Look at the jump or over and beyond it?

[alinni1336]

So many people say you need to look up and over the jump not at the jump but how will you tell your stride then? Should you look at the jump until you see a stride then look up? What if you don't see the stride lol? I think my old trainer said when have to look up and over the jump but now after not training with them for awhile I am not sure on what? Opinions please?

 

[kassieg]

Over the fence to where i want to go. When you are approaching you can see the fence & feel your stride but need to look over, this becomes increasingly important when doing tricky combinations xc like skinnys etc

 

[star]

Depends how good you are at seeing a stride and doing something about it. You can't see your distance if you don't look at the fence. Equally not much point staring at it if you can't do anything about it - you'd be better to concentrate on rhythm and look up and ahead. I train with 4* rider Chris Burton and he has really drummed it into me to stare at the middle of the top rail (of the first jump if a combination) until I've locked onto a stride and then look up and ahead. We have spent ages doing pole exercises working on this before moving onto jumps and my rounds are now so much smoother. This has also come from working on having a much more adjustable canter stride.

 

[GinaGeo]

I look at the middle of the back rail to find my stride. If I'm going cross country and I'm riding a line I'll look at the fixed point in the distance I found when walking the course.

I used to look over the fence when jumping, which worked fine when the fences were smaller, but once they reach a decent height my horse requires helping out. Research is showing that the pro riders, look at the back pole. My jumping has improved astronomically since I've actually started looking at the jump.

 

[star]

Chris said to me never look at the back pole because you'll have the front pole down. The front pole is the one you need to get your distance to - get that right and the back pole looks after itself. He was one of only a handful to SJ clear at Badminton this year so pretty confident in his advice. There are so many different methods out there though.

 

[vallin]

I started having lessons with a new instructor, John Thelwall, in January and one if the main points we've been working on is getting me to look AT the fence, middle of the front rail. If I don't look at it how am I going to know where I need to get to? Especially as my horse is a massive wuss and will down tools if she's not at the fence on the right stride

 

[Red-1]

Sad to say that whatever the size of the fence, my horses do better if I don't look at it!

I have jumped to Int BE, so the fences were a fair size.

I get the canter right, look where I am gong, and that way there are no panic strides, and no strangling in front of the fence. If the canter is right my horses seem happy to find the stride.

I have worked for a rider who always saw the stride, from 100 yds away round a corner! Hats off to people who can.

Funnily enough, when the canter is really right it seems almost impossible to get a duff stride.

 

[Steorra]

I think people are often taught to look up and over when first learning to jump, because it keeps their weight back and makes them less likely to topple off, which is fine so far as it goes. Except once you find your balance and start jumping bigger or more technical fences, and need to influence the horse's stride, you need to know exactly where the jump is, so you need to look at it.

 

[Golden_Match_II]

I've always had smaller horses jumping relatively large fences (13.2 jumping 1m05, 15.2 jumping 1.25) and always been told to look up at trees on the other side of the fence as otherwise without meaning too my body gets drawn forward in front of the fence, and this puts them off balance. I've always been taught that if I have a good canter my horses can usually jump from any stride

 

[LittleRooketRider]

up and over....the phrase 'to see' a stride is very misleading when really you should feel it.

 

[smja]

At the fence to get my line, then over the fence once I've seen the stride. Otherwise I end up watching it go underneath me and land v. disorganised on the other side

 

[Antw23uk]

I close my eyes, sit tight and let him get on with it. Seems to be working

 

[Tamski]

I've been told, also by John Thelwall, to look at the fence, trotting pole or whatever it is that you're trying to cross. Since doing so we've improved!

 

[njaysharpie]

The only fences I look up and over are ditches and steps.

Its important if you do decide to look at the fence that you're not looking down at the bottom of it (cause that's where you'll end up), and as soon as the horse starts to take off (probably even the stride before takeoff) lift your head up and look wherever you want to go next

 

[HotToTrot]

Over the top of it, at a point in the distance. I get the right canter and look up. That way, the fence is in my peripheral vision, so I can adjust v slightly if I need to. If I look at it, though, I hook into it.

 

[millitiger]

Over the top of it, at a point in the distance. I get the right canter and look up. That way, the fence is in my peripheral vision, so I can adjust v slightly if I need to. If I look at it, though, I hook into it.

This 100%

I've found, I think as I'm quite tall, if I look at the fence I ride to that point instead of over the fence, even though I was looking at the top rail and I strangle the canter.

I now look at the fence until I have my line sorted and turn complete, then I switch to over the fence and find I hit much nicer spots and it's much more fluid.
I also find adjustments much easier to see and react to earlier when I'm looking over the fence.

 

[Goldenstar]

I look at the front rail ( unless it's a triple bar then I look at the back rail )until I get that ' that's it feeling then I look forward .
But it's really about being effective at riding the correct canter .

 

[wkiwi]

Depends how good you are at seeing a stride and doing something about it. You can't see your distance if you don't look at the fence. Equally not much point staring at it if you can't do anything about it - you'd be better to concentrate on rhythm and look up and ahead. I train with 4* rider Chris Burton and he has really drummed it into me to stare at the middle of the top rail (of the first jump if a combination) until I've locked onto a stride and then look up and ahead. We have spent ages doing pole exercises working on this before moving onto jumps and my rounds are now so much smoother. This has also come from working on having a much more adjustable canter stride.

Agree with this except that if it is not working (i.e. not seeing a stride) then look at the ground rail as there is no point carrying on meeting a fence wrong - told to me by a 4* rider (I presume that different people's brains may interpret/judge distances differently?).
This is of course after you have got the correct line to the fence (e.g. corners) and established the correct canter for the type of fence as mentioned by others.
For smaller jumps, (e.g. 1.10m or lower) it becomes less important to judge the striding and a brave scopey horse can easily take a rider round Novice eventing without the rider being able to see a stride (Been there, done that, got the t-shirt). However, a friend of mine that jumped both showjumping and Advanced eventing sold one of her horses because it needed to be placed in a ideal take-off spot and couldn't cope with a 'miss'. So, the importance of seeing the stride (and doing something about it) depends on the rider and horse I think.
PS- I think people are always told to look up to start with, because otherwise they lean forward (instead of just looking down) and overload the horse's forehand before they have taken off. In reality, it is more like driving a car where you need to be moving your eyes to look between different things on the approach i.e. keep checking the line and the distance to the fence (moving eyes not by tipping the whole head down) and being aware of other things too (e.g. in the warm-up area where someone decides to cut you off!!)