Help from sj people please

[showjump2003]

Feeling rather deflated writing this. For those that don't know me and my horse, Hi. I'm 21 years old and am just a happy riding club level rider. My horse is a 15.2hh mare and is a lovely riding club horse so suits me down to the ground. Competition wise we mainly sj and are happy jumping 2ft6 - 3ft courses. The problem is though, before I jump an open class I like to do the intermediate first and if that goes well then I will go in to the bigger class. In three weeks time I am part of my riding club team going about 3 hours away from home to compete in a 2ft9 class. Please don't laugh as I know 2ft9 will sound small to you guys but to me a full up 2ft9 course can look pretty big

. I used to be so confident on my mare but now I'm pretty scared about the idea!

Not really sure what the purpose of this post it! Anyone offer any words of advice?

 

[mat]

I know some ppl will disagree but I was always taught to look at the groundline instead of the top of the fence so you dont get distracted by the height! maybe that will help! Good luck!!

 

[gemmaw]

do you have anywhere quite local that you can hire out with a full course of jumps?? You can put up a 2'9 course and just take her straight in to see how she is. If you can do that you should be fine with the comp

 

[lucemoose]

Its a team comp so just think of it as a social outing!! Walk the course as a team, take drinks and nibble and treat it as fun, dont think about the height. My last team comp got built up pretty big but we were all in it together so was awesome.

 

[riaseed007]

I often feel really sick when going in to jump, I used to be a lot worse though like I wanted to be sick off the side all the time!
I find what helps me is watching videos of previous jumping rounds that have gone well and thinking that I can do it again can help. Even looking at some of my favourite photos or just imagining good times can help me feel more confident.

Good luck for the comp, just think positive and I'm sure it'll go well!

 

[showjump2003]

There are a couple of shows I can go to before the team one. The one at thursday night is where I jump regulary and I will try to be brave and skip the clear round and go straigh in at 2ft9. Problem at this place is my horse knows it so well that she probibly will be fine where as we have never jumped were the team comp is befoee (Southview). There is also a comp a week before we go that have a 3ft class that I will try to go straight in to!

 

[LizzieJ]

I'm sure your mare will be fine - it sounds like she has jumped the height several times before. The clear round before is probably more for your benefit than hers. Just think of all the times she has jumped well at 3' and 2'9 won't seem that bad! Team events are so much fun and you will have so much support from everyone else - they will convince you it's tiny!

Good luck on thursday

 

[amage]

Deep breath!!! 1st of all well done getting selected for your RC team that is great and obviously you have been doing well to warrant selection! i've always been taught that nerves are good you just have to channel. i use the confidence cd series jump with confidence cd. its a hypnotherapy cd and i find it really successful. i always use it in the run up to big comps or internationals and find it really helpful...when i first started using it over 5 years ago it was to get up the guts to go into the ring for 90cms. don't build it up in your head too much...just look forward to it!!

 

[showjump2003]

Haha amage! It was more of a case of trying to convince 4 people to do it! We are a very small riding club and very few people compete higher than clear rounds!

Thanks for all the advice

 

[Law]

Best of luck with it. I compete on our riding club teams and I know you can feel additional pressure of not letting the team down etc BUT... the lowest score gets dropped anyway and your club (unless they are horrible) should be really supportive of you going out and helping them.

My biggest tip comes from the disaster that was this year's qualifiers...
I got to the 4th fence and it was a fairly large oxer- now I know they ride nicely, I know this plenty well, however I hate them! So what did I do? refused it once, refused it again, and refused it again.
2nd round over the same course, got to fence four and ... refused it, refused it and refused it

So we were eliminated twice and my score didn't count. 2.5 hours travelling to the coldest place on earth. The rest of the team went clear and we were in the jump off... sod it- I went for it ... it was at this point that I decided it might be a good idea to actually use my whip and guess what- we cleared it!

So the moral of the story is ride with determination and grit and go for it and use your weapon when you need it and don't wait til the 7th approach to the same fence!

 

[Fahrenheit]

[ QUOTE ]
BUT... the lowest score gets dropped anyway and your club (unless they are horrible) should be really supportive of you going out and helping them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good way of looking at it Law!!

When I was in RCs yonks and yonks ago! I was in a horrible club that was really just in everything to win, I was on the team with my horse but I got fed up of being told my pony wasnt good enough to be on the team then getting rung up the night before because someone had dropped out and they needed him to be the replacement and could so and so ride him, the pony used to jump his heart out and was never the dropped score but never got acknowledge, in fact they were really rude about him in the club news letter once so I left and joined a really small RC along with a few other members and we had the time of our lives......my pony was the back bone of the team ridden by whoever needed a mount and he always pulled out the clear round for us....the highlight was when I rode him because my horse was lame at the National RC ODE qualifier and won and ended up competing at the Champs at Everdon on a Welsh Sec D!!!

(he was 7th after the Dressage at the Champs, then pulled upto 5th after the SJ and then some numpty rider (me!!) muffed up the cross country! but I still had the time of my life on him!)
My point...................just enjoy yourself! Its suppsoe to be fun!

 

[Weezy]

Frankie you will be FINE! Remember, RC is seldom up to height, usually looks on the small side - this is the first fence of an RC National Qualifiers Intermediate (2ft9)

I got 3 refusals at fence 2

Didn't matter, thats what RC teams is all about - you can never have a perfect day every time out, just go and enjoy yourself

 

[kerilli]

i think you prob need a session or two with a trainer who will really be positive and boost your confidence. for eg. i'd set you up a nice little grid and once you were popping happily through it at about 1'6" to 2 foot the whole way through, i'd gradually put them up, and the last bit up until it was 2'9", then 3', then 3'3", so that you can then see that you can both easily manage bigger fences very happily.
it might help to know that every single horse ever born can jump about 3'6" from a standstill if it really wants to...

good luck, i'm sure you'll be fine. don't worry about the size of the fences, worry about the rhythm, keeping your legs on and pushing in time with the stride, and having fun!

 

[Lvrees]

If you can read up on your sports psychology, it'll help loads with confidence and looking past the height and actually obtaining the main goal. I have a routine which I do every time and it chills me right out. For example, when I go into the ring I have to go left, even if I have to approach the first fence on a right laed I enter the arena and go left, as soon as the bell goes I stop, check my girth, take a deep breath then canter a circler and start the course. It really chills me out, also in the warm up I have to jump each fence the same amount of times on each rein. I treat everything as a process.

Have a read up about breathing techniques, look beyond the jump and concentrate on the course, and the "journey" you have to take to get to the end. Treat each fence as just something you have to pass on the course. At 2'9, you don't really have to think technically about your jumping as your horse could just canter over them.

When I teach people thats the way I try to make people look at everything. When I was doing my Sports Performance degree we looked at pre-compitition anxiety, and I discovered so many tricks. I know theres always been tension Frankie, but honestly, believe me this is my field and if you want advice just PM me!