How to approach a jump

Does your horse call to you when he sees you?

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vicm2509

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I am interested to hear what seat you use to approach a jump (as in a showjump).

Do you use a slightly forward seat or do you sit up and use a deep seat?

If possible please answer as if this is the first time you have ridden the horse in question and you know it can jump but have not jumped it before.
 
Gosh I am so confused. My instructor has always encouraged a slightly forward seat. She teaches my Stage 2 course and owns the riding school, she also gives me private lessons on Baron.

Tonight we had a different instructor who was telling us all to sit up.

However when I ride a horse I dont know, or one who I think may stop I tend to sit up and slightly deeper into the saddle just incase it stops as I am not the most confident when jumping a strange horse.
 
So long as you still give the correct aids and allow over the fence and stay balanced, does it matter? I think not...I'd generally sit up into a fence, as this is what I've always been taught and it works for me
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I would condsider altering my position though to suit the horse I was riding.
 
I personally sit up on my approach.
I think it depends on the horse, if you have something a bit sticky and sluggish I would have a forward seat but if I had something which needed holding back then I would stay seated.
 
Perhaps thats why I have 'forward seat' drummed into me, Baron can get a little nervous and needs the forward seat to encourage him. Its just one of the other girls was asking me tonight why we were being asked to sit up when our usual instructor tells us to go forward.

I dont really know exactly what I do - I mean I know I stay in a forward seat on Baron but will sit up if I think he will stop but still stay light, but on other horses I just go with what feels right and tend to ride them differently but will usually go in a forward seat if I am happy to.
 
if i am riding a horse for the first time i first trot it over a x pole and then canter over it, and i just sit up and let the horse sort it out and i just keep with it and sit back slightly so not to let it back off if it is a young one. then i pick it up and ask it to jump a little higher and then i act as if it was my horse and adapt my style to how it jumps - if it trys to stop i ride forwards from my legs and block the option of refusing with my body by getting behind the horse, and if it rushes i try to steady it by sitting deep and tall and holding it to the fence.
and if it is a schoolmaster, i just act as a passenger! lol
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I sit up and ride deep, I find it easier to sort myself out if we get it a bit wrong if I sit up, I do give going over the jump though, I did notice though when I did a working hunter course I did do light seat most of the way around not sure why?
 
BHS like you to go around the course in light seat but they don't really expect you to see strides, you just have to be seen to be coming in in a rhythm and not interferring.

If you are actually riding a horse you don't know, for the first time, you wouldn't necessarily ride it the BHS way but I expect your instructor is teaching you the BHS way to ensure you get through the exam correctly and to reduce the chance of you fiddling with the horse in front of the fence and getting marks against you.

JMO
 
i think that you have a lighter seat because a working hunter course is set out to be flowing and has to be ridden at a faster "hunting" pace, so you therefore are with the horse more and letting him flow! lol imo anyway!
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Gosh I am so confused. My instructor has always encouraged a slightly forward seat. She teaches my Stage 2 course and owns the riding school, she also gives me private lessons on Baron..

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That will be because of the nature of your stage 2 exam - the BHS like seeing the forward light seat

It varies for me depending on who or what I'm riding. Sometimes I need to sit deep and really use my legs, other times I can approach a light seat without moving a muscle. I never go fully "forward" as such until I'm literally taking off.

I go for what's most effective at the given time. The BHS "light seat on approach" isn't what I'd deem the most effective and to be honest, if the horse stopped dead, dropped a shoulder, ran out etc, you've got to have a decent enough lower leg in order to stay in the saddle.

You can conflicting advice from the top bods too - see Lucinda Green teach jumping whether over poles or over a xc course and she's very much sit deep and up, slightly behind the movement. Mark Phillips on the other hand is very much forward light seat, ride and sit still like you've got a monkey on your back
 
I sit back and deep, particularly on a horse I don't know. That way I am in a stronger and more secure position to encourage the horse if it feels sticky or might stop, but also can more easily hold and guide a horse if it rushes.

I would also do this xc. Between fences, SJ and XC, if there is a bit of a gap I would have a light forward seat, and only sit down and collect just before the approach to the fence. Only on rare occasions, on a very well balanced and straightforward horse and an easy course would I keep a light forward seat on the immediate approach to a fence - as I believe you are able to influence the horse much better sitting down in the saddle.
 
I agree with that actually I didnt even think about doing it I just did, found it easier than to keep sitting back into the saddle to just go with the flow so to speak
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The problem with sitting up and deep is that many people cant do it sympathetically. It's much easier to be in a forward balance and be kind with the hands. You also dont need to move your body over the fence coming from a lighter balance.
If you think of sitting deep then it can make it very hard to use you legs effectively- you'll tend to drive too much with the seat and elbows....
 
Personally I just slip my fingers under a neckstrap, close my eyes and pray!
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(As demonstated in the picture of me jumping on Patches in my signature)
 
I find it depends even on what I'm jumping, for example last night I was messing about with trot poles, canter poles and a x pole, which was right up high on either side but obviously still not massive. Because he was moving forward happily and not in the least bit likely to stop at a x polem, I could stay light and forward. However, when competing, he does have a tenandancy to throw in a stop, so I do tend sit back a bit and get him in front of me. My instructor always says that you need to feel like you have 2/3 of the horse in front of you, so that as soon as yo feel him hesitate, its not too late already to do something about it!
 
You should be able to have your bottom in the saddle and be sitting up straight without "grinding" into the horses back. If you are too forward, you can loose control of the shoulders, and in some cases can actually discourage the horse to jump as you weight is more on its forehand. If you sit up and have the horse infront of you, but sitting with a quiet balanced seat and a strong leg, you give the horse freedom to pick up its shoulders and also means you can limit the option of stopping. Think of flatwork, if you want to lift the front end and encourage weight behind, you sit up....what do you want them to do when you jump...?
 
I sit up, and let my knees out slighlty to prevent me from leaning forward necause i certainly dont need to give my horse encouragement to jump it!!But by sitting up i can slow him down and make sure he is going on right line and that he wont refuse(rare but precautionary!).
 
Id sit up and deep (unless in a grid when you cant). I do anyway on my own horses. But definately on a new horse as its more defensive than a forward / light seat in case it slammed on the brakes
 
i have been told two different things as well! personally i like to sit up on an approach to a fence, not too deep in the saddle but so i can use my legs when and if i need to.

if i was too lean forward i'd probably hit the deck if the horse was too stop
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Going to sort of agree with this, on a horse I was familiar and comfortable with. If a horse I was unsure of, I would sit deeper.
 
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