Having another crisis - Do you actually enjoy jumping bigger than 1.10?

vam said:
It really depends on the horse. On my old mare i'd come down to a big fence and think 'really?!' but after a while even at 1.20m didnt seem that big (on a 14.3 cob :o) . I was only really out doing 1 - 1.10 and after a while they never looked that big.
My new one i cant wait to start over the bigger fences as he will really start jumping then but i will terrifed when i do. Not because of the height but because i think i will mess it up, ruin him and just be rubbish and never get it right. To me that is more of a handicap than the height. :confused:
I do agree that the more you do the better and easier it gets but the first few times are a killer for your confidence if your not careful.
I loved jumping my mare over 1m to 1.05m tracks as it was easy for her and fun for me, the higher class while still ok but made me abit self critical and very wary of making misstakes, it took some of the fun out of it.
Im hoping that i've defeated these deamons as i really want to move up the levels, for me that it part of it, to keep bettering myself and keep improving. :)
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Completely agree with this. Apart from us giving the horse confidence and not messing it up for them on a regular basis, I have to have confidence in that horse. I am not good with horses that have a dirty stop, give me good one and I feel I could jump the moon and then my confidence will go through to the horse but give me a unreliable one and I wouldn't particually want to jump a cross pole.
 
I've been jumping 1.10's for a year as you know but i still haven't gone clear in one yet. The first one i did, i was shaking and petrified but the more classes you do the smaller the fences look.

I was the same when i did the first Discovery and 1.05m. Now i'm quite happy to go straight into a 1.05 where as a year ago i would have to do a 1m first.

It's not like i'm use to jumping these heights on other horses either as this is the biggist i've jumped on any horse.

I think we're in a similar boat but i try and not measure fences or think how big they are and just take a deep breath and give it a go :)
 
I had always aimed to compete at 1.20m BSJA, but 1.10m is definately my "happy zone", 1.15m is still ok but 1.20m feels a bit scary. I'm really really weird though, but I don't jump big by choice, even in the practice ring I find the fences massive even when they aren't. As soon as I get in the ring, I concentrate so hard that I guess I don't notice the height as much. I'm the same XC, I do novice BE and will happily jump ANY fence at that, but if it was say, a hunter pace or training then I know I'd choose the woosier option!! Basically adrenalin makes things less terrifying ;)

If you're not happy at 1.20m and are questioning it, then why not just do 1.10's and 1.15's? There's no point doing higher if you're not happy about it.
 
magic melon - omg your exactly like me!! My 5yo is out doing 1.05 classes and I NEVER jump that height in the warm up. Maybe I should? I just stick to a simple cross and then a cross in front of a spread and then thats it, i go in! I think it all comes down to me worrying about cocking it up in the practise ring and then being worried about the jumps in the arena - I always tend to ride a bit more determined when Im scared so just seem to get on with it!
 
I do that too.............. My belief is that if your confident and well enough warmed up that a few cm extra in the ring won't make a huge difference, as long as we're warmed up confidently!
 
sorry not read other replies but I am EXACTLY the same. A break did me the world of good but then typically horse and myself broke!

Take a step back from it, enjoy your horse, don't put any pressure on anything, and see where it takes you x
 
A cross pole is beyond me now but in my jumping days (when jumps were smaller) Foxhunter/Grade C was the tops of my comfort zone and there probably was the occasional class with a distance or a double which I thought me/my horse would struggle with and I would withdraw (telling my mother that I thought horse had done enough for the day). For me I think it was definitely more about a particular related distance rather than the height of the fences as I did have the odd hang up or two or three.
 
It's amazing how quick things that look big, suddenly don't seem that big anymore. I remember my daughter being on ponies, and moving through the bottom hole jumping to the 2ft3, 2ft6 etc., then doing trailblazers, 75/85/95. The first 1.05 she did was petrifying - but then we started BS, and quickly got onto doing Newcomers which at the time was petrifying, then the first foxhunter which terrified me (and her if she's honest). She's now jumping 1.40s and the terror is back with me - when she did her first 1.40, I've never seen her so quiet - but her buzz is doing it, so she keeps on with it - although it's frightening, she describes it as a "good fear"........she says as soon as that bell rings, all fear goes, and it's an adrenaline rush to start the course and get it right (she's not quite getting 1.40s right yet, but slowly but surely.....)

To the OP - do what you are happy with - if you are feeling the "good fear", then great, if you are feeling the terror, then move back a level. It's meant to be a hobby, so therefore something you enjoy.
 
Marsbar said:
She's now jumping 1.40s and the terror is back with me - when she did her first 1.40, I've never seen her so quiet - but her buzz is doing it, so she keeps on with it - although it's frightening, she describes it as a "good fear"........she says as soon as that bell rings, all fear goes, and it's an adrenaline rush to start the course and get it right (she's not quite getting 1.40s right yet, but slowly but surely.....)

To the OP - do what you are happy with - if you are feeling the "good fear", then great, if you are feeling the terror, then move back a level. It's meant to be a hobby, so therefore something you enjoy.
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I can completely relate to this.
 
I've got "baby horse" eyes now, so am really wimpy about heights when I walk them/think too much, but once I get on doing it I am fine.

I find walking what I've been jumping in lessons afterwards makes life a lot easier, as I then know how it walks once I have jumped it easliy... :) :D
 
I really don't get worried about jumping anything at home.....regularly school over 1.30m/1.40m fences....course and lines too not just single fences. Put me in the ring though and i dry up...fear of failure and fear of making a hash of it in front of others. In fact, i did a clear round evening at our yard the other week.....just jumped the course at 90cms...but really found myself tensing up and pulling and generally stressing about things. A few days earlier i had jumped in the same ring with just my OH watching and we pinged happily around everything upto about 1.25m.It's really frustrating because i know what we are capable of as a combination...but just can't put it all together in the ring at the moment :(
 
KatB said:
I've got "baby horse" eyes now, so am really wimpy about heights when I walk them/think too much, but once I get on doing it I am fine. :D
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I totally know what you mean by "baby horse" eyes! I am jumping a horse for someone at the moment (not a baby, but never jumped before) - and after jumping her round 80-90cm tracks makes fences seem much bigger than before when I get back on Maggie and jump her heights (although she is a giant).

So it is definitely to do with what you are used to. And OP - we are amateurs and doing this to have fun - if you are not enjoying it there is no point in pushing yourself too much. Much better to do what you are comfortable with and do it well, and most importantly, have fun!
 
"Somewhere behind the athlete you've become, the hours of practice, the trainers who push you, and the fans who cheer for you, is the little girl who fell in love with the sport and never looked back. Do it for her!"

- Jess_asterix, I absolutely love this quote, its definitely something we all forget :)
(Sorry I realise that this isn't really to do with this particular forum)

As far as practising/competing out of your comfort zone, I always practice at home bigger than I compete at, however I always feel absolutely sick with nerves in the warm up. I settle as I enter the ring, but honestly go green whilst practising in the warm up ring and generally majorly cock up at least 2 practice jumps! However, both my calm and tolerant horse and my not so calm but very tolerant mother put up with me, and I put myself through it because ultimately I thoroughly enjoy it and when a placing comes along, rare as it may be, it makes every second worth it. My mother tells me all the time; my horses cost me too much money not to enjoy, so I should feel happy with what I'm doing. Yes I have days where I want to give it up, yes I have days where I depsiar I'll ever be any better than average, but does it matter? Not really, because I love my horses :)

So just enjoy what you do, and every now and then, push yourself to make yourself feel young again!
 
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