# Something is missing :/ (jumping)



## brittabam (May 7, 2010)

I can tell something is lacking from my jump position. I feel like my leg has gotten better but not my overall position? How can I improve this? 

Unfortunately I only get to jump once a week and I hack the rest. Two point and riding with out stirrups are both implemented daily.


A few months ago:




































Recent:


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## jumanji321 (Dec 1, 2010)

You need to release.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

in the first photos you are jumping ahead. out of those three, the first photo is my favorite, your leg and over all position look pretty solid. the big thing i notice is that you are trying to release by throwing your body forward, and leaving your hands planted in one spot. your leg has slipped back slightly, but that will be fixed by not throwing your body forward.

in the most recent photo, you look like you are trying to release, but you are behind your horses motion so you are already sitting back down in the tack and pulling back on the reins. all you would need to change is to fold at your hips and you would have a very solid jumping position. if i were you i would not be using spurs over fences. your position has improved, but i get the impression that its not very consistant. 

your horse is really cute, he looks like a guy i just sold. and i love the heart on his bum =]


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## brittabam (May 7, 2010)

gypsygirl said:


> in the first photos you are jumping ahead. out of those three, the first photo is my favorite, your leg and over all position look pretty solid. the big thing i notice is that you are trying to release by throwing your body forward, and leaving your hands planted in one spot. your leg has slipped back slightly, but that will be fixed by not throwing your body forward.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks so much for your input. Out of curiosity why do you think I should ditch the spurs? I'll try it as she is hott and has been running out after jumps. I use them on the flat to help get her round.

It sounds like in the first few pictures I threw myself forward and now I resiste and dont relase. So now do I need to is fold more over the horse and put my hands more forward on her neck?

As for the horse is a 4 year old otto. Pretty green but a sweetheart. The first photos of her were about the 5 or 6th time she had been jumped.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

In addition to what has been mentioned (particularly the release - ouch!), try not to grip with your knees. Your position can only be solid in the tack over a fence if you are anchored firmly in your stirrups without trying to pinching at the knee as you lose your lower leg in this manner, second picture it is most evident. 

Keep your stirrup on the girth, the moment your leg swings back, pivotal point being the knee, your position is lost and essentially unrecoverable for that jump, giving your horse a rather uncomfortable landing!

Each photo shows a different position, as Gypsy mentioned, it appears as though there is some inconsistency in your position - you're ahead of the jump, behind the jump, everywhere! I think lots of two point work over grids and poles to develop good muscle memory to develop a good solid two point.

Good work on looking up and ahead and well done on fixing the chicken arms I see in the first pic!! Lovely horse with a nice attitude, good luck.


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## kcscott85 (Jul 28, 2010)

The two biggest faults are your release and your knees. 
It’s important to release with your hands when you jump because horses have to stretch their necks to jump. If your hands are stationary then when she goes to stretch out, the bit is pulling in her mouth. OUCH! You can Google or YouTube what a crest release looks like, and when you have a consistent independent seat, can work on the auto release. 

Pinching our knees is a very, very common fault. Our goal is to stay on the horse when it jumps, and it’s instinctive to grasp with everything we have to cling to the hurtling animal. The knee is our main leg joint, so that’s what we use to hold on. Remember to ride around your horse, not just perched on top. Until it becomes habit, you will have to consciously remind yourself to sink all your weight through your legs and down into your stirrups. Make sure your legs are resting softly against the sides of the saddle- not too tight, but there should be no air between your legs and the saddle. When you learn to stop grasping at the saddle, your legs will not swing back nearly as much. 

As others have mentioned, you are either in front of or behind your horse’s motion. We, as riders, really don’t give our horses enough credit or trust them enough when jumping. I always remind myself that the horse wants to get over it safely as much as we do, and the horse will do everything in its power to do that. Your horse will judge the distance and when it needs to take off and how much power is needed to get over it. The less we do to screw with the horse’s process, the better. Jumping ahead causes the horse to have to work harder to clear the jump, since all your weight is on its front end. Being left behind can cause a hard landing because the horse to compensate for all the weight that is suddenly on its back end. Let the horse tell your body when it’s time to get out of the saddle and when it’s time to settle back in, and let the horse be the one to close your hip joints. This takes so much practice, it’s not even funny. The no stirrup and two-point work will definitely help, but really actually jumping is the only way to get this down pat. You said you only get to jump once a week…would you be able to ask if you can ride other horses in addition to jumping once a week? Or when hacking out, are there small logs or objects you can practice jumping with?

You look like you have a solid foundation, now it’s just time to apply that to jumping!


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## Lost without horses (Dec 29, 2011)

In addition to the release and knee grip, pull your shoulders back. It also appears that you may be holding your breath....just breath


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## lynn3765 (Dec 14, 2011)

Lost without horses said:


> It also appears that you may be holding your breath....just breath


Man...if I had a nickel every time I heard my trainer say the exact same thing .

One thing to remember about two point is that it isn't just dropping forward. You need to close the hip angle, keeping your center of balance over the center of the saddle and the horse's back. In the fourth pic, where you seemed to have gooten left behind, if you take your leg and knee position there, and were to mentally just envision dropping your chest keeping your shoulder open, you would have the general good position. Take your leg and knee position from the fourth pic and put those on top of your upper body position in the first pic...with a little refining that would be the position you want. 

You want to, how do I put this gently , push your backside out behind you and, as I saw in another post somewhere, push the horse away with your hands.


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## Samstead (Dec 13, 2011)

Lost without horses said:


> In addition to the release and knee grip, pull your shoulders back. It also appears that you may be holding your breath....just breath


I agree with the shoulders part. You're pulling your shoulders up to your head. Keep them down my guess is it'll feel a lot more comfortable. Could it be that you're tensing? I totally get that when I frost started jumping and once in a while now I get nervous, but I don't know if I tense up.


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## mudpie (Jul 15, 2011)

Work on releasing and being a bit softer in your hands, as well as keeping your shoulders back. When your shoulders go back, you should really see improvement, because your body will close a bit more. Your leg has improved immensely – you were pinching with your knee.

And actually, it's good that you're only jumping once a week. You shouldn't jump a horse more than twice a week.


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## ErinMalone (Jan 30, 2012)

You need to work on your release. You also need to hold your upper body closer to your horse, not quite so far in the air.


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## Sinister (Nov 28, 2011)

Along with what everyone else said, don't know if someone already said this because I just skimmed some of the replies, but in the first two you're back is rounded/hunched over. I know some trainers don't mind it but mine kinda drills us to have a flatter back and have our shoulders back at all times. And the last one looks better besides you being slightly behind.


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## MudPaint (Aug 14, 2010)

Honestly, I think you need to go back to some lower fences and poles. You need to sink your weight into your heel and allow your knee and hip to open up to absorb the shock of the jump. Working with poles takes away the stress of jumping and allows you to just follow the rhythm of the horse as it stretches and collects.

If you were my student, I wouldn't have you jumping these heights until you were able to wrap your leg around the horse, squatting down into the jump and following the motion of your horse's jump with your hand. And yes I agree, ditch the spurs, with your unstable seat/leg, you are probably catching your horse with them.


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## Jumper12 (Feb 2, 2012)

i agree with mudpaint. ditch the spurs and work over lower fences to build your position. try working through some gymnastics if you have a steady horse so you can concentrate on getting your position more steady. good luck


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## brittabam (May 7, 2010)

I wanted to thank everyone for their advice and send a follow up. The first two photos are from last March about 3 months after this post and the last two photo is from this summer. I think we are improving but my upper body still needs help. I will try and get photos this weekend of our current jumping.


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## LikeIke17 (Mar 18, 2011)

Personally, I think the issue is your leg 
Your heel is up and you are pinching with your knee. If you fixed that, I think that would help A LOT. 
You are hunching your shoulders a little bit, that could be what looks strange. 

But really, I think it has improved between the sets of photos.


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## brittabam (May 7, 2010)

Thanks so much! I moved to a new state, switched trainers, and disciplines (hunter/jumper to eventing). I've had about 5 lessons with her so far. I'll have my husband come on Sunday to video so I have some recent photos.


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## JumpingJiminy (May 2, 2012)

I don't typically offer my opinion on the critiques, but I felt that I needed to on this one. Because not long ago I looked like you do in the first picture (more or less). What I noticed is that:

1. Your gripping with your knees.
2. Your consistency is not there.
3. You have no release.

But I do love how you keep your eyes up. 

The main thing that I noticed though.. is that in the first picture especially, you look like you're cringing with your shoulders. You're tensing your body and locking your arms so there is no release there. I have a bad habit like this that I've been working my way out of. It's just not stable. I'm guessing on the backside of this jump (I mean landing transition) You probably had a bit of an inflata-back which is what I did. 

What I've found helps me tremendously is a stride or two away from the jump think "Heels down, don't throw yourself over the jump, relax, release, BREATHE, and open up your shoulders." This change has helped my horse with jumping so much, he used to take down rails all the time and that is why, we haven't had an issue with it for a very long time now.

Other than the things I listed and said by everyone else, that's about it. Keep up the good work, you're looking pretty good. I would love to see some new photo's/videos. See your progress. 

Edit: Also, in the new set of photo's you look like you have improve quite a bit, pulling your shoulders back, you look more relaxed as well.


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## LiveJumpLove (Dec 29, 2012)

You just need to stick your chest out even more and stick your bum to the back just slightly. You've improved a lot and your a good rider and improve fast!


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