juliehannah58
Well-Known Member
On Saturday I took my new horse to a jumping clinic with William Plunkett, who is a Sussex SJer. It was really windy but decided to go ahead anyways as it would be a good test for Chloe. We were in the advanced section, so didnt really know what to expect as I havent done much with her at all.
She warmed up well and was a bit on her toes but sensible considering the weather. Will came and chatted to us individually, first thing he said was shes an excellent model and that he really liked her paces etc, so good start!
We started off over a simple cross pole which had to be done in trot, I was surprised that she did it well in trot, as in her world shed canter everywhere! Then he put up a small upright bounce, so it was X pole bounce to small upright. Once everyone was popping that OK a third element, a vertical one stride after the bounce was added, and finally then two strides from that, an oxer. We built this up to 1.05m for the vertical and oxer and she was jumping it perfectly everytime and really opened up over the oxer - it felt great! William said she jumps an oxer VERY well, so I was chuffed to bits as this was the first grid wed done together. I thought this was an excellent grid to use as it tests everything and asks loads of questions, need lots of room though!
After the grid we progressed to building a small course compromising of the grid then keeping the canter round the corner and coming down the long side to a 1.05m upright with a tray underneath, then round and up the diagonal over a rustic oxer with gate fillers, focusing on keeping a forward canter especially on the corners. We finally cracked our working canter (I have tended to come in too slow on her) and even William was impressed when we got John Whittaker strides into all the fences and Chloe felt great.
He finished by saying what a classy mare she was and that shed walk a newcomers tomorrow so I was very chuffed with my girlie! She was foot prefect all day and didnt even breath on a single pole, and hasnt had a fence down in 5 weeks. Im always my own worst critic so its nice to be told positive things and whilst I didnt really feel like I 'learnt' anything (mainly due to the fact I was one of three in the group), it was a great confidence boost and I thought William was an excellent trainer and very encouraging, so Id recommend him if anyone in Sussex is looking for help.
Thanks for reading!
xx
She warmed up well and was a bit on her toes but sensible considering the weather. Will came and chatted to us individually, first thing he said was shes an excellent model and that he really liked her paces etc, so good start!
We started off over a simple cross pole which had to be done in trot, I was surprised that she did it well in trot, as in her world shed canter everywhere! Then he put up a small upright bounce, so it was X pole bounce to small upright. Once everyone was popping that OK a third element, a vertical one stride after the bounce was added, and finally then two strides from that, an oxer. We built this up to 1.05m for the vertical and oxer and she was jumping it perfectly everytime and really opened up over the oxer - it felt great! William said she jumps an oxer VERY well, so I was chuffed to bits as this was the first grid wed done together. I thought this was an excellent grid to use as it tests everything and asks loads of questions, need lots of room though!
After the grid we progressed to building a small course compromising of the grid then keeping the canter round the corner and coming down the long side to a 1.05m upright with a tray underneath, then round and up the diagonal over a rustic oxer with gate fillers, focusing on keeping a forward canter especially on the corners. We finally cracked our working canter (I have tended to come in too slow on her) and even William was impressed when we got John Whittaker strides into all the fences and Chloe felt great.
He finished by saying what a classy mare she was and that shed walk a newcomers tomorrow so I was very chuffed with my girlie! She was foot prefect all day and didnt even breath on a single pole, and hasnt had a fence down in 5 weeks. Im always my own worst critic so its nice to be told positive things and whilst I didnt really feel like I 'learnt' anything (mainly due to the fact I was one of three in the group), it was a great confidence boost and I thought William was an excellent trainer and very encouraging, so Id recommend him if anyone in Sussex is looking for help.
Thanks for reading!
xx
