Tips to teach rider to sit up after jump...

Fiona

Fiona

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Hi folks

I'd be grateful for any tips to help my son and his pony.

Son is 6, pony is 11.2 Welsh.

They were very confidently jumping a course of 50cm and single fences at 60-65cm. Sometimes from trot, other times from canter.

However he has had a couple of falls recently where pony has jumped out of canter off a longer than average stride, child has got flicked forward and tipped off a few strides after jump.

Apart from shouting sit up as he approaches each fence, has anyone any tips to get him to keep his shoulders back...

His leg position always seems v secure to me, and he doesn't lean forward overmuch on take off, but the pony's extravagant jump out of canter seems to throw him forward in the latter half of the jump .

I'm going to put some pics in a reply.

Fiona
 
Try and get him to think about riding a really positive departure out of the fence - if he is focused on riding out of the fence he should start to sit up and back afterwards.
Awesome cute pair though
 
Roxylola said:
Try and get him to think about riding a really positive departure out of the fence - if he is focused on riding out of the fence he should start to sit up and back afterwards.
Awesome cute pair though
Click to expand...

I think I know what you mean, how would I explain it to him though?

Thanks :)

Fiona
 
Give him a target to aim for afterwards - another pole, or something, how many canter bounces does it take to get to the pole? 10, ok can you do it in 8?
Or to try and keep him looking up a bit more what are you holding up at the end of the depart (a safe distance away) have a few silly props and hold one up over your head as he gets to the last bit of the approach
 
In most of those photos he is looking down, I teach children to come in to their fences looking at something as high as possible in the distance, the top of trees being the easy option normally, they are told to keep looking and not to look down at the jump at any point, you do have to make sure they are on a true line so they don't feel they have to keep straightening the pony, having their head up will keep them sitting back and in better balance if anything does go wrong, it also stops them from looking too carefully at the jump so they feel rather than see the take off and once they are ready to think about folding into a true jumping position they are already used to looking up so tend to pick up folding rather than falling forward.
Your lad has a super secure lower leg so should soon get the hang of sitting to the odd awkward moment, using canter poles before and after a small fence can help with general balance.
 
They are an adorable combination! I'd say that he needs to learn to fold. At the moment, because he isn't folding, he is less secure in the air, and because his body is further back, he is far more likely to get flicked off as the ponies back end comes up over a fence (Think about it in terms of a catapult - the further back the weight is, the further it gets hurled) I'd also have a neckstrap on pony, so that he can use it for balance, and doesn't inadvertently catch pony in the mouth.
 
I don't know, but your boy is a stunning rider with the most brilliant hands I've ever seen on a child.
 
Thanks roxyola and BP. ... I can see how looking down would unbalance him, that's an easy one to try :)

Auslander I can see the catapult analogy, how to explain it to a 6yo is another matter, but will give it some thought. Thank you.

He has a balance strap and lots of mane to grab, last night he said he tried to grab the strap but didn't get it in time :(

Thanks ybcm. .. I agree, but obviously biased lol..

Any other suggestions? Keep them coming.

Fiona
 
He's lovely they both are .
He needs a neck strap and to shown how to use it .
The answer is of course better leg position and the development of core strength it needs time a little growth ( from the rider ) .his position is really excellent for a child of that size .
I would make a game of getting him in off the back position with the weight into the stirrups I did this with boys by making it a riding like a jockey game I would start with the stirrups that length and then get them up for the game .
This will help develop balance and the natural reactions to keep the weight in the feet when stuff goes wrong .
 
Having had my first XC (& jumping lesson) for about 30 years, I found the instructor telling me to 'plug' my bottom into the saddle 5 strides before and straight after the (small) jump gave me lots of confidence, especially as my pony will launch himself unbalancing me. Also can you get children's jodhpurs with 'suede' knee patches?

You have a future star there!
 
Could maybe having two parallel poles after the fence where he has to stop, make him sit up quickly?

He's going to be some rider, that's for sure!
 
Fiona said:
He has a balance strap and lots of mane to grab, last night he said he tried to grab the strap but didn't get it in time :(
Click to expand...

Might be easiest if he comes into the fence with a finger hooked already under the neck strap? Depends on how straight and honest the pony is though - although he certainly looks like he enjoys his jumping!
 
Oh, look at his little face! Some great expressions :-) He looks very stable for such a tiny rider, but I would second the use of a neckstrap and looking always to the next jump. And I don't like kids....or jumping, much, either...
 
I am not tiny or an expert but find I ride after a fence better if I've got a vaguely complicated job to do - so making a turn around something put there for that purpose, ride through a channel of poles or similar. The number of times I've failed to decide which way I'm turning after the last fence in an exercise is ridiculous leading to some interesting moments!
 
Guys :) - thank you for all the great tips and comments.....

I'll pop a neckstrap on, and remind him its there... Should he reserve it for emergencies, or hold it as a matter of course??? I've never used one for jumping, just for hacking young horses, so I'm not sure of the procedure..

Will make sure he is looking up after the jump too..

On what Auslander said....

We headed round to a friend's riding school yesterday, where she was kind enough to fit him into one of her lessons, and she commented that he was sitting very upright over a fence, and that folding forward slightly seemed to help....

So thanks A for that acute observation (from only a few still pics) and we'll also give that a go.

Oh and he has the sticky decathlon waterproof jodhs, so we will be wearing those for jumping for the next wee while...

Thanks again for all the suggestions, and if anyone has any other tips please let me know..

Plan so far.....

Practice sitting in the saddle in canter, but folding over jumps.
Looking forward over fence and on landing, possibly turning round a cone or going through poles..
Add neckstrap..

Fiona
 
If you want him to get used to the neckstrap hold it as a matter of course, it is too late when it has gone wrong!

Get him to push his bottom back over the fences and keep his chin up. Nothing wrong with cantering over lots of poles in this sort of position - make it fun, see how low he can get his upper body - can he get horizontal to his pony. It is more forward than you need for jumping of course but it is all muscle memory. Body down bottom back is less vulnerable than trying to go "forward" especially if he has had a couple of Whoops's
 
Nothing constructive to add, but what wonderful pictures! They are a cracking little pair, and your son's face in some of those photos is magic!
 
At 6 he should be arriving at all his fences in jumping position,
Folded forward, straight back with shoulders, knee and toe forming a vertical line. Make sure stirrups are shorter than when riding on the flat to ensure his thighs are in front of him, this will help stabilise him.

Watch the jumping from canter if the pony is likely to put in a big one.

Lots of grids, low ones, without reins and without stirrups. Use trotting poles, placing poles before fences.

Teach him to sit still, in jumping position and just to reach for the neck strap.

Getting jumped off like that is usually the result of being left behind, by approaching in jumping position his body is balanced and ready for the jump wherever the pony takes off
 
Tnavas said:
At 6 he should be arriving at all his fences in jumping position,
Folded forward, straight back with shoulders, knee and toe forming a vertical line. Make sure stirrups are shorter than when riding on the flat to ensure his thighs are in front of him, this will help stabilise him.

Watch the jumping from canter if the pony is likely to put in a big one.

Lots of grids, low ones, without reins and without stirrups. Use trotting poles, placing poles before fences.

Teach him to sit still, in jumping position and just to reach for the neck strap.

Getting jumped off like that is usually the result of being left behind, by approaching in jumping position his body is balanced and ready for the jump wherever the pony takes off
Click to expand...

PC do seem to be teaching them to sit very upright rather than fold, but thanks to you, Auslander and my friend, I'm beginning to see that this isn't always safest.

Thank you.

Lots to work on.

Pony will jump a reasonable fence from trot, so we can avoid cantering for a bit..

Heading to SJ this evening where he can jump a wee 40cm class and practice, avoiding the big county show tomorrow that he was entered in (a first ridden class and unaff SJ). He can come and enjoy his day helping me and my connie in our first show class.

Thanks

Fiona
 
Nothing to add but just wanted to say I love the photos, they look like they have a great partnership and he is very brave! x
 
I was given a lesson a while back and something they said stuck, you focus too much on the bend you forget to go back up, so have the bend already and you then think abuot going up. So he can try to go into the jump already in posistion and then focus on the up rather than the bend..did that make sense??
 
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