Showjumping help needed please...

[pipstar]

Hi

My 9 yr old daughter is Dyslexic, she is the reason why we are all riding now! She really struggled at school (until we moved her). Her self esteem really perks up when she wins a rosette or when she is riding. I can honestly say that without her pony/riding she would be a complete depressed wreck of a girl, (thanks to old school!) and we encourage her as it makes her so happy.

She is a great little rider, we usually do clear round jumping, but last night she jumped a course for the first time of 2ft 3. She now wants to enter local competitions when the season starts again.

So here is my dilemma......... she has really bad short term memory (main part of her Dyslexia), last night instructor had to tell her 4 times which order to jump the jumps, ie, cross pole,barrel,white jump,poles e.t.c.

I need help with ways to help her remember which jump will be next, as at shows i'm not going to be able to shout them out, and every course will be different.

With most things we have to work out a method for her to use, but when it comes to show jumping I am stumped!

Any help, hints or ideas would be so gratefully appreciated, she can't be the only girl who struggles with this. And I really dont want her to think that she can't do this before she even tries.

Thank you all

x

 

[Jenni_]

is she good with colours? perhaps set her round a course of jumps remembering the colour sequence?

othr than that i can only imagine plenty practice jumping courses at home will help her confidence. can only be made easier if she is confident she can do it....

 

[martlin]

I don't think I'm best qualified to help as I have never had any problem with remembering courses... but there are few things I always follow:
Walk the course exactly how you would ride it, not just from one fence to the next, but all the turns etc.
Majority of well built courses flow naturally, it's difficult to explain, after jumping a few it becomes obvious, though
Repeat the course a couple of times in your head after you have walked it and watch one or two horses jump it before you.
As you jump first jump, look out for the next, always look where you want to go.

Presumably it is a bit easier for her to remember the really short sequence? As in ''I jumped number 6, now I need number 7''?

 

[Quadro]

After you have walked the course why dont you draw the pattern of the course out-like a map- and see if she can remember it that way? If she memory is photograpic that will be easier for her
Q

 

[Enigma_82]

Just wrote out a big reply, then lost my internet signal!

Give yourselves plenty of course walking time, walk it 2/3 times if needs be and pop her number low down the list, so she can watch a good few other riders do the course.

At unafill, perhaps mention to the judge that you may need a quick shout to her if she really gets stuck and stand at the side of the ring and you understand if he needs to penalise her for it. Other than that, i think it will come down to lots of practise and the more she gets out and about, the better it will all become. As others have said, hopefully the courses should be pretty obvious and flow quite well, so it should be easy enough to see the next number. Perhaps getting her to count each jump as she goes, so it's easier to keep track of what's next?

All the best to both of you though, i'm sure she'll be fine and be winning those rossies soon enough! Keep us posted!

Jo x

 

[kizzywiz]

Could you take photos of the jumps on your phone in sequence for her to look at after she has walked? I think as she does more of it she will become better at remembering, watching some ponies go before her will also be helpful. You could also perhaps enter non competitively a few times? Then you would probably be allowed to go into the ring & help her. Good luck, that sounds great!

 

[helencharlie]

i have a similar problem. I really struggle to remember courses. I always allow plenty of time to do so and will often walk the course more than once. I always make sure that I julmp the course after at least 10 other people and make time to watch 2 or 3 other people. I struggle when the course is 2 phase and you have to remember the jump off as well. So,I how your daughter feels and the frustration felt when you get the course wrong. The only other advise is practise the more courses she walks the easier it does get.

 

[frustrated]

Hi My daughters dyslexic too, so i know how hard it is, my daughter too has zero short term memory. Others have already given great advice. But you could use a white board and draw course keep it simple if poss use the colours as well. She can then go over and over it before its her turn. Also when showjumping the first round is not againt the clock and the fences are numbered so tell her to make big turns, in order that she can get a good look at the next number. My daughter also used bacs remedy as this helped her nerves, she does dressage and now learns them by shapes so it is possible, just takes longer. Give her lots of incouragement. My daughter is now 14 and at grammar, top of her year except english, what do we care!

 

[pipstar]

You guys! I'm in floods of tears!! Thank you all so much!! I really mean that. you have given me lots of great ideas, especially taking photos and the white board, she will really respond well to those. I didn't realise either that I could place her lower down the list so she can watch a few others first, so that is a great help.

I was starting to get myself in a tizz with it today, and couldnt see the woods through the trees so to speak.

She is desperate to represent her school in the summer too and is putting lots of pressure on herself atm to be 'good enough' I didn't want it to all end in tears and end up back to depressed square one.

Thank you all once again, I really really appreciate it.

x