one stride doubles...HELP!!

[MandyMoo]

ok...so i never used to have a problem when showjumping one stride doubles...but the past few months, 7 out of 10 times i will jump a one stride double, perfect rhythm, perfect powerful canter, over the first fence..and ready for take off...but Monty will add in a tiny little stride before the second part of it and usually have it down :/

and iv watched video of me jumping and i didnt see anything on my part (although i could easily have missed something). when he first started doing this i started really riding the stride inbetween the fences, like i gave him a big pony club kick and really helped him over the fence (probably looked a bit silly lol - and it helped a bit) but he still does it sometimes... :/

he is fine on 2 stride doubles, and on related distances etc (as long as i get the striuding right but he usually sorts himself out as he is 19 and loves his job!)

i can usually get away with the mistakes at 90cm...but when i do 1m and 1m05 courses its not very easy to get over and clear the second part of a double after getting so deep into it...

any ideas? :/ xx

 

[teddyt]

I would say that at 19 maybe he is getting a bit stiffer? Older horses often start putting in extra strides so they dont have to jump so big and use themselves so much. Unfortunately with older competition horses the brain is very willing but the body cant always keep up.

 

[kerilli]

as above, could well be his age, maybe he's feeling his front legs a teensy bit too and not wanting to throw a big jump and land harder etc, it sounds as if he'd rather just pop a fence.
is he careful enough that you could come into a 1-stride double much stronger or a bit faster, with a longer stride, so you land further in over the first bit and leave less doubt as to how many strides he can get in? an idea to practice at home first, obv...

 

[MandyMoo]

thanks kerilli...he is very careful, i will try doing on a long one into a one stride double thanks

and i am retiring him from showjumping at the end of this year when his bsja runs out,

xx