# equitation over fences critique me please



## vbrill (Jul 8, 2009)

any ideas or suggestions are welcome  these are from a while ago
































View attachment 8939


View attachment 8940


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## saint3meg3rlfc (May 16, 2009)

I'll put my critique under the picture 



vbrill said:


> any ideas or suggestions are welcome  these are from a while ago
> View attachment 8935
> 
> You're jumping ahead. This is caused by your insecure lower leg. You're pinching with your knee, this is causing your leg to sling back and your heel to come up. Press down into those feet. You're hunched a bit, roll your shoulders back. And relax you look a little tense.
> ...


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## Misfit (Jun 29, 2009)

In all honesty, your jumping position is a little bit scary. You have no base of support and your center of gravity is no where near that of your horse in most of your pics. A strong gust of wind could currently knock you over right now.

1st pic: You have completely lost your lower leg. You want your stirrup leather to be perpendicular to the ground, with all your weight sunk down into your heel (which will be the lowest point on your body). As you can see, your leg is pretty much in a different zip code than the rest of you. :wink: So that's the first thing to fix. Next on the list is your seat. Your crotch should be centered over the seat of the saddle, not over the pommel. Additionally, there is WAY too much space between your butt and the saddle. That much air room, you aren't secure. Your center of gravity is not matched up with that of your horse, you are weighting down his front end, making his job a lot harder (and making your job a lot harder too, it's harder to stay on and ride when you're not in balance with your horse).
Your back is pretty good, not perfect (could be a bit flatter, and your shoulders back a bit more), but it's decent. For your release, your fingers should be closed on the reins and your hands should be pressed into the crest, not the mane. Also, I think you're looking for the turn a bit early, ride your horse straight, then turn, at least at this stage in your riding.

Pic 2: Here, you got left behind. Once again, your lower leg has flown back and due to that the rest of your position has fallen apart. Your center of gravity is behind your horse's, making it harder for him to jump. Additionally, you haven't released enough and you are catching him in the mouth. You are too far back in the saddle, and your shoulder's are up by your ears. You seem very tense and nervous.

Pic 3: This picture is the best for seeing what exactly is going wrong. Like all the other pics, it all comes back to your lower leg and heel. Your lower leg has flown back, you have flung yourself over the jump. You are so far ahead of his center of gravity that he's having trouble jumping (note the knees). Your base is so distanced from your horse that you are pretty much detached and your release is up by his ears. 

Pic 4: This is probably the best pic (maybe it's just the angle). Your heel is bad, but not 'lets fly away in the wind' bad. But, once again, you are jumping way ahead of your horse.

My recommendation is to take a step back and get yourself solid on the ground first. Lots and lots of two point on the flat and over poles and low cross rails. 

Don't think of it as taking a step back, think of it as an investment. The more time you spend on the basics now, the better you'll be in the long run.


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## vbrill (Jul 8, 2009)

thank you I definitely do notice most of the things you guys told me and I've been doing a lot of work sinking my weight into my heels since these were taken so hopefully that has helped I've also changed his saddle because that one was a dressage hybrid and was no help when jumping and even on the flat it was hard to be able to open up my knee


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## vbrill (Jul 8, 2009)

ill try to get some more recent pictures those are two years old and i've improved (hopefully ) My camera broke so the most recent pictures I have are from last summer


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## lovemyponies (Jul 26, 2008)

definitely a huge improvement


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## Misfit (Jun 29, 2009)

Aie Karumba, HUGE improvement. 

1st pic: Leg and heel is MUCH better, although your heel could be a little bit further down. You're still jumping a little bit too far ahead of your horse. Try waiting for your horse to gently toss you out of the saddle, don't do it yourself. Jumping without stirrups will help a lot too. Your release is rather... special. 

With releases, you have three options. 1. Grab the mane, and press your hands into the mane at the same time. 2. Do a crest release and press your hands into the crest to help steady yourself. 3. If you aren't going to use the neck, do an auto release and keep the straight line from your elbow to your bit.

You aren't doing any of these. Take your hands and place them on the crest, and use that to help steady yourself. Creativity is good, just not when it comes to releases.

2nd pic: Lost your lower leg a bit here, but not as bad as the previous pics. You're nicely out of the saddle, just be careful you aren't falling back too early. Can't really see your hands, just make sure you're releasing properly with your fingers closed on the reins. Also, you don't seem to be dead straight over the fence.


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## vbrill (Jul 8, 2009)

thanks a lot I just had my first lesson today with my new instructor and we just did some X rails just to see my form and everything and to him it was fine I just need to pick up my hands, he said I could be jumping 5' so I've done something right thank goodness ~fhwooo, that's a relief ~ + he is a genius (he bred and began training Philip Dutton's Connaught!!!:-o) Ill see if I can upload the videos from today


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