# Please critique our jumpin =)



## PurpleMonkeyWrench (Jun 12, 2012)

No critique here other then release. More release. gorgeous horses and i like the brown horses form over the fences.


----------



## Stilton (Oct 31, 2008)

It seems like you are hanging on the horses mouth in a few pictures. You definitely need a softer release and more weight in your leg/heel so that your are not hanging on the horses mouth for balance. There's a few pictures where you got in close to the fence, use bounces and poles to help your get your striding correct.

In the first flat picture your lower leg needs to be more underneath you not swinging back, this is likely due to the very short (jumping??) stirrups. You need to shorten your reins and bring your hands further in front of you. Wrists straight and thumbs up!


----------



## onuilmar (Feb 8, 2013)

Heels down. 

In at least a few of the jumps, your legs have swung back and you are in danger of pitching forward. I am not sure whether you jumped ahead or if the horse jumped so flat that it pulled you forward. 

If the latter is the case, let the reins slide through your fingers. It needs to extend its neck, but it's dangerous for you to be pulled out fo the tack. If you let the reins slide, you can stay in position. Just gather up the reins once you land.


----------



## texasgal (Jul 25, 2008)

LOL .. my only critique are the tennis shoes you appear to be wearing in the first picture... 

To some folks it's helmets... to me, boots.


----------



## Flipper (Jul 25, 2012)

I would personally lower the jumps a bit for a while and go do a bit of muscle strengthening and I don't mean this in a harsh way but I will explain my reasoning!

I would say the photos suggest that your position (meaning core,leg strength etc.) isn't quite strong enough for the height and the result is your seat is not strong enough so you are hanging on to the reins as support causing you to be pulled forward out of your seat, sometimes further unbalancing you causing a vicious cycle! 

So I would suggest getting into that two point on a lunge with loose reins or simply riding round in lots of two point provided the horse is same enough to not take this as a go faster cue (maybe avoid doing this on the grey from the sound of it! Haha) to improve strength before going quite this high! 

Hopefully this is helpful and I do not mean this comment as any offence as that is a very high jump in my opinion!


----------



## Flipper (Jul 25, 2012)

Also just adding to my previous comment perhaps doing slightly wider jumps (i want to say oxers but can't remember if that is the correct term!) so the motion isn't so up and down which is harder to keep your position and is more of a smooth curve!


----------



## Artemis (Apr 27, 2010)

Thank you all guys =)

About the release. I agree completely that it could be better. Specially with the bay. I will try to practice it with her. But at the same time if they do not ask more? The thing is I tried giving more with the grey one at some point and the rein just ended up being loose since she did not ask/need (?) more an I lost my contact during the jump. 

With the leg you mean i should have heels more down? I'm an eventer at the moment and have done a lot of XC training lately. I'm pretty sure my show jumping form has changed due that one as well 
All the weigh is in the stirrup ;P It's just that I don't push the heel down but instead "stand" on the ball of my foot. That way it is easier to maintain the two-point and my gravity point stays correct. So in regular jumping I should try to go back with the heel down more to prevent the leg sliding back? It doesn't affect my balance whatsoever in the saddle as far as I can feel.

texasgal - waah I know  I was not supposed to ride her there I was just watching but the girl had some problems so i went up for a little to see what it exactly was. They look (and feel) awful xD
Stiltion - yep the first flat one the stirrups were short for me =)


----------



## Artemis (Apr 27, 2010)

Flipper thank you =)
I will be training more two point with my horses for a while. 
Actually the main reason I wanted this critique was to get another opinion about my lower leg. These pictures are taken right after I got back into jumping after my injury (ripped a ligament of my right ankle). After all your advise I will take it low for another month at least at the moment and then see how my form is. 
Do you think I could still compete up to 3'3? I'm used to going up to 4'1 in the competitions but that has to wait a little bit more


----------



## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Both horses are good jumpers. First photo, no matter how tempting it is to warm up and hack in sneakers, say NO. Boots support your whole leg INCLUDING a healing ankle injury. Those shoes can slip right through English stirrups. I agree that you hang on the bay's mouth a bit. I love who both horses tuck--nice and scopey. What breed (s)?


----------



## onuilmar (Feb 8, 2013)

Artemis said:


> With the leg you mean i should have heels more down? I'm an eventer at the moment and have done a lot of XC training lately. I'm pretty sure my show jumping form has changed due that one as well
> All the weigh is in the stirrup ;P It's just that I don't push the heel down but instead "stand" on the ball of my foot. That way it is easier to maintain the two-point and my gravity point stays correct. So in regular jumping I should try to go back with the heel down more to prevent the leg sliding back? It doesn't affect my balance whatsoever in the saddle as far as I can feel.


Absolutely, heels down. It's for your safety, not about form for the sake of form. And while I agree that you maintain your balance, it makes me quesy looking at it. I too train as an eventer, and this is advice given to me constantly by my instructor. (And by the way, you're a better jumpter than me.) This advice is true for both show jumping and cross country. 

And it's not just that your heels should be lower, but that all your weight should be resting in your heels. That way if something happens, you might stay in the tack. And while you're right, you're balanced as is, you're balanced on a pivot point and not with a firm foundation under you.

Hope this helps.

ETA: Try clamping your legs against the horse's side to maintain the two point in the field. Try that with the heels down rather than standing in the stirrups.


----------



## Artemis (Apr 27, 2010)

They bay is westfalen (not sure how to write it).
And the grey one is PSH x thoroughbred... the worst mix I have ever stumbled on. but she formed out pretty well. 
And like I said it was a one time slip in my attire. Will not happen again. Well yeah I do ride with sneakers when I'm bareback sometimes.

onuilmar - my eventing trainer coached an Olympic eventing team...I trust what he says and he has never failed me so far. But I will try to work out a compromise here between my heels and me =)
But when you constantly push your heels down doesn't it make you fall "back" more? When i started eventing I had this problem almost all the time. And when my instructor asked me to move my weigh more to the point that is actually on the stirrup I only managed to keep my two point for a short while. But looking back it trained my lower leg good and helped me recover quicker later =)


----------



## Canterklutz (Jul 20, 2012)

You really need to lower the jumps and go back to the basics to build a more solid foundation. It's not your heels that are the problem. It's your whole leg and base of support. You're pinching with your knees and just perching yourself up instead of using your core muscles for balance. Your release is less than ideal. Almost looks like you're just pointing and aiming the horse at the jump and hoping to make it over instead of really supporting the horse. 

You would really benefit from lots of no stirrup-no rein work over grids. A good exercise for your core is going stirrupless at the trot and leaning back in the saddle just enough to feel the burn in your stomach. Out of the saddle, lots of sit ups/crunches, calf raises (with either dumb bells or fill two book bags with heavy textbooks and hold them at your sides), lunges, and stretching.


----------



## onuilmar (Feb 8, 2013)

BTW, tere nendele kes on eestis.

I yield to CK on why, but I think you are in a precarious situation. And I don't doubt that your eventing coach is higher up the scale than mine. However, I see you on a pivot point and so do the others. That's not a firm place as any small amount of weight will cause you to tip.

It maybe as CanterKlutz and the others say that the remedy is work without irons, etc to strengthen the core. 

And the Europeans jump differently than the Americans, according to my instructor. Watching the Olympic jumping video posted here on this forum by Jake and Dai was an eye opener for me. Many of those Olympic athletes violated many safety rules for jumping that I have been taught.

And as an old lady, I value safety. As I said, you are a better jumper than I and I wish you the best of luck.


----------



## Artemis (Apr 27, 2010)

onuilmar - elan hetkel veel siiski Taanis =)

By no means did I try to turn over anything anyone said here. Since it has been long time (a month) when i had a second pair of good eyes on me while I'm jumping I decided to get a bit help from here 
I will be doing more strengthening work beside the jumping from now on. And also try to work on my heel position.
I'm the kind of rider who always questions everything and everyone since I want to know why, how and when so i could make the best out of all the advice and instructions given. So when my coach says to do something I always want to know why and how will it help me =) That's why I'm asking a bit more here =)

Canterklutz- how low is low for me? I don't jump these height every training. Most of the trainings I will stay around 2-3' and do lot of detailed work (gymnastics, turns and so on). Would that still be ok? And I can tell it would be impossible to jump either of the horses without supporting them the whole way. The bay is easier but she gets easily distracted by everything else around her. And i will add some of that to me rehab. exercise list as well thank you =)


----------



## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

On the second horse especially, your back is roached and you have no contact from the knee down. If you stand straight up in the tack, let all your weight sink into your heels, and then almost sit down in the saddle, that's where you body should be when jumping. You obviously can jump the jumps, but the form is lacking. Stronger core for flatter back, open your upper body, redistribute your lower leg so you're not pinching with your knee. I think at your experience level, this could all be fixed quickly. Love the horses.


----------



## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Subscribing to reply later. 

Biggest issue for me is that you're pinching with your knees and have no base of support; everything else stems from that.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Nikkibella (Mar 10, 2012)

Drop your weight in your heels more , definitely give more release over the jump and landing and stick out your booty and drop your chest on his neck a little more but remember to keep your eye up when you drop your chest . Good luck !
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## IrishEventer (May 14, 2013)

I've noticed your leg has slipped back A LOT. Try keeping your heels down and squeezing you calves ''around'' the horse. Which means tighten your calves into the side of the horse a few strides before the jump to keep your horse going onward towards the jumps and it helps you balance going over the jump.


----------

