Improving jumping position ?

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HuntingMadImmy

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Hi ,
I have done lots of jumping but when I was taught to ride , I was taught to sit up very straight e.c.t which gets me great marks in my dressage but when I jump I tend to not fold at the hip a lot and my lower leg slides back a bit. I am very long in the leg , so have to ride rather long because otherwise my knee hangs of the front of the saddle , but I find it much more easier and safer riding short.

Has anyone got any tips on getting more bend at the hips as I only bend forward slightly ( from pictures I have seen) and my instructor is trying to get me to Bend forward more( so that I have a good jumping postion where the rider is pretty much parallel with the horses neck )

So does anyone have any tips at bending more at the hips and stopping your lower leg moving back while jumping ?
Thanks x
 
I can hear my instructor shouting at me to "get your bum out of the saddle".
Shorten your stirrups as much as your long leg will allow and practice riding in a light seat. I went from a very upright position to changing to an instructor who really focused on jumping. He made me go 'round and 'round without sitting in the saddle at all. And no resting on the knee either, the balance has to come from the stirrup. This should stop that wayward lower leg. Others my disagree with me, I have a friend, who hunts and is all about gripping with the knee, I try not to though.
 
What worked for me was not thinking about bending, but concentrating instead on shoving my bum backwards. For the lower leg the exercise above, but you can also refine it by sitting for 4 beats, standing for 4, then reduce to 3, then 2. When you are a stride away from the fence shove your knees out, which wraps your leg around the horse.
 
Your saddle design may not be helping OP. Even the most long legged can ride suitably short in a decent saddle. Look at William Fox Pitt! That said not everyone can have separate saddles for flatwork and jumping so you may well be stuck with it for now. Standing in your stirrups whilst trotting - and eventually cantering - around the school is great to develop a really secure lower leg. Take care that you are not jamming your heels down as that will unbalance you as well. Concentrating on pushing your bum back rather than bending forward will help as well - particularly if you are tall. Finally - don't over bend. If you are jumping fairly low you barely need to rock in the saddle - you only really need to fold as the fences go up -although what is low and what is not will depend on your mount!
 
I'm working on mine at the moment having not been jumping for long, but just thinking about a couple of things has meant that ive gone from just standing up and hunching my shoulders over to now having my legs at the girth and i am definately folding much more than I was before. My instructor has really just been telling me to get my bum further out 'the back door' and my bum should be as far away from my hands as I can get it. I also try and think of it as instead of throwing myself forward over the jump, when coming into the jump I sit quite deep for 3 strides before so that I feel secure and then fold over whilst still thinking about keeping my weight down - this tends to keep my lower leg more secure :)
 
I'm going the other way - I hate seeing people with their bums right out of the saddle and throwing themselves up the neck. Now I am jumping bigger I sit back, and keep my bum more it the saddle (think hovering) so I am off the horses shoulder so they find it easier to get off the ground. I've found the key to stability is making sure the heel is down when going over the fence.
 
I think best thing is to just ride in a light seat as others have said to help work on the correct balance.

Someone posted before (can't remember who, speak up if it was you!) that you should think of squatting over a horrible toilet to pee!
 
Elbie said:
I think best thing is to just ride in a light seat as others have said to help work on the correct balance.

Someone posted before (can't remember who, speak up if it was you!) that you should think of squatting over a horrible toilet to pee!
Click to expand...

That was me! It is the single most effective thing some one has ever said to me about riding! Being told to fold had encouraged me to tip forward and the toilet analogy really helped me push my bum back and keep my shoulder over my knee.
 
KristmasKat said:
That was me! It is the single most effective thing some one has ever said to me about riding! Being told to fold had encouraged me to tip forward and the toilet analogy really helped me push my bum back and keep my shoulder over my knee.
Click to expand...

I love it! It's one of those tips that has stuck in my head!
 
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