angle. Doing this will bring your leg back underneath you and your center of balance back above your horses center of balance.

I'm actually fine with your release - since you are just beginning, staying out of your horses mouth is more important to me than contact over the fence. Your back is straight, you're looking ahead. However, you could bring your chest up some, as you don't need to be folded over as much for this size of fence. But if you fix the above, this will likely be fixed at the same time. Overall pretty good since you haven't been riding all that long.


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## Endless Journey Girl (Jun 10, 2009)

Sparkles said:


> however, some contact would be better then when you have now. Your release is over-exaggerated for the size of the fence, if you would take up some rein you wouldn't have to stagger for them after the fence.


Thanks for the tips! Normally I would ride with more contact however, I'm riding this horse in a bosal. He's got cancer on the side of his mouth which leaves it quite sensitive so we are unable to use a bit but he can be a little hard to handle at times so he needs something more than just a bitless bridle. He is quite sensitive to the bosal and it is harsher and needs very little contact it is only there for emergency's so my instructor asked me to ride with quite a loose rein but I am still able to maintain complete control of him.


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## Endless Journey Girl (Jun 10, 2009)

Thanks for the tips! Normally I would ride with more contact however, I'm riding this horse in a bosal. He's got cancer on the side of his mouth which leaves it quite sensitive so we are unable to use a bit but he can be a little hard to handle at times so he needs something more than just a bitless bridle. He is quite sensitive to the bosal and it is harsher and needs very little contact it is only there for emergency's so my instructor asked me to ride with quite a loose rein but I am still able to maintain complete control of him.


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## Sparkles (Apr 30, 2009)

Endless Journey Girl said:


> Thanks for the tips! Normally I would ride with more contact however, I'm riding this horse in a bosal. He's got cancer on the side of his mouth which leaves it quite sensitive so we are unable to use a bit but he can be a little hard to handle at times so he needs something more than just a bitless bridle. He is quite sensitive to the bosal and it is harsher and needs very little contact it is only there for emergency's so my instructor asked me to ride with quite a loose rein but I am still able to maintain complete control of him.


Oh okay, that's very understandable.


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## Endless Journey Girl (Jun 10, 2009)

all your other critiques/advice is very helpful though, i wish i had more pictures of my riding. that was my first time riding that horse and he was quite different from the one i was riding before so my position was bound to be sloppier than usual. hopefully i can get some better ones soon.


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## StormyBlues (Dec 31, 2008)

Your leg has slipped back, and like others said, you're roatating on your knee. Your heels also need to be down more, as they have poped up. Your calf should be wraped around the horse's girth, to help keep them up and ready for the jump. Your seat is also WAY ahead of the center of the horse's saddle, and that is due to the fact that your leg has slipped. Your release is fine by me, I would rather see people over giving a release than in the horses mouth


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## Endless Journey Girl (Jun 10, 2009)

thanks for the critique, could you give me any tips on how to work on those things? like how do I fix my knee, and what do you mean by wrapping my calf around the girth? My heels I know I need to work on.


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

There are people who give advice without even knowing why or how. You got great tips from Sandsarita and Sparkles - 

Alright - so you know that you've jumped ahed, and you know that your knees are pinched and you know that you lost your lower leg.

But lets ask why exactly???

You have no base of security in your lower leg first and foremost. 

Alright - so, firstly, you must allow your heels to do their job, which is anchor you. They must always anchor you into your tack. They stabalize you.

How do you do this? By allow all of your bodies weight to dispurse into your heels - that means that natural weight flow that drops from your upper body, through your seat, through your thighs and down into your heels. 

So, because you have no function in your heels, you resorted to another part of your body to give you that false sense of security in your tack - - pinching your knees.

Many do this - so you're not alone. No worried. What you want to do is work on opening those knees up. Meaning, get those knees off of your saddle. Open your knees up, and get your lower leg to your horses girth.

Your legs must remain at that girth - get them stuck there like glue. How do you to this? By re-establishing your body from knees being stuck on your saddle, to opening them and then - putting your inner calf at the side of your horses girth.

Remember, we are not ontop of our horses, we are AROUND our horses. I can get much more in depth with this later on, but I'm in a rush to get to work.

Ok - so - work on LOTS of 2 point. I mean, hours apon hours apon hours. If you trail ride, great - 2 point through it. Open your knees *get them off your saddle* inner calf around girth, and heels taking all your bodies weight.

Sink into your heels. Allow them to do their job.

Also - LOTS, and LOTS of Lunge Line Work with no reins. What does this do? This makes you find your seat ASAP and your lower leg. You will learn to focus on the 2 more important parts of your body, and forces you to not rely on the most commonly reached for....your hands.

You'll learn to establish your seat, you will learn to feel your horse rhythm. You will learn to use your seat to control speed and tempo, and you will learn as to where your lower leg must be to give you that security, while aiding your seat to do it's job.

Start there.

I hope that helps you out.


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## Endless Journey Girl (Jun 10, 2009)

Wow! Thanks so much for all the info that really helps me out a lot, unfortunately I only take one group lesson a week so I can only get so much practice in and my instructor is unable to focus on me long enough to use a lunge line and stuff.. But we have worked on a lot of no stirrup work, so i've been learning to rely on my seat to keep me in the saddle and not my knees, the instructor has also had us work on controlling the horses speed and lengthening and shortening strides using our seat. So those i'm working on, my instructor is always telling me about my knees too, haha she's always saying "breathe with the knees, breathe with the knees!" and it's my squeezing with the knees that usually makes me lose my heels so i've been working really hard on that, I think with practice and more experience things will improve.


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## Endless Journey Girl (Jun 10, 2009)

heres a video of me doing the jump if that helps in critiquing at all.. oh also this was my first time doing a gymnastic and my first time riding that horse haha.


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