# Critique My Jumping.



## Picture Perfect (Oct 9, 2008)

Please do not critique the horse Mickey. 
What I see with myself, is that I need to stay off his neck in some of the pictures and flatten my back a bit more. 
































































What do you guys think?


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## Misfit (Jun 29, 2009)

Two biggest things that I see is that you have a bit of a 'cat in heat' jumping position, and you really shove your release forward, there's no need to be THAT far up the neck. 

You're leaning on his neck quite a bit in some pics, I suggest doing lots of grids no stirrups/no reins to get you more balanced in your jumping position.


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## TheBigCheese (Aug 14, 2009)

Your release is okay. No need to close your hip angle so much. These fences are not that big. Overall, your position is quite lovely. I have not seen many people on this board in fact who can actually ride! Nice.


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## lovemyponies (Jul 26, 2008)

you don't need to be so far out of the saddle but I agree you ride better than most and have some good basics!


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## Picture Perfect (Oct 9, 2008)

Thanks everyone. Mickey has a huge jump, and the fences are around 3'3.


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## Sunny06 (Jun 22, 2009)

Oh, definetely the ol' cat-in-heat pose. 

Definetely need to work without sturrips. You need to stop relying on your sturrips so much.


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

Wait...what sunny?????? Please explain your "critique" a bit more.....


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## upsidedown (Jul 10, 2008)

That is actually the best release I've seen that fits with hunters - crest release and overly closed hip angle are preferred. I like that you don't have what I often see in that ring, pinched knees and jumping ahead. Though you do occasionally jump ahead mostly you look good. Not that I'm intentionally singling out hunters, there are a lot of things that are typical of jumpers and eventers too.

Haha and if you're in the eq ring then... We'll just pretend I didn't say anything at all.


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## Sunny06 (Jun 22, 2009)

MIEventer said:


> Wait...what sunny?????? Please explain your "critique" a bit more.....


When you 'duck' too much throwing yourself a bit too far on the horse's neck and your butt is, well, up in the air....

Might be a desirable hunter trait, I dunno...

Ask Misfit, she knows a bunch on that subject. 'Cat in heat' is what we call it.


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## Picture Perfect (Oct 9, 2008)

Haha, ok... Wasn't expecting THOSE type of reply's. 



MIEventer said:


> Wait...what sunny?????? Please explain your "critique" a bit more.....


What do you think? You're the expert.


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

No Sunny, I am not talking about that...



> Definetely need to work without sturrips. You need to stop relying on your sturrips so much.


I am talking about what you said here...please define where you are coming from on this part.



> What do you think? You're the expert. :grin:


I am by no means, an expert. That is GM.


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## Picture Perfect (Oct 9, 2008)

MIEventer said:


> I am by no means, an expert. That is GM.


Well I think you give excellent advice.


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## Sunny06 (Jun 22, 2009)

Look at her 3rd picture and you should get what I mean. She's practically standing in her sturrips and sticking her, um, bottom in the air.

When you practice with no sturrips it helps you rely more on your seat and less on your sturrips.

Catch my drift?


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## Picture Perfect (Oct 9, 2008)

Here's a video if that helps... I'm not really catching your drift though, because my ducking is causing that, not because I'm relying too much on my stirrups.
And Yes... I know my leg swings horribly too.


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## Sunny06 (Jun 22, 2009)

That is one HUGE gorgeous horse you got there O.O

Maybe just try it in the ring for fun. It strengthens other things too.


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

Sunny, that has absolutely nothing to do with her stirrups. When a rider is practically standing up, that is not because the rider is relying too much on their irons, that is because they are 

a) riding the fence, not their horse 
b) Anticipating the jump 
c) Not relying on their lower body - not sinking weight into heels and inner calf not wrapped around girth...instead pinching knee's and opening their knee's instead of sinking down 
d) Not allowing their horse to do their job 
e) Not staying over their horses center of gravity

~~~~~~

Picture Perfect, I think you and your horse make a fabulous team and your horse is drop dead gorgeous. You both are wonderfully turned out and look very sharp. I love that your horse is keen on his job at hand and is enjoying every moment. 

I have to keep in mind, that you are a Hunter, while I am not. So - form and functionally differ greatly between our two disciplines. So this is coming from an Eventers point of view.

I think your leather length is perfect. I love that your irons are placed properly on the ball of your toes and I love that you are allowing your heels to do their job, most of the time.

There are times where you look wonderful. Your seat is dead center over your saddle. Your legs are glued to your girth. Your relase is wonderful - can't complain. You are allowing your horse to do his job while you stay out of his way.

Then there are moments where you are riding the fence, and not your horse. There are some shots where you are really tense in your ankle and greatly over flexed and you are throwing yourself up and out - but I'm not going to preach at ya. 

While people are saying your tooshy is like a cat in heat - *Yes your hip angle is too closed and booty a bit far out of your tack* we cannot complain ...... your horse is a flat jumper IMO. 

When we have a horse with a great bascule over fences, who arcs and rounds over the fence - riders have to learn to allow their horse to come up to them. The rider cannot close the angle for the horse, the rider has to allow their horse to do the job instead. But when we have a horse that is more flat over the fences, we have to aid them by closing the angle *especially for the Hunter Ring where appearance means a pin or no pin* While I would not do this over a CC fence, I can understand the "pose" for the Huner Ring.

If I had my way, from an Eventers point of view, I would make you open your hip angle more and aid you from not needing to rely on your horses neck to support you - but - you're a Hunter. Two different worlds, two different styles of riding. 

I'll tell you what though - I would far rather see a rider with too closed of a hip angle, than seeing them lurching forward and out of their tack at the base of the fence. 

There is a time where you have to ask yourself Picture Perfect - is my form functional? Or is my form becoming too "posed"? I cannot answer that. What I do suggest is finding the thread I started titled "Form Over Fences" in the Jumping Section and have a read.

I do want to say, you look pretty darn tootin' good here:


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

I posted my response before I saw your vid - 

To fix your lower leg, really do allot of two point work. Wen I say allot - I mean hours, apon hours, apon hours. Not 5 mintues here and there, I mean - oober tons. 

Really, really focus on keeping your inner calf at that girth. Wrap your leg around that girth, and do not leg it move. Work on that continuoulsy - it is about muscle memory. Legs stuck at girth. Do not allow your toes to surpass the girth, your toes should be just at the girth. Inner calf wrapped around the girth, open your knees.

Really work hard at that. I'll add more when I watch the vid further than the first few strides on approach to the first fence.

~~~

Because of your leg swinging and due to your inner calf not being secured and locked at that girth - your seat is not stabalized. Every down stride of your horses canter, your seat is landing back into the saddle - when instead, the movement/energy should be absorbed into your knee's. Your knee's should be acting like springs - going down *knee's closing* during your horses' up stride, and going up *knee's opening* in your horses down stride. Understand what I am talking about?

This way, your seat stays out of the saddle freeing your horses back, legs are solid at girth, heels deep - knee's taking all the energy.


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## Sunny06 (Jun 22, 2009)

What I said is what I saw, and only an opinion.

Now OP can choose to ignore it, or she can listen. Either way, I don't find it necessary to discuss who's 'right or wrong'.

I'd still give riding around for a bit without them a try. Even for 5 minutes. Never hurts to try other things and exercises to help strengthen your riding muscles. Even if that isn't the problem.


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## Picture Perfect (Oct 9, 2008)

Thanks you guys! I hope I didn't sound rude or anything I _did_ ask for a critique so I got a good one. 

But... When I am sitting the canter, with or without stirrups, my leg doesn't swing. I also do a ton of no stirrup work at the canter (Which I do regularly) and my leg is perfectly still - same with jumping. It's just I put my feet into those irons and it swings all over the place. It only does that with Mickey, but his canter is *extremely* bouncy - so I'm thinking that has a part of it. Also, in hunters you need to be standing out of the saddle a little. (My trainer calls it sinking.) So I'm putting all the weight in my heels, but it's still swinging. Any suggestions?


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## Picture Perfect (Oct 9, 2008)

Sunny06 said:


> That is one HUGE gorgeous horse you got there O.O


Thank you so much!


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## mckenna310 (Aug 9, 2009)

i like your eq. i just think you dont need to release quite so long. a short release is fine. and yu are jumping a bit ahead of him. wait for him.


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## lovemyponies (Jul 26, 2008)

you have better equitation than most, yes your leg is moving in the video,you already know that, I think the biggest thing is think about not letting your hindend rise up so much, but what you are doing is certainly functional and not messing with the horse.. however in the video seems like your ride with reins rather short? Is there a reason for that? overall a nice pair


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## kchfuller (Feb 1, 2008)

to add to what has been said, i would challenge you to do all your warm up before jumping in your two point. or work up to that anyways


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