Jumping Lessons

[MisterRex]

(I'm not exactly a new rider, but I thought this might be the best place to post as it's more of a riding question.)
So soon i'll be moving to a new riding school where I can request group jumping lessons. The problem is i'm not really sure if I SHOULD ask for a jumping lesson.
I've jumped plenty before and at one point I was jumping about a metre and spreads, etc, but that was over two years ago and since then i've ridden somewhere where the facilities only allowed jumping ocassionally, and a different riding school where jumping may be included in-lesson. Since then it's been near enough flat work constantly, and i'm honestly desperate to start jumping again. However, my previous instructor never included jumping in my lessons and i've been riding there for around 6 months, having a lesson a week. It's jilted my confidence a bit as I assumed she just didn't think I was capable, despite that she knows I have experience jumping.
I'm really desperate to jump again, but the fact that my instructor now doesn't seem to think I should jump is making me think perhaps i'm not really advanced enough to jump anymore?

TL;DR: How do you know if you're ready to have a jumping lesson?

 

[View]

Does your current instructor know that you want to jump? Have you discussed this with him/her and set a goal? Perhaps the rest of the group is not so keen to jump?

If you are moving to a different riding school, presumably you will have an assessment with them. This would be a good time to discuss what you like/enjoy, what you need to work on and what you don't enjoy.

And as your goals change (which they will), discuss them with your instructor to come up with a plan to get there. Communication is two way, and your development as a rider belongs to both of you.

 

[be positive]

I think you are assuming too much, your instructor may think you do not want to jump if you have never brought it up, I sometimes think there is no communication between RS clients and the instructors and that is in part why people are not always happy with the RS, if you don't have any discussion time before or after a lesson then make a point of stopping while you are cooling down or warming up to ask questions, if you are having a private lesson they are or should be giving you 100% of their attention for the allotted time, you should make use of the down time to discuss things .

I would expect to include some polework in general flat lessons, I would speak to the client and see if they want to progress to small fences as part of their all round riding education, if they don't want to then it would not be pushed but if they do then some lessons would be geared towards jumping, moving to a new RS is a good time to start moving forward but I would get a feel for the place, the standards they are catering for before asking to join in a group jump lesson, maybe have a few private lessons first that include some jumping then ask whether they have a group you would fit into.

 

[MisterRex]

I have mentioned to her several times, i'm extremely shy though so after a few unanswered requests I ended up assuming she didn't think I was experienced enough and I didn't want to bother her about it. With this instructor I have only had private lessons as group lessons aren't offered, but I will be moving to group lessons at a different riding school. Unfortunately i'm extremely shy so once i've nudged something a few times and received no acknowledgement I end up giving up. Every time I mentioned doing some gridwork or even some pole work she'd sort of shrug it off and continue doing the same lesson plan the week after.
I felt very comfortable on the horse and in my abilities but my requests or questions mostly seemed to fall on deaf ears which I find really discouraging since i'm so timid.

 

[MisterRex]

I'll definitely have a few lessons at least before I ask about jumping. This riding school is much larger and has a much more professional approach, so that will definitely be clearer for me.

 

[be positive]

I'll definitely have a few lessons at least before I ask about jumping. This riding school is much larger and has a much more professional approach, so that will definitely be clearer for me.

It sounds as if a move will be a positive step, being ignored by your previous instructor is unprofessional and will do your self confidence no good, try to get a good relationship with your new instructor, tell her you are really shy and hopefully she will be more interested in helping you progress with your riding.

 

[MisterRex]

I am glad to be going elsewhere although i'm gutted to have to say goodbye to Tom (the horse I was assigned) since he's done wonders for my confidence (falling off isn't so scary when the horse is 3 inches tall, bless him). So far the new instructor i'll have has been very friendly and accommodating in the few times i've spoken to her so far.
Time will be the best teller, I suppose. I'll have to see what the new riding school thinks about my riding and go from there.

 

[MisterRex]

Well I had my first lesson there yesterday, it was great! The school itself is absolutely massive (which I love) there are loads of horses and everyone is lovely. I had a lesson with some other women (the youngest was probably about ten years older than me!) and overall it went really well. I was quite comfortable on the horse however i'll be riding a different one next week and he looks adorable, just my type I felt really confident there and i'm really, really looking forward to my next lesson.
I did have some tension with the oldest woman in the group, for some reason she had an issue with me doing...well, anything. Somehow she expected me to somehow do a change of rein while approaching the first corner of the short side...not sure exactly where she expected the change of rein to come from, and a teardrop wasn't really possible as I would've probably had a collision with someone... Tried to ignore her anyways. On the plus side, I only lost my stirrup once

 

[Equestrienne]

Glad to hear that the new place is working out well!!! I had a thought - was the issue with not jumping perhaps to do with Tom the horse and not you? At a riding school where I instructed there was a lovely horse there whom was flatwork only.

Anyway hope to hear that you're jumping again soon.

 

[Princess16]

That's nice to hear OP. Sometimes I think you have to speak up for yourself re your goals etc. if it were me I would get myself used to the school and then have a quiet word with your instructor maybe after the lesson and see what she thinks.

Don't be scared of speaking up for yourself after all you are the client and paying for the lesson and any good RS will want to bring you on to the best of your ability. Good luck!

 

[MisterRex]

I would have had that thought myself initially, but ironically on the day I visited to 'scope the place out', someone was actually taking Tom over a little course! It's a small yard so I don't see anyone else riding often, but as far as I can tell he does jump.
Thank you for all the nice comments though, i'm feeling super optimistic about this riding school.
I always tend to worry that my requests and questions will be falling on deaf ears as the instructor is the expert, and not me, however the instructor I had was lovely and I asked a lot more questions than I normally would on account of her being very accommodating, so I felt much more confident. After a good few lessons i'll definitely be asking, my riding group was generally people of the same riding ability as me, which was nice because I didn't feel stupid for asking questions or for getting tips and advice.
Overall, feelin' great!

 

[gnubee]

It could still be the horse. I used to ride one (also a Tommy) who would do the same dead stop, head down, backing up, body wriggling stop at everything. I swear I saw that pony wriggle riders who sat the initial stop out of the saddle for the fun of it. He could jump about 1m comfortably, but mostly chose not to go over even poles on the ground. Once you had the knack of getting him over a pole the other jumps weren't much ore difficult, but sensible instructors only let the most experienced riders give it a go.

If your group is at the same level as you it sounds like you can progress appropriately now. It's probably worth finding out if the current group does jump though, and if not asking the instructor to let you know when you're ready to join one that does as some mature adult groups in particular just decide it's not something they're interested in.

 

[MisterRex]

Another little update!
I had my lesson on saturday and it was amazing. I'm still buzzing about it now! We got through quite a lot, did some stirrupless canter and pole work for a little and did some more polework in two-point. My instructor said I have a lovely two point :') I think my balance improved quite a bit thanks to Quinn deciding to give me quite a bit of sass

I asked the instructor about what the lessons consist of generally and she said we'll be moving on to jumping in a few lessons time at most, she said i've got good ride ability and gave me lots of tips for next time (also during the lesson.)

I really like this school and I feel the instructor i've got is giving some really good tips so i'm super pleased.