First Ever Jumping Lesson- Eeek!

[kppony]

Hi everyone,

I started riding in September and became a sharer of a lovely TB mare in February and we are having our first jumping lesson tomorrow. I have never jumped before so I am very nervous. I've been doing some trotting and canter poles in preparation but tomorrow I'll actually be leaving the ground!

Any advice would be appreciated! And also any tips on how to keep calm and not get too nervous!!

Thanks xxx

 

[Saxon_Jasmine]

Remember to breathe! The horse will pick up on your nerves so try and keep calm, and enjoy it If you are feeling nervous you can sing an upbeat song in your head. Also, don't worry about making mistakes.

Good luck and have fun

 

[E_Lister]

Have fun!

Jumping is really exciting (for me), it adds something totally different to any hacking/flatwork you do.

Advice would be, don't be ashamed to have a neckstrap or hold onto the horses mane, it helps me feel more secure if I haven't jumped for a while

Also ask your instructor to count down strides for you at first, that way you don't have to worry about that, at least not initially, you can concentrate on everything else but still know when your horse will jump.

 

[kppony]

Thanks for the replies I'm so excited about tomorrow, ever since I was a small girl I've wanted to learn to jump so I'm very anxious to get going and do it right!

I'll def try to remember to keep breathing and i'll def have a neckstrap also. I also had a body protector fitted last week in preparation as the last thing I want is to fall off and seriously hurt myself in my first lesson!

I also wanted to know... what does it actually feel like when you jump?

 

[Saxon_Jasmine]

Depends how big you jump really! A 1ft to 2ft3 jump feels like a canter stride (unless the horse has a massive jump) anything bigger sort of feels like.... ummm.. try an imagine the movement a horse does when he jumps, he puts his weight into his hind legs, pushes off, stretches his neck and body when he's in the air, then goes downwards and lands. Then try and imagine what it's like sitting to that movement... that's what jumping feels like

In a less technical way.. jumping is like flying and is amazing!!