I can't ride anymore!!!!!!!! Horses need new jockey.

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aregona

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well as title :(

My SJing has not really improved much this year but not been too bad but is now getting worse.

I haven't been enjoying my SJing this year and it has been the ''oh god SJing next'' phase of the eventing. But i have only been having a pole down with some clear rounds so not talking falling off, crashing bad, just not consitantly clear.

I went SJing yesterday. My 2 boys Riley (BE100 horse) and Udo ~(BE90) have been jumping so well at home and jumping around 1.10 tracks. My instructor was very pleased with my progress at home as was I.
But yesterday i ****ed up so bad :(

I took Udo into the 2'9'' (was meant to start with 3'0'' but wanted to play safe). It wasn't great, i kept missing a stride and he had to really help me out. A couple of long ones and short ones, one moment i took off before him and got head butted but just one down. I realised i was not keeping the canter hence not getting a stride.

So went into the 3'0'' with the ''let's keep the impulsion and going forwards'' but i feel the damage was already done in the first class. Udo wouldn't go forwards for me, he was bouncing on the spot. I had to really push him which resulted in him then running into the bottom of the fences and going through them :( I got as far as fence 5 and decided it was really not working and pulled up. Poor Udo.

So after a mini panic attack, after coming out of the ring i couldn't breath i was so upset. I ran back to the lorry to tack Riley up (same saddle as Udo). By the time i got on riley they were calling the horse before me into the ring, i had chance for a cross pole and then i was in again as i was the last competitor, and sure enough, i did the same. I missed the stride so badly to the first, Riley took off early and i got left behind so bad his head was higher than mine :( which of course really upset him and after another display of getting close and launching we had 4 down and i decided there was no point taking riley in the next class either and went home :( :(

I have spent the last 24 hours trying to decide where to go from here. Udo is 17.1hh (the grey in my sig) and is a very big horse for me, he is my dads horse but he doesnt have any time to ride him hence giving the ride to me, but i do find Udo hard to jump. He is not a 'natural'. He has a huge jump but not that quick where his legs go but has been getting so much better over the last year.
My dad is convinced i am trying too hard and i just need to find the 'key' to jumping him around tracks bigger than 2'9'', and although my instructor says i ride him very well at home, she does refer to him as a 'man's horse'.

Although i am really not happy about the way i rode Riley, im not too unhappy as i think had i had the time to warm up properly and calm myself down we would of been ok.

I have entered them both into an eventers training on saturday and now i don't know what to do. They are both in the 3'2'' class which i am obviously not going to take Udo into. But i am unsure whether to drop him down into the 2'9'' or whether to go for the 2'6'' and make it really easy for the both of us.
I know it is my confidence causing the problems but i just don't know what to do about it. I am meant to be practising my SJing over the winter ready for eventing next year as i wanted them both to go up a level and instead i am going backwards!!!!

Please help, anyone any advise on how to try and sort out a muppet rider???????

Sorry for the long boring post, special K with strawberries alround :)
 
a couple of pics for you to show that i can do it sometimes :)

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aregona said:
Yes it was????
Click to expand...
In that case stop worrying.
Moving indoors for the first time each winter often causes problems.
The fences appear bigger so the rider tends to fiddle a bit trying to find 'the' stride.
Speed appears to be faster than it actually is due to confined area.
There is generally less space between fences when compared to outdoors

Net result of all this is horse is backed off by rider.
Easy solution to the probelm.
1) When you think you have the right canter - up it by 25% minimum
2) If you cant see your stride as soon as you turn to the fence then just ride what you have keeping a good forward rythm and let the horse sort it out as there isn't time to fiddle with the stride and even if there was the likelyhood is the rider will fiddle by backing off rather than riding forwards.

So chill, not so much an issue with your riding, more a change of areana size and location.
 
I think you are being hard on yourself. I have SJ'd for years and since moving to BE I now get some attacks of nerves before SJ! I can talk myself out of it easily but only because I have competed SJ to a high level before. I don't get nervous at anything below 1.10m however I know so many people who do.

One thing I would say is that the main way to improve SJ is ring practice. alot of people ride really well at home then go rubbish at a show.

I would advise that you make life easier, don't expect to go out and jump a 1m track straight away, spend time doing classes that you find easy - this will not only let you have a bit of fun but also get some confidence in your horse.

Also, arrive in good time before your class, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to warm up and stick to a routine - horses like routine. What I do, is get my horse out and will walk into the warm up ring with about 15 horses to go before me, I then walk my horse until there is around 10 to go. this gives my horse plenty of warm up time, I then trot and canter round and pop a cross pole (in trot) twice. then build up to the class height over an upright. then I move to the spread and jump a small one, building up to the class height. once I have done that I should have approx 3 horses to go before me. I then walk my horse round to get his puff back, then watch some if I can - if not, I go through the course in my head, when the horse before me is about to go in, I pick up canter and pop one more fence, then walk over to the entrance. usually the horse in front of me is maybe at fence 3 so I watch the rest of the course and walk in.

By giving myself a routine, it allows for any kind of blips - like you getting your boy out and only having one horse to go - it gives you a routine in which you can alter at a moments notice.

Don't be hard on yourself, drop down a class, have a bit of fun and aim to move up classes in January when both you and your horse have built up confidence.

Better to come home feeling you could have jumped higher than to come home feeling rotten. :) :)
 
I went through a simular thing however it was not so much that I was missing the stride just that I was looking far to hard to find it.

When I first started showjumping properly I had no idea about strides and very rarely got it wrong, it was just a natural thing. The day it all started going wrong was, was when my trainer actually said you have a really good eye for a stride. After that I just kept looking far to hard to find the stride and was holding my horse up way too much - I was literally strangling him at every fence. To solve this I just went way down in height and just had fun. At the time I was jumping tracks up to 1.20 and I went right down to about 90cm and just focused on riding forwards. It worked really quickly and after about 3weeks I was back to normal.

Remember up to a certain height as long as the canter is good enough it doesnt really matter if you are a bit close or take a bit of a flyer.

The problem is your horse just looses confidence in you when you loose it in yourself so its a no win situation as as good as they are they will only help you out so much so will stop taking the bigger strides and just fiddle to the bottom of the fence.

So in my opinion yes go down a class as you will be less worried about messing it up and therefore probably won't - just get your confidence back in each other.

I always think about when I get into a jump off I very rarely hit a wrong stride as suddenly stop thinking about the perfect stride and just ride forward and the stride is there.

Best of luck im sure it will all be sorted and you will be flying in no time and don't beat yourself up we all have problems and it just makes it more worth while when you work through it.

Anyway sorry that is probably rather waffly (I have the flu so im blaming it on that!)
 
I would say your biggest issue is your confidence coupled with trying to jump a big horse round 2ft9. They are most likely too small for him especially if schooling around 1.10 happily. At that height you should be able to just canter around and not be looking for a stride! concentrate on a good strong canter...if you think it's right as said above add another 25%! My own big mare is a bloody nightmare to jump around smaller tracks....she has made a holy show of me and professionals! When its a bit bigger they tend to stay a bit more focussed and help you out
 
you all make so much sence. I only ever used to SJ when i was younger (only lower level up to about 3'6'') but i never had a problem. I never looked for a stride. As i was always a tall child i only had horses so it is not as if it is the transition from ponies to horses that is the problem.
My dad believes and i am trying too hard to get it all right and that is where the problems are coming from. I believe he may be right. I have contacted david broomes and dropped Udo down from the 3'2'' into the 2'6'', it seems very small but i will just concentrate on a good canter and nothing else. I do feel my canter is what is letting me down and it has been noticed by my instructor.
The adding 25% onto my canter i also couldn't agree more, i used to have the same problem xc with my old mare so would not be surprised if i had a 'backwards' canter again, it wouldn't be the first time.

If anyone has anymore help advise please keep it coming, you are already lifting my spirits a litle :)
 
agree with all the answers so far.

I would say it is just your confidence that needs to improve.

you need someone going along with you to make sure you are in the right frame of mind. At this level you do not need to be too technical about it all and as others say if the canter is good and active the rest will take care of itself. Can you say to yourself (and believe it) that this is a great big horse and these are little tiny fences. you school much bigger at home so this is the fun bit even if horse is non too clever with legs.Never jump in a height class you are uncomfortable with and then go in with the knowledge that even if you do your worst you will manage somehow!! If you want to jump lower classes just go for it and enjoy with the attitude why jump big when i can jump little !!!! Lighten up and enjoy and in no time you will be back jumping the level you are clearly capable of doing.
 
I agree with amage that you are probably partially struggling because of the height difference and size of horse.

I have a troublesome holsteiner who has been the biggest challange I have ever owned but he is also possibly one of the most talented of mine. At home with my trainer we were flying 1.20/1.25 courses etc without a problem. But if I went to my trainers we couldnt jump a nice junp at 1m. and if it had a filler we couldnt get near it!!

Now I know this was me, and on all my other horses I wasnt having an issue. the horse was only eventing 90/100 and xc we had no problem. The first thing I did was to stop jumping him so big at home, but making it more technical instead. Grids, angles skinnies, turns etc. nothing over 90/100. Also a really good exercise was to put an upright of about 90 and a trot pole 1stride away. It meant the horse could be left alone on the striding and gave me something else to think about- like stopping a fit eventer from trying to canter into a jump but trot insteadd. You can keep raising the fence/ adding fillers etc and just keep trotting. I find it brilliant for confidence- of both horse and jockey and we always have this sort of question set up in the jump arena.

Also if I cant see the stride, I turn my head and look away. count to 3 then look back. it gives a fresh perspective (sp)

Don't be too hard on yourself!
 
go and do the 2'6" with them both, definitely.
make sure you have enough time to warm them both up properly... your warmup for the first class on 2nd horse would have put just about anyone all over the place. If you're not ready, DON'T be hassled into going into the ring. I watched Pippa Funnell, many years ago, refuse to go before she was ready (very politely & nicely - there had been a times mix-up but she was not prepared to go before SHE considered the horse was ready), others slotted in, she went when she was ready... and did a beautiful clear round (one of very few.) It was a salutary lesson to me...
Sorry, back to you. Concentrate on getting the canter right, and go and pop small fences for fun until you stop stressing about it. If the fences are that small just concentrate on the rhythm and ignore the striding, a decent horse can jump that height from wherever you get to!
 
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