What do you look for in aluminium training jumps?

[amandaparry1994]

Hi I work as a show jump designer and wanted to know what people looked for in their aluminium training jumps? Do you want something exciting and scary? Or is plain preferred. I'm interested because I want to make sure that what I design is going to be what customers want! If you have any ideas let me know!

 

[TGM]

Safety would be my first concern, as presumably aluminium doesn't break as easily as plastic or wood. Any design where the horse could trap a leg or hoof would worry me, to be honest.

 

[Shay]

Safety yes. Aluminum jumps are very light - which is a blessing in some ways. But overly light poles and wings can blow over and we've had some near misses over the years so I would look for something which can be weighted down. Poles to competition weight - there is no point having a pole so light the horse doesn't know its hit it. But I am absolutely not a fan of those extra heavy octagonal metal poles either.

Outside that - jump design is entirely down to individual taste and budget. There are a couple of Ali Jump design companies already out there so I suppose either something not already on the market or something competitively priced. But I'd never consider any ali jump I couldn't weight down or ground pin.