Teaching riders to jump? Fast!

[tigers_eye]

Just wondering if anyone's got any great tips on getting someone a lot more proficient in a short space of time over fences? I'm preparing two dressage riders for a riding exam, they have to do a show-jumping course of 1m and a few cross country fences of 80cm. It's going great guns with the girl but I had some problems today with the guy. For me he doesn't have enough control over his body with the change in stirrup length and saddle, and his physical reactions need to be speeded up. I made him jack his stirrups right up at the start and canter round like that for a while to get the feel of which joints need to be absorbing what movement, that helped. However the stability isn't there if something goes wrong (dodgy stride, stumble, jumping to one side etc), and the horse gets chopped in the teeth on landing. So, anyone got any helpful hints?! Have two more lessons with him before exam!

 

[seche]

Elastic elbows - neck strap on horse to be held onto (N/S should be higher up that the martingale about halfway down) so that they make and effort to reach/use it?
Rhythm and softness - if he is a dressage rider he should understand how and why a horse needs to elongate itself over a fence and should there fore go with it! - Good luck - thing you can tell id never be a good teacher!

 

[BuckingHorse]

Try using a place pole but have it 1 stride away from the fence instead of on a bounce distance, this will help the ability to 'see a stride', also working on 3 stride related distances, smallish upright in to a larger upright/oxer will help maintain balance and rhythm but is also straight forward enough that he can work on his own position.
I think men to tend to go backwards if in doubt whereas women usually adopt 'crash position' when it is going wrong!!!
Good luck.

 

[LEC]

Make him do it blindfolded then it will be more natural for him. Make him do PC stuff like one arm out to side, both arms, behind back, touching shoulder. That way he will use his body and not his brain so much.

 

[TarrSteps]

Does he have a suitable - i.e. big enough with the blocks in the right place - jumping saddle? That can make a big difference, especially if he's long in the thigh.

Otherwise, I'd suggest as BuckingHorse above. Simple, flowing stuff where you rig it so he can jump a bit bigger without getting in trouble.

Simple grids? Getting him to go in in trot, keeping his hip angle closed and soft and his hands a low and forward, so he's "standing" over the horse with the movement closing his joints rather than trying to close them by timing it himself. I'd likely start with a grid then add a simple related distance after, working on keeping the canter consistent through the line.

Jumping down a line with his eyes closed? It freaks some people out so badly they freeze but others it really helps.

Impress upon him the need to not hit the horse in the chops by keeping his hands following but some guys can get funny if they feel pressed so you might have to do it "sweetly" (as in, "You'll fail if you do that.")

Does he only get to jump with you, the two more lessons? Or can he practice in between?

 

[seabiscuit]

exercise off the horse- physical fitness needs to improve- get him out running for an hour, ( lots of stretching to warm down otherwise he will be stiff as a board for weeks afterwards) also loads and loads of core stability exercises ( pilates exercises) to improve his stability and balance.

You cant force an unfit and unsupple body into doing things its not used to doing

 

[Bossanova]

Lots of stand up, sit down in trot then stand up, sit down, jump position, sit down etc etc. This really, really helps the strength and balance

 

[tigers_eye]

Many thanks for the replies guys! Some great stuff here! Think I will def try the eyes closed thing with him, think that could be a good one. Slightly dubious about hands off reins as it's my horse he's riding

, although I think it could help. He's not got a horse to jump in between lessons, but I have told him to stay out of his dressage saddle until the exam and do loads of work in the jumping position with his stirrups as high as he can bring himself to.

Tarrsteps - I know over the pond they're very into crest release, you got any thoughts how I might put that across to him? Yesterday I was going more along the "allow your hands forwards and down to horse's mouth" line but it wasn't consistently acheiving the desired result, so thinking crest release may be the way to go. Looking at my own pics that's what my hands do most often anyway, although I do know LG was pretty sniffy in one of her books on technique about it

.

Ouija-board - teehee, will not be putting across your opinion of dressage riders' fitness to him

. Could well lose me a client, he's a 17yo half italian with attitude

.

 

[TarrSteps]

Sorry, just saw this . . .

I don't envy you. I taught an young, well off Iranian fellow for his coaching exam one year and it was, um, fraught to say the least. Or at least it was for me - I think he was pretty clear he was right all the time and I, well, I was just a woman.

The whole crest release has become a bit of a tense subject in NA (watching George Morris do his nut about it is quite comic) but it IS supposed to be a means to an end - a step on the way to a secure position and a correct automatic release, while protecting the horse's mouth (and confidence) - not an end unto itself. I think LG and many others (including George) have a problem with the way a lot of people have taken the concept and run completely in the wrong direction with it.

But I digress . . . (a lot

)

The easiest way to explain it is to get the rider to press his knuckles into the crest (not the top of the mane) about a third/half way up the neck (long release) and then more towards the withers, only enough to follow the movement of the horse's neck (short release). (The trick might be teaching this on a horse that's not used to it as a sudden movement from someone learning might freak him out.) A good starting exercise is to practice in trot, moving between "standard" position, long release and short release, to get the elbows opening and closing softly. Then the same in canter. Then over poles on the ground (release over the pole) then over small jumps. A grid in a light seat with a release all the way through is a good way of getting the feel of opening and closing the elbows and how this smooth following makes it easier on the horse.

The REALLY important reminder though is to get the rider to think of pressing his knuckles but pushing his body away from his hands, not just throwing his hands away from his body. The most likely mistake is for the rider to keep his elbows at the same angle (rather than following with the hand) and just fall forward to release, which will put him ahead of the motion.

I do find one of the best ways of helping people know what feel to look for is to stand on the ground and hold the rein between the rider's hand and the horse, then pull it back and forth to mimic the feel of the horse's head going forward and down over a jump. Most people are surprised to feel how much their elbow has to open and close. Another good exercise for this is to have the rider post to the trot with his hands staying on the neck. Canter with the hand pressed helps too, but it's easier for the rider to cheat and not really open the elbow if the horse doesn't have much movement in its neck.

Hmm, I don't seem to be doing a good job of explaining. It's so much easier to demonstrate than describe! I'm going off to do some reading and thinking and I'll get back to you . . .