# jumping course critique



## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

here is a short video of gypsy and i jumping a 6 jump course. let me know what you think !! she was a little sassy today, we havent jumped outside much this year and she LOVES it ! i flatted her for about half an hour and then jumped a cross rail a few times and then did the course, just like warm up at a horse show. 

i am planning on eventing her this summer. our first event is mid july at BN level - 2'7".





 

here is also a pic of us, even though we are looking the wrong way ! =]


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

1:23 is your best moment IMO. You're a bit up her neck on some of the other fences, but I'm not one to be critical about jumping ahead! I love that you've got her in a nice, connected canter between fences. She does look like she's having fun.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Duh, I meant :56 seconds. Sorry, double shift again. Brain starting to turn off.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

thanks for the critique ! ive actually had a ducking/jumping ahead problem for a loooong time and im finally improving, but im definitely not perfect yet....


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

MyBoyPuck said:


> Duh, I meant :56 seconds. Sorry, double shift again. Brain starting to turn off.


haha ya i was wondering about that =P

i liked my position better at the jump before that, but you really cant see that jump well in the video


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

You're incredibly close to fixing it. Just keep your shoulders a smidge more open and you're there. Now can you show me how to do it??


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

i hope so !

the trainer ive been riding with makes fun of me for 'riding like a hunter'


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## ErikaLynn (Aug 3, 2010)

You bury your hands in your horses withers and you don't have a bend in your elbow sometimes when you are cantering, then you pick them up right before the fence. I think you should carry your hands the whole way through the course. You have a nice position over the fence...you do duck/jump ahead a little bit, but it's not really that noticeable.

Also at about :35 you come to that fence on a diagonal...I thought you were doing a broken line. You should try and come the the fence as straight as possible.

Other than that you look good. Good luck eventing this summer!


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

thanks for the critique ! 

i have no idea why i bury my hands like that, other than she tries to 'root' and i just let it happen. i have been working on that with the trainer i ride with ! the goal is definitely to have my hands up the whole time. 

we actually had a very straight line to that box, she just backed off it a little and bowed the last few strides, thats why it looks like a broken line. i probably should have taken it at a slight angle to begin with, but i didnt expect her to look at it.


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

You like like a quiet, relaxed rider, and I really like the way you reestablished pace and rhythm in the turns without obvious rein aids. The trick is to carry that all the way around the course and between fences, not just on the turns. 

Your mare quickens and flattens her pace 3 - 4 strides out in front of every fence, and that should be worked on, as it will get you in trouble later with related distances and technical combinations. Also, she tends to flatten her arc in the air. Does she like to avoid deep distances and rounding over her fences? I'm guessing that either she used to be quite forward all the way around the course; and it's a work in progress, or that you tend to stop riding for rhythm in front of the fence because you're thinking about something else. 

Your little mare has plenty of jump, and I like her attitude. She'll probably be a blast to event. And while you have some things to work on; you will see many, many worse trips in stadium at BN than what you've posted above.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

maura said:


> You like like a quiet, relaxed rider, and I really like the way you reestablished pace and rhythm in the turns without obvious rein aids. The trick is to carry that all the way around the course and between fences, not just on the turns.
> 
> Your mare quickens and flattens her pace 3 - 4 strides out in front of every fence, and that should be worked on, as it will get you in trouble later with related distances and technical combinations. Also, it tends to flatten her arc in the air. Does she like to avoid deep distances and rounding over her fences? I'm guessing that either she used to be quite forward all the way around the course; and it's a work in progress, or that you tend to stop riding for rhythm in front of the fence because you're thinking about something else.
> 
> Your little mare has plenty of jump, and I like her attitude. She'll probably be a blast to event. And while you have some things to work on; you will see many, many worse trips in stadium at BN than what you've posted above.


thanks for your critique !!

she actually usually jumps pretty round and doesnt mind a deeper distance. she was just VERY excited to jump outside in the field [we havent been able to jump out there yet this year] and i was having trouble keeping her collected. the rushing 3-4 strides out is not a regular thing, we probably just need to jump outside more. she definitely likes to go fast and long, but she can [and she has] been able to jump a course more collected and under control. we hadnt jumped out there since last summer, outside of schooling pole work, so i figured it would be good practice for a show to jump all of the jumps 'fresh.'

im really not sure why i hold my hands down like that, must just be a bad habit. i can feel myself everytime i do it, i just cant seem to make it right !

thanks ! she is a good girl, she certainly tries. so far we havent done much xc but she loves it !


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## FSHjumper (Apr 26, 2011)

I think you guys look very good, and I got to say I ADORE your horse. Love the look and the attitude. I say you look very jumper through the whole thing, but theres is a tendency to jump ahead and duck. I read that your working on it, and I feel that your not really unsafe with it which is good. Id say to focus on keeping more bend in your knee and get your butt back over the saddle more. A great way to practice to get the right form back is to lower the fences to about 2' so you dont have to worry about really using yourself over them. Approach in two point for atleast 3 strides before and stay in two point for several strides after. Make sure you dont change your form at all, have your seat back, leg under you, and hands forward. Place them INTO the horses neck if you need to, not on top but right into the side of the crest. Keep that form the whole time and as your horse jumps shell close your hip angle, not you ducking to close the angle. Have someone video tape too so that way you can watch and see the difference in it. Ive been jumping for a long time, but I often go back to this technique every couple months to make sure I stay in good form. My mare has a big jump so I often find myself ducking to compensate for it instead of following with her


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

^^i think thats why i do it too. even over 2ft my mare will jump big, she just loves to jump ! if i jump a 2ft course she will get excited and jump bigger and bigger over every fence haha. 

thanks for the ideas =]


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

i really want to jump gypsy again this week, but she got kicked on her neck and its swollen- since yesterday. im supposed to take her to a xc clinic on memorial day, fingers crossed !


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## FSHjumper (Apr 26, 2011)

So did you get to take her to a clinic? I hope shes feeling better. I actually just went back to jumping my mare, weve been doing flat work for ever lately, and I practiced the technique I was telling you, good thing because my mare was so ecstatic to be jumping haha!


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

ya i did ! she was CRAZY, just nuts for the first about 10 jumps. they were really little ones, which she has trouble jumping because she doesnt repect them going up to them and then shes jumps them like they are 4ft tall. she was squealing, leaping, kicking, running sideways, and trying to bolt. but after that she was totally perfect, it was awesome ! the trainer i was riding with said he'd never seen such a quick turn around hahaha


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## FSHjumper (Apr 26, 2011)

oh good! What sort of techniques did she ahve you work on in the clinic? I should try them lol. My mare loves to jump too, and since I havent been doing it much that past two times shes just gone crazy and is like a race horse right out of the gate at every fence! She usually respects them mroe if theyre higher so I upped the height to 3' and she was still a n ut and took off so far from it that she actually landed into the jump. were fine obviously but it sure did irritate the heck out of me because she just completely disregarded all my attempts to get her to settle and jump properly!


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

in our warm up [over SJ fences] we worked on having a consistant pace to the jumps and me not giving too much rein on take off and over the jumps. if i dont keep contact while shes jumping she gets really long in the air and then lands running [as you can see in the video in the op haha] when she was being a nut on xc i just kept doing the line of jumps and ignoring her until she settled and then i let her walk. 

im going xc schooling again on thurs and havent jumped since last time so hopefully she is a good girl ! its been super hot here [heat index of 105F] 90degree weather is really unusual around here and its so humid !


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## FSHjumper (Apr 26, 2011)

ugh yea its been hot like that here lately too. I jumped my mare last night, she was MUCH better, I guess her hitting that one fence on Sat. is still with her lol. If I have too much contact on her though she will just run harder at them lol so I need to always have the median between too much and not enough or else its a bad jump!


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