OK lets have it.. please don't be too harsh!

[squiz22]

As lex2501 and charlie76 have already given you some good advice, I'd just add that teaching him to change legs over a pole on the ground is very useful and will help you hugely with your jumping rounds. Also don't spend too long doing one thing when you're schooling, keep him switched on mentally by changing pace, direction or whatever frequently enough to keep him listening to you without you having to nag him.

I'm much like lex2501 in a "do as I say, not as I do" way, so well done to you for posting something for us to cc - you can see how lovely and helpful forum folk can be when they're approached the right way.

Thanks. Have to say you've all been very kind to me!! Thanks for all the pointers!!

 

[squiz22]

As others have said - a lovely horse and you just need to get a bit more canter, but he looks to be only young and therefore in the first half of the round he just looks a bit wobbly and babyish - it will come. He looks like he's really enjoying himself!

Regarding your upper body - i have the same problem! I used to watch videos of myself and couldn't believe how much my body rocked. In my case, the main cause is tight hips! Last couple of years i've really tried to relax my hips which enable them to take the flow of the movement not the upper body. Also I think my legs and hips used to act as a handbrake on the horse and actually as soon as i relaxed and stopped nagging so much - my horse went more forward (this has been something of a light bulb moment in the past few weeks and prompted from a thread on here!) Hope that helps a bit.

Interesting. I have to say I didn't think I was anywhere near as stiff as that. i think I'll bring this up with my instructor at the weekend and try and find ways to relax. I sometimes feel like I am physically helping him a long because he can be a tad backwards so maybe I'll relax as he becomes more forward.. its certainly something I'm going to watch for in future videos (if I can bare to do it again).

He is a baby by the way he's 6. I also haven't rushed him because he is big so he's quite green. He started intro last year and was really starting to crack it.

 

[star]

I dont think I've seen a video of him before. He looks like a lot of horse to hold together - big, gangly baby. But honest and sweet and calm. Canter definitely needs to get more together and more forwards. I was told to think of channeling them through a tube to help with straightness. Would echo the walk to canter advice - this will really help get him sitting on his hocks more. Rein back also works really well with Monty. I'm not the best one for advice though - keeping Monty connected is my main issue!

 

[Foxford]

You look like a lovely partnership - good luck with hm in 2012!!

The only advice I can offer is re. the upper body. I ride like that on my lazy youngster but not on anything else, I'm basically using the motion of my upper body to help propell him forwards! I had a couple of schoolmaster lessons on a real whizzy horse and it helped me to sit quieter and make me more aware of it. Also 2 schooling whips really helped me, I find I have to use the whip less - he knows when I've got one and he certainly knows when I've got 2!

 

[Chloe..x]

To me it certainly wasn't horrid however there is work for improvement. You said it to yourself, its lollopy its gets quite flat and quite long in places but this will improve with both his and your fitness. You need to keep that power you had towards the end but bring it into an uphill, bouncy canter rather than a fast, flat canter. Remember its all about that same even rhythm and the jump are just an extension of the canter.

 

[dieseldog]

I think part of the problem is that they use the exact same course for all the JAS events and the course doesn't seem to fit so well into that arena compared to say Hartpury. Its quite short across the middle and doesn't really give him a chance to go forwards.

If you were jumping a show jumping course designed for that arena I think he would look better. You must be pleased that he doesn't look at anyhthing

 

[Maddie2412]

sweet horse!! I would say ride the whole thing like the xc bit when you were forward and going in to meet the fences your horse looked much more confident and both of you seemed to relax i would say try some grid work at home and just really focus on sitting soft and pushing on (she? looks much nicer when her back legs started to come underneath and work a bit more). Thought it was a really nice round well done!! x

 

[squiz22]

Hi everyone thanks for the comments. I had no internet yesterday so have just read them. Thank you for all being constructive and not just negative. He is a very honest little horse and doesn't look at much and if he does he tends to still jump it just a bit bigger!

I did lots of walk to canter transitions on Wednesday night and he was starting to come up underneath. I also combined it with laps round the arena in canter in line with saratogas post about ways to get them fit before the start of the season. It worked quite well but he tired surprisingly quickly!! I have my SJ lesson on Sunday and I will show her the round too..

He's ended the season last year being very bold xc and he was exactly the same at the weekend when I took him to Rosehill. Nothing bothered him at all. Fingers crossed for the season.. I really can't wait!!

 

[Peegeesmum]

I haven't read the other posts,but I would say,you need to work on rythm. Get a rythmic canter,sit up between fences & the rest will fall into place.