UncleJr's words of wisdom in XC Corner on EWW...

I love this. I use this mantra but UncleJr puts it better....

“Winning is not about being the best among all, but about obtaining the best out of oneself.”

Really good am lovin xc corner how often do new articles go up?... are you going to do one on studs? or riding for different ground conditions?

I would also like to know the best way to ride an airy trajkena which has a downhill approach.....personal gremlin that I have
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It is a very good article!
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Very well written and informative, but could he explain more about waiting and the difference between hooking? I understand that there is a difference, just not sure how to tell the difference?
 
I suppose it's because I am also ancient, but it's good to read that I am not the only person that thinks it's important to see a stride. He talks the same language I was taught - wonder how it would go down in the UK, it would certainly fly completely in the face of the advice generally given on here.
 
i have also been taught to look for/see a stride, not the 'keep a good canter and ride blind at the fence' theory that seems so popular now.
 
Ditto being taught to look for a stride. I was a guinea pig at a Stephen Hadley clinic many moons ago and he said you could get away with it up to 1m, but after that you needed to take more responsibility for seeing your stride. Surely the best way to learn is under 1m, so it's never too early to start training your eye?
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My OH hunts and says he can't see a stride but he knows when he's on a bad one,
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so he then adopts the defensive/safety position. So actually he can see a stride but thankfully rides in good enough balance to let his equally well-balanced horses make the decisions for him on those occasions.
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Re "holding and waiting" as opposed to "hooking": I think the main difference would be the balance and energy. Holding and waiting would be the difference between medium canter and collected canter ie. the same amount of energy but in shorter, bouncier steps, still with a soft outline and in balance. I always think of hooking as being more of a backwards feel ie. stopping the front end with the hand, often resulting in a unbalanced, hollow and resistant horse rather than connecting the back end and the front end more efficiently.
 
yes, BD, that's a perfect way of putting it, I agree. I think of it as "waiting with the shoulders" as that's the easiest way for me to do it.
holding and waiting = condensing the stride slightly.
hooking = checking the stride more sharply.

Chloe, more things will be added as I get them put together, so it'll be a bit haphazard, but they'll keep coming! have just emailed your airy trakhener question to one of my illustrious contributors!
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Doesn't it depend on the horse too? If you watch NH jockeys adjusting for the fence, they do it instinctively but you see them on TV afterwards (or before) and they often talk about the 'good jumping hoss' - something like Monet's Garden who led all the way at Aintree a few months back and just met every single fence on a foot-perfect stride. How often do you see the NH horse chip in? I do think an excellent way to learn to see a stride is to practice over steeplechase type fences, which are forgiving in shape but help both horse and rider to see the stride.

My grey horse is ex-NH and he really looks at the fences properly and adjusts himself accordingly, you can really feel him do this and it is a great feeling to know exactly when he will take off. The chestnut is a flat ex-racer and he lacks that eye that the grey horse has so he needs the rider to see it for him. If I get some time in the new year, I would like to school him over hurdles or similar to get him to do what the grey horse does.
 
I agree you can help a horse to learn to see a stride and that it makes life vastly easier. I also like to use steeplechase fences as you can get in the habit then of really riding forwards safely withour worrying.

I do slightly disagree about NH horses being a good example of what we should aim for. I have seen numerous references by super famous & knowledgeable people citing NH horses as some kind of ideal. I think that when you see NH horses - even great jumpers like Kauto Star, they are terrifying. They take off miles away or get in close and jump hopelessly inaccurately. Just because they are seeing a stride doesn't mean it's the right one!
If they jumped solid fences they would be falling & breaking limbs left right & centre. I saw Kauto Star take off at the wings last time he ran, he cleared the jump by the skin of his teeth and would have been stuffed if there were a ditch on landing.
The only good thing about NH is that they are going so fast and jumping so flat that they throw the jockey clear.
 
Understand it better now, thank you BD and K
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is it when you bring the front end of horse up by using your position and weight, and asking it to "sit up" and wait for the fence to come to you, instead of firing horse at it?
 
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Ditto being taught to look for a stride. I was a guinea pig at a Stephen Hadley clinic many moons ago and he said you could get away with it up to 1m, but after that you needed to take more responsibility for seeing your stride. Surely the best way to learn is under 1m, so it's never too early to start training your eye?

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ah ha, you can tell who i have jumping training from then?
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Stephen says i see a good stride 9 times out of 10- just need to crack that annoying last one!
although thankfully my horses are both quite forgiving and honest and sort out that 1 miss for me 99% of the time!
 
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i have also been taught to look for/see a stride, not the 'keep a good canter and ride blind at the fence' theory that seems so popular now.

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I dont think the two methods are in conflict.
The major reason people cant see a stride is that they worry about it and start messing with the canter too many strides out. If the canter isn't consistent you wont see a stride. By holding and waiting, or as i was taught, supporting but not interferring with the canter the stride will appear. As Steven smith put it, "pointless looking for a stride 5 out as when you dont see it you fidle, sit, wait, maintain canter and the stide will appear".
The other invaluable peice of advice I received (at the same time) was "if you see a long one, sit and wait. A much better stride is one step away"
By advising people to stop looking for a stride and just ride a rythm you remove the fiddling which in turn allows the stride to appear which in turn develops the eye to see the correct stride. If someone constantly hits the wrong stride they will never develop the ability to see a correct one.
 
Excellent article UncleJnr, and really easy and fab to read!!
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I agree about having to see a stride- even at low level. Every time you miss a horse, it looses confidence. Every time you have the perfect spot, you bank a point into its 'confidence box', the more you miss, the more you'll get into trouble-serious trouble as the jump size goes up and the technicality increases.

I see quite a few BE accredited trainers that train their riders with the method of 'keep the canter good and ride blind to every fence' and every time these people have moved up a level it has equaled disaster and horses falling or stopping, and actually packing in doing any jumping at all. I can't understand why oh why none of these people can even see or appreciate what is going on. Its beyond me
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Maybe there is a nation of people out there that cant see this?

However I do think that there is a fine balance to be struck when jumping a young or unbalanced horse, I have been guilty of being too obsessive in looking for that stride on such horses, which makes the canter worse- sometimes you really do have to just let them canter into each fence and not worry about striding, or perhaps it would be better to take them back to the flatwork arena and work on canter quality rather than going out jumping.
 
Agree O_B, but on those young and/or unbalanced horses you will be jumping courses of suitable height to just be able to keep cantering at, whilst all he time working on improving said unbalanced canter... in theory anyway
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i have also been taught to look for/see a stride, not the 'keep a good canter and ride blind at the fence' theory that seems so popular now.

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I dont think the two methods are in conflict.

The major reason people cant see a stride is that they worry about it and start messing with the canter too many strides out. If the canter isn't consistent you wont see a stride. By holding and waiting, or as i was taught, supporting but not interferring with the canter the stride will appear. As Steven smith put it, "pointless looking for a stride 5 out as when you dont see it you fidle, sit, wait, maintain canter and the stide will appear".
The other invaluable peice of advice I received (at the same time) was "if you see a long one, sit and wait. A much better stride is one step away"
By advising people to stop looking for a stride and just ride a rythm you remove the fiddling which in turn allows the stride to appear which in turn develops the eye to see the correct stride. If someone constantly hits the wrong stride they will never develop the ability to see a correct one.

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but what if the rythym they ride in is too long etc or simply the stride pattern they are in does not fit the distance to the fence?
i have seen countless people get to fences on horrendous strides and they haven't hooked or kicked- they have kept the rythym, not dropped the impulsion or the contact and still get to the fence on a horrible half stride.

i don't understand how you can get rid of these half strides unless you actively do something about it- preferably sit up and create another stride or if you see it late, go on a long one.

not picking an argument but i genuinely don't understand how to solve the half stride problem without doing something a good 5 or 6 strides from the fence.
 
Kerilli, really enjoying the articles so keep them coming.
The whole seeing the stride thing is very interesting. I think that I am a bit like BD's OH I know when it's not quite right. A few years ago I would just freeze when this happened and I like to think that now I am a bit better at knowing what to do. I know more often than not wait is the right decision but not always and it does depend on the horse and fence.
I don't think anyone would disagree that seeing a stride is a good thing ( siennamum, millitiger) but possibly some people have misunderstood some trainers specifically when talking about XC. Many trainers (incl LG) state that it is the horses' job to jump the fence, the riders is engine, line & balance. If the EL&B is right for the fence then you stand a better chance of being "right" but it is still extremely useful to know when you are (or not).
I still feel that the horse should be part of the decision. Until the day when I am able to put a horse exactly on the right spot all the time (in my dreams) I find it useful to think about comfort zones. I ride two completely different horses, if wrong one (Mine) will prefer to stand off whilst the other (OH's) will get in deep. This will influence both the decision and the action on the approach to a fence if the stride is wrong. The aim always being to get as close as possible to the perfect spot.
 
only_me, i'm not sure if that's it, it depends whether you are checking with the reins or just maintaining contact. not easy to explain really.
i agree O_B, i don't interfere with a young horse's striding over small fences, they learn by getting in too deep and having to really put themselves out (or by hitting the fence.)
the thought of just riding at a decent fence and leaving the judgement totally to the horse really isn't appealing... maybe it's okay on a good hunter, but they're not coming to turning skinnies, bounces, hollows, etc etc.
that's not to say i haven't done it occasionally on a v experienced horse when i just could NOT see the stride (i just sat still with leg on, softened reins to tell horse "the ball's in your court" and trusted, and it's worked so far... but it's not good for the nerves!)
siennamum, i don't watch tons of racing, but the only NH horse i've ever watched who i thought actually adjusted himself and jumped cleverly was dear old Dessie. he'd have jumped round Badminton if they'd decided to turn him into an eventer. a lot of them are on a wing and a prayer imho, and i'd be terrified to ride 1 of them to an upright!
 
A very well put article. The trouble is, it sounds easy in words but it is soooo much harder to actually carry out.

Do you think the expression 'Jumping out of your hands' is relevant? I think this is more a racing term & basically means that the horse is going forward & taking up a good contact all the way to the fence. The rider keeps this 'one' steady contact & then goes with the horse at the point of take off. The contact on approach is not dropped either by the horse e.g backing off the fence or the rider e.g flinging the horse at the fence.

Personally I find this achievable XC whilst riding a keen bold horse. However the system falls apart somewhat show jumping where I am working harder to keep a more controlled canter & I do not trust the horse not to give the poles a little rub on the way over. I start either over checking or 'giving up' my hold & allowing the horse to go on a long one & gradually building up speed.

Is this a common fault? Do others feel this? is this why lots of event riders struggle with the show jumping or is it just me
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Years ago I was taught to see a stride by some fantastic trainers (all based round Northamptonshire incidentally) It was my job to get the horse to the fence and make the decision about whether we were going in deep or riding for a longer one. Useful when SJ on a funny distance & when riding the horse XC at a coffin vs a hedge.
Then I gave up & when I started riding again everyone was horrified if I mentioned seeing a stride and I was continually made to sit and wait and I continually got to fences on a half stride & dropped my horse in it. I was really passive - as instructed and simply not improving. The only time I could see a stride was in a jump off or Xc when I was riding assertively forwards and telling the horse what to do.

I have abandoned this style of riding now, and use plenty of pole work to continually remind my horse where I need her in front of a fence and what her canter/stride length should be - just like we used to in the bad old days.

I still see people riding passively into XC fences & coming horribly unstuck, I think you see it at quite high levels, which is bizarre (and I'm not mixing passive up with quiet) but I do think it is because the talented riders who now teach don't realise that they do see strides and so are teaching people who can't see a stride to continue to not see a stride. (if you see what I mean)
 
siennamum, the last part of what you wrote really resonated with me... Lucinda Green swears blind that she can't see a stride, but anyone who watches her ride can see that she can and does imho!
i think this is the trouble with some trainers, what they do is so instinctive/subsconcious that they cannot convey what they are doing, or understand the problems of those who can't do it...!
 
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siennamum, the last part of what you wrote really resonated with me... Lucinda Green swears blind that she can't see a stride, but anyone who watches her ride can see that she can and does imho!
i think this is the trouble with some trainers, what they do is so instinctive/subsconcious that they cannot convey what they are doing, or understand the problems of those who can't do it...!

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that is it exactly.
Lucinda teaches people not to look for a stride but you can see that she does it and does it so easily but automatically and probably thinks she is just keeping the canter whereas she is always making minor adjustments to get there on a good stride!

when riding my youngsters i can still see a stride and also see if we have absolutely no stride!
as they aren't yet quick enough to adjust i let them carry on to the fence in the best balance we can muster and i let them fiddle it themselves.
obviously the fences are small enough to fiddle and also i like horses to have a bit of leg awareness for when we go xc!

however, i wouldn't want to continue in this style indefinitely and would be working on making the canter more adjustable so i can alter things a few strides before the fence if i can see we are on a half stride.
 
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Understand it better now, thank you BD and K
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is it when you bring the front end of horse up by using your position and weight, and asking it to "sit up" and wait for the fence to come to you, instead of firing horse at it?

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Sort of.
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I like to think that when jumping, both sj and xc, the horse lightens its forehand on the approach to the fence, especially the last few strides (there's nothing worse than feeling you're pushing a wheelbarrow on the way in, or pointing at the bottom of the fence, if that makes sense
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). Your part in that is making sure you have enough energy (leg), the right contact (hand) and therefore your change in bodyweight positioning is the last aid to the horse. The ratio of the leg/hand/bodyweight aids depends on your speed, type of fence, experience, going etc and - more crucially - whether you've seen and/or decided where you would like the horse to take off, plus or minus a yard perhaps.

Hooking and firing often go hand in hand, usually if your "hook" works too quickly and you suddenly need to make some distance to get to the fence. This is where the teaching of keeping a rhythm is important, but you should be able to change the rhythm and stride pattern (like medium to collected to medium canter) in an almost imperceivable way. That's why the pros make it look so easy: they do it so smoothly you can barely see it happening, whereas you or I would make it look like we were wrestling a small elephant to the ground, or is that just me?
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Hooking looks like the rider is strangling the horse in front of the fence. You see their arms pulling backwards, they look like they are interfering.
 
I think what people say about talented riders not being able to teach people to see a stride is spot on. I am convinced that really talented riders often aren't the best teachers. They don't have to work and find coping strategies the same as someone less talented, and often can't explain how they do things because of this.

Good teachers and good practitioners are NOT the same thing in any field. Try getting a talented artist to teach you to paint or a gifted mathematician with a phd to teach you long division. When something comes naturally it is difficult to explain it to someone who doesn't do it naturally.

My husband is an artist and doesn't teach because he gets frustrated when people can't do it, he doesn't understand that some people can't translate from eye to hand like he can! Just the same with riding.
 
Interesting thread, and lovely article UJr, thanks for that
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On whether to look for a stride, hmm, I'm going to sit on the fence on this one. Thing is, I agree that at the higher levels you need to be able to help your horse out by helping him to the correct take-off spot, although even here arguably the worst accidents are when the rider has tried to interfere and got it wrong rather than the horse getting itself into trouble. However, at lower levels and by this I mean certainly up to PN and in most cases unless the horse lacks any scope N as well, riders interfering with the rhythm and balance, hooking, firing, seeing long ones, throwing their bodies forward, hooking to the bottom of the fence and killing the canter because the stride never appeared etc etc are responsible for the vast majority of bad jumps/refusals and falls. At these levels if the rider can be taught to ride in a good rhythm AND NOT CHANGE IT, and by that I mean rhythm not speed by the way, of course you need to slow down for tricky fences, and keep themselves and their horse in balance, they will successfully negotiate the obstacles. Sure, sometimes the horse will back themselves off and pop a little stride in - which is different from the "chipping in" that some people are referring to, or go on a bit of a long one but by and large it's safe and smooth. So, I have sympathy with those who teach this as the top priority to their pupils. Once they have mastered this, then there's time to start talking about adjusting stride patterns
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See what I mean about on the fence
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Personally, although I'd like to think I see a reasonable spot most of the time (although those at the Hand today might disagree
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) I also like to teach my horses to think for themselves and be able and confident enough to sort themselves out from the occasional holes I put us in without having too much of a heart attack!

On UncleJr's closing point about endless long spots, Mark Phillips had a really good way of putting it when he was teaching me yonks ago: he talks about the "Confidence Bank". Every time you see a nice deep spot (not burying them, obviously
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), you put £5 in the Confidence Bank. Every time you go on a flyer (the "eventer spot") you take £10 out. You want to save up a really good credit balance, then if you go on the occasional flyer you can take a tenner out without worrying. But if you start to go into the red, you'll be in trouble!
 
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I also like to teach my horses to think for themselves and be able and confident enough to sort themselves out from the occasional holes I put us in without having too much of a heart attack!


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yes, and that's the essential, so difficult balance to achieve, and wonderful when you get it... "listen to me, accept my input, but improvise instantly (and correctly!) if i get it wrong or if i leave it to you."

i'm with you on all the rest, TD, and i agree that if you can't see a stride, sitting still and keeping a good rhythm, with balance, energy etc, is 99% of the job, certainly up to N ish.
 
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