how do you get your jumping confidence up?

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sarahjbrogan

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i've recently taken on a 17.2hh warmblood gelding. he was a huntsman's horse back in his day and i've recently got him back into jumping which he loves.
the biggest we've jumped is 2'9 and i was shi*ting myself all the way into that jump! he's jumped anything i've put in front of him so far and he's safe and steady and absoloutely loves it.
i watch jumping videos on youtube and watch my friends jump and i just wish i had the confidence to whack a jump up to 2'9 and jump it straight away because i love jumping and so does my boy
i think the college i went to mainly wrecked my confidence (they made me jump unsafe horses that were beyond my ability). and i hate jumping in front of other people other than my boyfriend (who knows not a lot about riding which helps lol)
how can i get my confidence back? :o
 
I would et some lesons with an instructor you trust. I find I am much more confident when I have an instructor there.
 
Get some lessons and don't push yourself too far too soon. Start off by doing some pole work with your horse and maybe a tiny cross pole fence and build up from there. Remember - little and often is best! Always end it on a good note, and remember anything is an achievement - even trotting round a course of a few poles raised off the ground is something to be proud of if you're lacking in confidence. The more good experiences you have with jumping, the more confident you will become.

Good luck and have fun :)
 
Ditto the instructor suggestions! Having one there to support and encourage will really help you, even if your technique etc is great - I seem to jump insane things whenever my instructor is around and am beaming for days afterwards, would never dare to do them without her there!
 
all of the above and jump what your comfortable with, time and time again, until you gt so bored they just have to go up a few more holes... xD
 
Sounds daft but say to yourself "Whats the worse that could happen?" Your answer is going to be a refusal. Okay they're not great but they're also not the end of the world. Repetition is key when is comes to confidence and jumping :)
 
sarahjbrogan said:

i think the college i went to mainly wrecked my confidence (they made me jump unsafe horses that were beyond my ability). and i hate jumping in front of other people other than my boyfriend (who knows not a lot about riding which helps lol)
how can i get my confidence back? :o
Click to expand...

This would have been exactly what I would have said about my self just over a year ago (although with out the boyfriend bit :cool:). Yet a few weeks ago I jumped in front of loads of people at our new yard that I had never met before and ended jumping 110 on the pony, all 14.2 of him!

Just keep going within your comfort zone and possibly get the boyfriend to put them up a hole or two at a time without telling you. Any chance you could do a rc (or PC) camp some time? it made a massive diffrence to us last year, the intensive week with some one putting stuff up but not telling you how big it is and telling you that you can jump it. It honestly changes your eye, I thought things were a good 6'' smaller than they were :cool:. In fact my eye and brain are still out now :rolleyes: my brain has over 3' as big but my eye makes it look small :o.

Any way good luck and enjoy your boy he sounds fab :)
 
Before I read your full post my answer was 'got an amazing jumping schoolmaster of a horse' but your horse sounds just like mine!

For me I think the real breakthrough with heights came when I took my boy to our first competition we just did the 2ft class (because I was a proper nervous nellie) at a very small riding club event where I had a few friends. I had loads of supporters come with me which I thought would make me nervous but really helped. When I saw the course I thought 'actually that looks really easy' and for my super boy it was. At one point I completely cocked up the approach and Max not only saved the day but won the class!

The next day I had a lesson with my fab instructor and we just did 2 jumps one of which was a spread (!) and he kept putting them up bit by bit until we eventually jumped 2ft 9. I am just like you and would never have gone straight in at 2ft 6 plus but after those two sessions I now do!

I think having put my boy to the test and for him to come through for me I now have the confidence that he will look after me and am subsequently now riding the jumps much better and with much more confidence.

Good luck :)
 
Try the same height but on a very little horse. It'll have to stretch up to get over and so give the illusion of jumping higher but won't be so mentally scary as you'll be nearer the ground. :) and please let me know if this works as I need to increase the height I'm jumping too:D
 
i think the biggest thing is don't push yourself... i dislocated and broke my elbow falling off my mare jumping and for ages anything over 1ft freaked me out, I had lessons but I just felt under pressure. What I did instead was just keep jumping tiny whenever I felt like it, just ignoring how small it was and having fun, then one day I thought lets put it up a couple of holes and jumped it, and was thrilled (50cm!?) but the next time I tried i was back down to about 40 cm again and felt terrible!? Then suddenly I stopped focusing on the height and just enjoyed it, gradually it kept creeping up (only on days I was feeling brave) and finally 9 months later, just before she got poorly I jumped 1m 30 on her!!!

There is SO much focus on 'how high can I jump' these days, that if you stop thinking like that and think 'how well are we jumping' and 'how much am I enjoying it' I think you will get loads more out of it. Yeah i jumped 1m 30 but it wasnt particularly graceful and it doesnt make me a better rider than someone jumping 60cm- I still compete in 70 and 80cm classes (when ruddy nag not poorly) because that is our comfort zone - for now!

Sorry for the essay but in basic summary, who cares how high you jump, just do what you feel like doing on the day - one day you will feel brave and it will creep up - but don't be surprised if you go back down the next time... its quality and enjoyment - not quality!!
Good Luck! x
 
Switchthehorse what fab advice! Im just the same as the OP, have a really honest but strong boy who loves jumping, I used to a few years back on him but we had a break and now Im a complete numpy, have a phobia of anything "upright" due to a few refusal/falls, my fault for not bothering to see a stride (coz I can't, ha!). Now though we do a line of canter poles which is great fun, then incorporating a couple of crosses and OMG a small upright. It makes it fun and the only downside has been me thinking I could've put the upright higher coz its only about 2'3" with a drum underneath it but after reading your post Im going to stop stressing because you're so right, I want fun, Im not going to Hickstead any time soon :)
 
I think a lot of it come (for me at least) the trust you have with the horse. I have jumped between 1.55 and 0 on horses and it really does depend on how i feel on the horse. Jack was the horse i jumped highest on, it took me 3 years but i did trust him with confidence. Now sharing 2 horses one I'm jumping up to 1.10 with the other does trotting pole flat not even slightly raised because i don't trust him over them. I would agree with others and say lessons are great but also get to know him fully and then thing come naturally.

Other thing i do find helpful is loose schooling over jumps as i like to see the horse can jump it before i try to.
 
I find when I jump in front of people I suck it up and get on with it better. I also have 2 great horses who I trust (although little one has dropped me couple times lately so some issues there at moment) and I usually wear my bp which makes me worry less. However I jumped without it yesterday and rode better so in 2 minds now. I do find the fences look smaller on the big lad but as he's a baby I don't want to keep putting them up just yet.
 
Keep the jumps small so you dont even think about them at all. Try to think about your canter and aim to keep the same rhythm up all the time. Aim to ride accurate corners and get a good straight line to the fence. Get someone on the ground to watch you and help point out what you are/are not doing. Dont even think about jumping something that you are sh***ing yourself at !! What helps me the most is looking up and ahead and not focusing on the jumps(as this is when i start to interfere and make an arse of it!!). Relax and enjoy
 
There's nothing wrong with building up slowly. When I was little I petrified of jumping so I'd start with a line of trotting poles then canter poles, then a little jump at the end then a build it up to a grid. It's always easier to jump a bigger fence at the end of the grid 'cause once you're in, as long as you keep your leg on, you'll make it out and the fences/poles before will help you find your spot without stressing.
Make it a regular thing, until it's just normal. Whenever I get a new horse I try to do some jumping once a week, even if it's just lots of pole work and little gymnastic stuff so it's not a big deal.
The other thing you have to remember, if he's been a huntsmans horse, he should know exactly what he's doing. Remember when they're out hunting they have to jump daft stuff out of mud, off the road, on the turn, in a group etc so a couple of show-jumps in an arena will be easy peasy. I always look for horses who have hunted as they should have that all important fifth-leg for when I miss! He should be able to look after you and if he's big 2ft9 will be nothing to him.
Just take a deep breath, make yourself smile and enjoy it. It's all meant to be good fun! :)
 
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