Jumping position Frame by Frame

[juliap]

Any comments on how to improve my position jumping would be really appreciated. Video & photos taken at Jo May BE clinic this weekend. Jumps did go up to about a metre & he does jump better - whatever the height he only just clears them & occasionally clips them causing a fairly frequent 4 faults. Any advise to encourage a bit more effort would be lovely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ABr2uDQAFk&feature=g-crec-u

 

[misshorsey]

I sometimes find that if I have my shoulders right back and my hands a little higher than normal as I approach a jump it helps the horse as my weight isn't over his shoulders. Also, if your weight is right back before the jump it won't tip right forward as you go over the jump, if that makes sense. The more weight you have on the horses shoulders the worse the jump I always find.
hope that helps x

 

[muckypony]

Try to keep your lower leg forwards and sit up on approach. Over the jump, push your bum back more and keep looking up. Having your lower leg more stable will help to stop you from resting your hands on his neck - which may stop him knocking poles. You can practice having a stable lower leg by taking up a cross coutry position whilst cantering. Does he generally knock them with his fronts or backs? If its his fronts, carry a short whip and just give him a tap on the shouler on approach to remind him where is legs are!!

Also from the video, I think you need to shorten your reins and get him engaging his back end a bit better, he just looks a bit flat!

I don't think its the end of the world if he only just clears them as long as he doesn't knock them - its conserving energy, why jump bigger if you don't need to?

He's a lovely looking horse, I'm a sucker for a coloured

 

[vam]

Im not the best to comment but watching you vid it looks like you've got the same problems as i have had. To me is seems that there isnt enough canter, he is just lollopping along (how technical am i? ) he need to be moving forward more and taking you rather than you working to keep it going. Shorter reins will help so you can try and conect him more, in the trot although is moving forward there is no real engagment to it, when you then canter there is no energy to it.
Also you turns are poor, you need more leg and to ride them, at the moment it looks like your just turning, falling in and loosing any energy you might have had going in. Lots of transitions to get him infront of your leg and moving forwards more.
Once you do this you will find he will have a bit more jump at the moment he is flat.
The reason you need to get a bigger better canter is it will make you stop getting ahead of him. At the moment your taking off before him so all your weight is on his shoulders. I found with mine that the less canter i had the more i had to do and the more i got in front. It was like i has trying to do it all for him. You need to sit up more, think about getting your shoulders back more, lots of people find that closing the back of your armpits work, i find that thinking of lowering my shoulders works for me.
Take more weight in your lower leg not just your heels, i have found opening my thigh and closing my lower leg around mine works best for me.
Lots of walk, trot and canter in a forward seat will help strenghten up your lower leg.
Also your not giving with your hands over a fence, they are fixed at the base of his neck, if you give with your hands more you wont find yourself yanked forwards as he lands. This will also be helped by folding rather than going up and forward like you are at the moment. Think butt back and move you hands forwards up his neck while still looking forward.
As you sit up and keep your shoulders up try and keep your hands up and still just moving them forward once he has taken off not before.
He is lovely but just underpowered at the moment, once thats sorted you will find your postion will improve.
As i said im not really qualified to answer and there will be others with better advice or at least advice that makes sense!

 

[Blanket]

Your main problem appears to be that you stand in your stirrups and go right up his neck which will make it much harder for him to bring his front end up. This also makes your lower leg rather wobbly and insecure. At that height you don't need a big bouncy canter (although it wouldn't hurt ) Try to raise yourself less from the saddle and fold from the waist. Being more secure in the saddle means you will be able to give a bit more with your hands. At this stage they're not causing a problem, but it's worth addressing.
Lovely horse. Good luck

 

[Daytona]

Remember to give with your hands x

 

[dieseldog]

I don't think that exercise is very good for your horse, he's trying, but he has to slow to go around the corner, as you have a sharp turn down the centre line, then he meets a bounce and it just doesn't help him go forward. I think you will always struggle to get a good position down that line as turning up the centre line is killing any canter you manage to generate down the long side. Maybe practise spiralling to get him better balanced on the turn.

 

[TheMule]

I agree with DD- you lose it all on the turn as he's unbalanced and falling through the shoulder, therefore he lacks impulsion at the first so the grid is very lazy and you then need to land, kick him and create something to jump the parallel from but you let him lollop on to it, hence he gives a lazy jump.

 

[AbFab]

He looks very similar in attitude to my Saffy I struggle to get a good jumping position on her too because I feel like I have to lift her over fences. To improve, I built a few small fences - big enough for her to actually jump over but small enough to know she could clear them from a naff canter if that happened. I then focused on my position rather than her jumping - getting down low and sticking my bum out rather than standing up. Shortening my stirrups even more than usual helped as it kept my lower leg more stable. The other exercise was cantering around in jumping position, as low as possible without leaning on her neck - although that was very painful after a while!

 

[Muddyboots]

I have the same problem in that I have too much weight over the shoulder so all I these comments are really useful to me ! Thank you!!

 

[Jnhuk]

I agree with the previous posters comments but if it was me, I would be not impressed with your instructor.

After watching your vid, she did not give you any instruction other than what jumps to do? Just my impression from watching the vid that she was talking to the others whilst you going around without giving any helpful comments to you to improve what you were doing at the time.

I am not certain if your video was representative of the whole lesson but it seems to me that you have got more help from HHOers on here than in your lesson!

 

[JGC]

I definitely have similar problems and there are some great tips on here. Going to print this one out for future reference! So, so, so, so far from qualified to comment, but just to say that my instructor has me riding really forward down the long sides or after the jumps so that I have enough energy to rebalance for the turn before the next jump. Also this means that the energy is already there, so I can concentrate on balance and position coming into the jump - too blonde to do everything at once

 

[TableDancer]

I have to say, I think the exercise you were doing was a little flawed: either that grid was designed to be approached in trot or in canter - looked like trot to me, and he certainly struggled more whenever you approached in canter. I think because the distances were basically trot ones, in order to shorten enough when approaching in canter, he/you ended up killing the canter as he can't sit enough yet, hence the poor jumps. To approach the same line on the same distances like that in trot and then canter then back to trot etc is a pretty advanced exercise for both horse and rider...

As far as your position is concerned, you have that common problem of your body being a little in front of the movement (see esp first few frames), and your hands too fixed at the wither. This combination mean that 1) Your body weight over his shoulder make it harder for him to come up underneath you - think of it like a seesaw with too much weight on one end - and 2) It his hard for him to use his head and neck properly as he feels restricted. Try to think of keeping your shoulders away from the neck on the approach and take-off, and crouching in the saddle rather than standing in your stirrups as he jumps, while allowing your hands to slide up his neck - you may need to exaggerate this part to start with as it is very difficult to break the habit if you have done it this way for a long time. Jumping small grids without stirrups would be a great exercise, and even wirhout reins if you can do it safely

 

[juliap]

IThanks for all the constructive comments - lots to think about and to work on.

The grid was supposed to be approached in trot - my error in not getting back to trot on the long side.

I will set it up again at home & make sure I'm back into trot well before the turn - our arena is 5m wider so won't be quite such a tight turn.

It is thinking about pushing my bum back rather than standing up that I think I need to work on initially, and looking up and allowing hands forward etc etc!!!!.

It does get worse when he's not forward enough - my position x-country is usually better than show jumping as the canter is more forward.

I have trouble a) generating the energy & then b) containing it so he doesn't get longer & longer.

I will practise & hopefully report back with an improved video & photos - taking stills frame by frame brought it home how bad I am.

Thanks for all being so positive with your comments

 

[TableDancer]

I would go along with whoever said the bounce is counter-productive for him - I'd make that a one stride distance personally, about 18 feet if you are approaching from trot. The wider turn will definitely help. Then try it in canter, with the distances lengthened accordinglyvas it will be good for him . And go on, try it without stirrups

 

[juliap]

Thanks TD - I will change grid to 2 x 1 stride & then 3 to the oxers.

I'm going to wimp out of the no stirrups - his trot is very bouncy & I'd probably fall off - I fractured 2 vertebra last yr which have healed well but left my back a bit stiff.

I do know it would do my position good but I also know I would be too tense - I am going to a BE training session in a few weeks on the mechanical horse that jumps so might be able to practise that there.

 

[FfionWinnie]

He looks like quite a big horse for that tight corner into the jumps as well. As others have said, don't stand up in your stirrups, try folding more from the waist and give with your hands. I would like to see a more bouncy canter as he looks a bit strung out and lacking impulsion to me. Did he find it hard work or is he quite fit?