# Please critique our jumping!



## meggymoo (Mar 10, 2007)

Hi,

I dont normally tend to critique, but you both look fab. You have a very good leg position in most of your video's.  
At one or two jumps you looked to be left behind a little, but to me you did great. Welldone! :wink:


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## aussie (Oct 18, 2007)

Just be carefull that you are not coming to far forward with your upper body over the fence, if something goes wrong or the horse stops you could easily get spat out the front. Also try and let horse move a little more forward, it may be a little scarier, but they will always jump better if they are forward and have a good rhythm!
Good luck!


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## Duskylove (Jul 3, 2007)

Meggymoo- That made my day =]! Thanks for the compliments and the tips! 
Aussie- That was very helpful I will remember that!
Thanks so much guys!
Also if anyone else out there sees anything else I would appreciate your advice as well


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## regardinghorses (Oct 26, 2007)

You and Dusky are off to a good start. She's a pretty little mare and looks to be very willing! 

You ride to the fences well and both seem comfortable and confident, but I do see some minor issues that will become major when you start jumping bigger heights. 

The biggest thing you need to work on is holding your position over the fences. You are following Dusky nicely over the fence, but you are sitting up way too quickly. You need to hold your two point and really press your knuckles into her neck until all four feet have landed on the far side. By sitting up too quickly, you are landing on her back and catching her in the mouth. It's a minor issue now and doesn't seem to be bothering her most of the time (this is probably why she speeds up and tosses her head sometimes following a jump), but will become major once you raise the height.

A great way to practice holding your position is to put a ground rail a stride out from the jump. Then as you take the jump, concentrate on holding your position until after the ground rail. 

Your stirrups are a little long for jumping; by raising them a few holes you will strengthen your base of support. The general rule to go by is that when you are doing flat work, the bottom of the stirrup iron should hit your ankle bone when you hang your leg straight down. Then the stirrups go up one hole for every foot-high you are jumping. 

Your hands look a little heavy over the jumps, so concentrate hard on pressing them into the side of her neck just below her crest and don't use the reins to support yourself. 

One last thing ... I noticed that you look to be posting from the back of your seat bone rather than the front as you head into the jump. For hunt seat equitation, you should be tilted just ahead of the vertical at a trot and canter and on the front of your seat bone. I hope that makes sense.

You are off to a great start and these are just some little suggestions to help you take it to the next level. Hope it helps!


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## ox-tuff_rider-xo (May 21, 2007)

wow you look great just remember elbows in


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## giget (May 24, 2007)

hi u look great  but regardinghorses is right u tend to sit up to quickly on the desent of the jump which is occasionally jarring your horses mouth. this should be resolved quickly coz it may teach your horse to refuse. other then that i think you look great your horse is gorgeous especially in the last photo


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## horsewhispers (Nov 4, 2007)

Hey!
Thats great!  
Just rember to keep your hands and elbows still and in !
Really good!
LOVE YOUR HORSE!
XXXXXX


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## drop_your_reins (Nov 4, 2007)

You guys do look good! 

in the videos- jumping.. Someone mentioned that you jump a little ahead of the motion, which is true, and because of this you land hard on your horse's back, especially after the last jump. In your last photo, (its hard to tell because of the angle) it looks like you are putting weight on your toes rather than down the back of your calf to your ankle. Because you put weight on your toes, your heel came up- and if she refused you'd be on your head!  (I know first hand because I used to brace with my knees and put weight on my toes when I got nervous and still do occaisionally) The photo is beautiful though! 

when you jump concentrate on stretching your calf down to the heel and gripping with the inside of your calf muscles... Also try not to anticipate the jump, that is where you get jumping ahead of the motion.. if you have to, half seat a few strides out and keep your position until the jump- until you learn not to anticipate as much.. Also keep your half seat a stride after the jump so you don't land hard on your horse's back.. 

Your cantering video looked good! It was a little hard to see, the only thing I saw is that you come up out of the saddle a little bit each stride. You want to try to sit as deeply and quietly as possible, you don't want any air between your butt and the saddle!

Your mare is very cute! And my horse and I learned how to jump together too, he was 17 when he started. Good luck at your next show! And don't be hesitant to ask the judge why she placed you where she did, you might be suprised to hear the reason why, and get some pointers for the next show!


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## saraequestrian (Dec 4, 2007)

someone has already mentioned that you're catching her in the mouth. they also said it's not a big deal.

IT IS. 

You throw your hands up dangerously high when you land. You can see her reacting to it by opening her mouth and raising her head really high. It hurts like crap and it will eventually train them to raise their head after jumps. It is REALLY hard to retrain a horse not to throw his head up when he lands. This also makes a horse not want to jump at all. The fun in jumping is replaced with pain. 
I'd try doing something called a press release. When you get into 2-point, press your hands down, HARD, on your horses neck. Don't stop pressing until all four feet are back on the ground, then you can release the pressure. It is much less painful to press on their neck than it is to yank them in the mouth when their landing. 

You are also very jerky with your movements when you jump. You also land too early and when you land, you slam your back back into the saddle. 
Regarding the picture: your toes are way too pointed out, heels are pointing up, and your leg has slipped back. Also, don't get so forward on her neck, bend your hip a little when you jump.

I'd work on quieting yourself over fences and getting a secure leg. How do you do this? No stirrups. It's scary and painful, but it works. Also, use that press release. 

okay this is long x]


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## WildPony4Me (Feb 6, 2008)

*Legs*

Pretty much what everyone else said..
So just to add:

You really need to work on strenghthening your legs.

Practice posting at the trot with no stirrubs.
Try to keep your knee bent and in a normal riding position.

This is good for both you and the horse.

Do it EVERY time you ride....Each time you should be able to go longer and longer. Always push yourself and set goals.

(Once around this week, twice around next week, ect.)


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## regardinghorses (Oct 26, 2007)

saraequestrian said:


> someone has already mentioned that you're catching her in the mouth. they also said it's not a big deal.
> 
> IT IS.


Thanks Saraequestrian. Looking back, I'm not sure why I said it was minor because you're right, it is a big issue. I appreciate that you corrected that and I just wanted to say that I agree with you completely.

Dusky, if you need to for a while, grab some mane when you're jumping to ensure that you don't catch your horse in the mouth or fall on his back.


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