# horse+rider jumping critique :)



## GeminiJumper (Jun 12, 2008)

You guys look GREAT! You and the horse. I am very impressed seeing as you are self taught! The only comment I could say and that would be nit picking is to turn your toe more forward instead of gripping with the back of your calf muscle. Your are in great balance with your horse! Kudos!!


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## PintoTess (Aug 18, 2010)

looks good. may i offer one tip? tuck your toes in a little bit more to the horses sides. And as the jumps get bigger you will need a little more release in your hands. Make sense?
good work self teaching yourself  you should be proud


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## sullylvr (Aug 13, 2009)

when i read the "self taught" part i was like oh great but then i scrolled down and saw the picture. yall loook amazing, i never would have know you were never trained. your the perfect example of self taugh riding dont right. and your horse looks incredible too. nice distance and judgement. only thing i would say is the same as the other two, your toes should be pointed more forward. goooddd luck to yall though i bed hes do awesome jumping at a show!


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## haleylvsshammy (Jun 29, 2010)

"Self-taught"? You're lying! You look too good to be self-taught! You look fantastic! Your horse is gorgeous, love all the matching blue!


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## cosmomomo (Aug 10, 2010)

haha thanks guys, it really makes me feel good seeing all of your nice replies. the only lessons ive had were when i was younger (4-8 years old), but all western. they put me in a cutback saddle and i fell in love with english and wanted to jump lol. i had some initial flatwork lessons, but i hated every instructor that i had. i either found them to mean (lol) or they were never available to give lessons. so i was pretty much on my own anyways. i have done ABSOLUTELY all of the work on that horse and he is my heart and soul. i cannot explain my proundness of him or love for him in words. other people have gotten on him, like friends, but no one else has ever jumped him.

and believe me, training a horse is no easy feat lol. basically ive learned from watching other people, listening to their advice and opinions when i ask them something and facebook's Judge My Ride lol! 

as for the colours, i think the blue suits him very well  one of my friends barrel races and her colours are purple for one horse and pink for the other, and my jumping buddy's colour is green. so i figured no one had used blue yet, and its pretty easy to find stuff in it  except those boots. i bought them dark grey and painted them with sample wall paint and clear acrylic ;D btw, that ended up being a really good idea! lol!


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## Ak1 (Mar 14, 2010)

Great job! Beautiful jumps... One thing that is not always obvious through a picture, but just make sure that your weight is pressing down in your hips and butt still so if there ever was *heaven forbid* a trip after, you wouldn't fall  Great job!


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Love the position. Toes turned out a little. Horse looks to be leaving a bit long, but I'm not certain. Hopefullly someone with more experience will chime in on the distance. Great job.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Very nice! You make a great pair & will WOW them at the show!

Something looks a bit off to me though, is your saddle slipping or your stirrups uneven or maybe you are tipping in the upper half to the left a little & pressing more on the right stirrup? It may just be the picture, but you look to be leaning a little left & the horse a little to the right...

Yes, toes a little too far out, as others say. You could start working on the automatic crest release, you seem secure enough to use one.


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

Your are to be commended on getting this far with this horse as self taught; your position is excellent. I do have a couple of quibbles or things you might consider working on. 

I agree with AnitaAnne, but to me it looks like the horse is laying on his right side in the air a little bit. The clincher for me is to look at how your horse has pushed off - right hind toe is off the ground, left hind is flat footed. I'm guessing your horse is strongly left sided, and prefers to push off from the left hind, which leads to the crookedness/laying on the right side in the air. There are a couple of things you can do to help this - a really disciplined approach to your flat work, where you work more to the right that the left and getting him supple and even on both sides, and a lot of work with gymnastics and ground poles to encourage him to engage both hinds evenly. 

You might consider laying poles up on the fence to "funnel" him to the middle and make it harder for him to be uneven. 

Unfortunately, all the things I've described are much easier with a knowledgable ground person. 

I also think you can stand a little more release - his head and neck position, particularly his face being close to vertical, hint at him being restricted.


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## VictoriasHeart (Nov 21, 2010)

great form! love u and the horse but one thing.... u taught yourself INCREDIBLE u have talent!!!


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## LeosAmericanShadow (Sep 5, 2009)

im impressed! you look Great for being self taught, both of ya'll!


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## Clementine (Sep 24, 2009)

Wow, self taught...you are the most perfect example of a natural rider that I have ever seen! You look fantastic! I would bring your upper body back just a smidge, and then release a bit more. 

I hope you are planning to have a career as a trainer. I would hate to see all that talent going to waste at a desk job. 

Maura makes a good point about your horses uneven position. I would love to see more pics to see if it was more of a one-time thing, or a frequent occurrence. 

The thing that concerns me is the fit of your saddle. That big gap between his back and the saddle makes me think it's probably too tight in the shoulder. What size tree is it?


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## cosmomomo (Aug 10, 2010)

I actually want to be an equine vet  but i hope to be able to keep riding and maybe take in a few to be trained. the saddle has a medium tree, but it has the interchangeable gullet. it doesnt seem to bother him, but if i were to put it in a larger size would that make it lower on his withers? he has decent sized withers and i wouldnt want it rubbing. but if that wouldnt be the case, then i would deffinately try a different size  thanks again guys  And ill post some other pics when im not using my phone, he favors landing on his left lead so, that probably is the case, he also tends to jump to close to the right of the standards. unfortunately i havent been able to ride in the last couple weeks due to weather, time change and i got my wisdom teeth out last week  but oh well, it happens lol
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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