You dont have to jump big, do u?

[bca13]

Hi everyone, strange thing to put on here but I know you lot are a lot more supportive than facebook! Im on a confidence low with jumping, my horse likes to but can put in dirty stops (out of nowhere- you don't know when they are coming) Im really happy with x poles and verticals up to about 70, but all I really want to do is flat school, and do fun polework and hack. Im getting both jump and flat lessons, but my question is, how do you deal with being looked down on because you jump 'smaller than u should'. Im not looking to be a world beater, maybe have a go at a local clear round, but everyone is So judgy. Im normally good at blocking things out but this is getting to me. I need some of you lovely people to assure me that height isn't everything (I know it isn't) and that I should just have fun with my pony, right? thank you all so much

 

[neddy man]

Sod em, just do what you want to do and are happy with, better small and sound than big and injured .Your horse your choice.

 

[Caol Ila]

I threw myself and my horse over a 3'9 jump once (sorry, I can't do this in metric) and while the horse was game, I decided I was never doing that again. Since then, I've decided 2'6 is my limit...maybe a single 2'9 one on a good day but definitely no higher.

There's plenty of dressage to be done and trails to explore. Who cares if you only like weensie jumps? We're not all Beezie Madden.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

 

[Lipglosspukka]

I think providing you are not going out every weekend winning the same height class over and over again then who cares.

Riders who do the above IMO should be riding HC if they do not wish to go up a class.

I don't wish to jump big and stick to around 2ft3 these days. But I don't win so it doesn't matter ?

 

[Red-1]

You can do whatever makes you happy. The others are obviously lacking self-confidence if they wish everyone else to be like them.

However, I would dispute that your pony loves jumping if he/she is putting in dirty stops.

 

[View]

Agree with Red-1 that dirty stops are not the hall mark of a pony that loves jumping.

There is nothing that says you have to jump. If you don't want to, why bother with jump lessons? Save your money and spend it on things you enjoy yourself.

 

[Cowpony]

If your pony is putting in dirty stops there may be a physical issue. Mine loves jumping and never refuses, so when she started doing it at a height she would normally not even look at I knew there was something wrong. It was her sacro iliac. I'd get the vet out, and even if they can't find anything obvious you have the perfect excuse not to jump!

ETS I totally get where you are coming from. I used to love jumping, but a 2'9" course was my limit. As I've got older my courage has got less, and I now leave the jumping to my young sharer.

 

[AUB]

You don’t have to jump if you dont like it.

If dressage is your thing then focus on that. If you’re a happy hacker then do that.

Riding is our hobby. We spend a lot of money doing it. Why should you spend money on something that doesn’t make you happy? Don’t! Put that money towards extra dressage lessons instead and if anyone asks, say it like it is: you’re not enjoying showjumping over a certaing height and would rather focus on dressage.

 

[blitznbobs]

I doubt the likes of Carl Hester and CDJ are worrying about how high they jump and not many people suggest that they are crappy riders

 

[CanteringCarrot]

You don't have to jump at all. I don't (except for the odd log or small thing), because it isn't my horse's thing. Most people at my yard do jump but don't really care that I don't. Occasionally I'll get a sort of dig about "why aren't you riding in the jumping clinic or jumping lessons?" And I usually just say something silly in response. Then they laugh or bug off.

You just do what you want. It should be fun for you and not overly stressful. It's your hobby.

 

[cauda equina]

Why is it anyone else's business anyway?

I hate people giving other people a hard time about what they 'should' be doing with their horse unless it's about a welfare issue

 

[windand rain]

I never enjoyed jumping it is not the be all and end all of owning horses so I rarely did. I did event when younger but passed the ride onto a friend when I discovered I really didnt enjoy it. I only jumped anything when out hacking and I felt the urge. I mostly enjoyed hacking and so did my ponies. The eventers still evented and I got a thrill watching them but that was because my best friend was an absolute adrenelin junkie He didn't have a horse so rode mine

 

[wren123]

Don't give it another thought, what does it matter what other people think?

 

[Bernster]

I’ve grappled with this too. I’ve accepted that I’m only likely to be comfortable up to 70cm or so. I do sometimes feel like I *should* jump higher and would like to but I’m not putting in the work or training right now. For me to stay confident it has to stay ‘small’ and I’ve lost my confidence a few times so I know I need to take it slow and steady.

Not sure if this will work but there’s a great post from inside track Eventing which I find really helpful when I’m feeling down about my jumping ability...
??'? ???? ?? ???? ?????? "????" ??? "????".

"?'? ???? ????? ??? 80?? ?????"

"?'? ???? ????????? ?? ?????? ?????"

"?? ?'? ??? ? ???? ???????, ? ???? ?? ??? ??? ??????"

How many of us have said something similar to the above?

I have uttered every single one of these phrases, and then some.

The worst one was when I won a 80cm SJI Championship - I felt so proud, and then this small voice in the back of my head said "???? ?????'? ?????, ??'? ???? 80?".

Today I'm here to tell myself and everyone else that we need to stop saying "only" and "just" when we talk about our efforts and achievements.

We work damn hard. We show up in the early mornings, late at night, in rain wind and hail. We worry about our horses' feed, we get physios vets and farriers to mind and monitor them. We read everything on the internet to better educate ourselves, and we get lessons to become the best we can be.

We care deeply about our horses and work hard to ride them the best we can. We ride and compete at a level that we are capable of, and that is safe for us to have fun and be competitive at.

So no, we are not "just" doing a certain level or class. We worked hard and we have every right to be proud of the journey it took to get there, and of our achievements.

There is no threshold for qualification to be considered a "real" rider or competitor.

If you enter an arena at A and proceed down the centre line, you are doing dressage.

If you enter an arena and jump a course of fences, you are showjumping.

If you do a dressage test, jump a course of fences, and go cross country, you are eventing.

Do not diminish the work, love and care that you put into this sport. Do not minimise your accomplishments, or belittle what it's taken you to get to where you are today.

When you say "just" or "only", you don't just minimise your own accomplishments or put yourself down, you also set an example to others that they too are "just" and "only".

You are not "just". You are not "only".

You are.

So go do it. Enjoy it. Smash it

 

[Pearlsasinger]

You don't have to jump at all if you don't want to but like Red-1, I suspect that your pony has a physical problem behind the dirty stops. I would investigate that.

 

[oldie48]

Rushing jumps (people used to say, He likes his jumping doesn't he?) and putting in a few dirty stops were the first signs one of my horses having hock arthritis. Worth checking as hock injections made him so much more comfortable. But to answer your question, just do what you want to do and enjoy doing what you do.

 

[jnb]

You don't have to jump anything at all! I get palpitations about trotting poles! so I don't do it - riding is supposed to FUN.
Just say ask whoever is criticising who made them, the Jump Police?

Or better still ignore them. Do what YOU want to do, because if you don't please yourself, no one else will

 

[Red-1]

You don't have to jump at all if you don't want to but like Red-1, I suspect that your pony has a physical problem behind the dirty stops. I would investigate that.

This made me LOL. You are right, it is what I thought, but was not what I said

You got in my head

 

[bca13]

i think the reason behind her dirty stops is previous bad memories- the person I brought her off never thought twice about saddle fit and she came with a very sore back! I will have a look into it however, incase there is an underlying issue like you all suggested! Tbh all I want is a happy healthy pony that will live a lovely long life spending her years out with me, no urge to compete or anything

 

[Cortez]

I live in a country that is jumping mad; it's the ONLY thing that most people do with their horses. I don't jump at all and have never had anyone comment adversely, and if they did I would give zero you-know-whats anyway. You do what you and your horse enjoy.

 

[D66]

Our daughters pony used to stop or run out - she was folding forwards too early and unbalancing the pony precisely at the moment he was adjusting his balance to jump. It was fixed by her not leaning forward until she felt the pony's hooves leave the ground.
He went on to be fantastic competition pony.
But there is no reason you should have to jump, there are lots of different ways of enjoying riding.

 

[Tarragon]

A really good reason for riding a pony - people don't expect you to jump big!

 

[doodle]

I used to jump and enjoy it. I now don’t jump. It scares me. I don’t need to be scared riding so I don’t do it. Nothing happened I just stopped when Minto was retired. Pre arthritis i could have jumped robin but I didn’t want to. A few people said it was a “shame” but I don’t care.

However horses don’t put in dirty stops for nothing. Robin always used to jump everything, totally trustworthy. I had a new sharer jump him. He started stopping. As out of character I got the vet. Nothing was found. However a year later he went lame and found quite advanced arthritis in his hocks. I am 100 % sure he was feeling his hocks jumping, but trot ups, flexions and lunging were still ok for him. I am so glad I said something is up jumping and stopped jumping him. (Which meant no more sharer but that was fine)

 

[Annagain]

When I was young, brave and a bit silly, I jumped 4' (1.20) with my old 14.1. Sec D. I had total faith in him but even then I only did it once, just to prove to the rich girls with big flashy horses that I could do it too. I hated it. I loved jumping and regularly jumped 1m (3'3") courses with him but 4' wasn't fun. Even though I was young, brave and a bit silly, even then, I was strong enough to say, "I've done it now, I don't need to do it again." Even in the pre mobile phone days I managed to get photographic evidence (if a bit blurred) so that helped!

As I've got older, the fences have got smaller and with my new boy, my jumping confidence is currently on the ground (literally and metaphorically). He's fab, it's me. At the moment, I'm not jumping at all (not burdening the NHS and all that) and for the first time since I last "jumped" (raised canter poles really) him in October, as I've got to grips with him a lot more on the flat, I've found myself wanting to do it in the last week or so. At the moment though, I'm not contemplating getting much higher than 60cm. Eventually, if I could do 80-90 I'd be ecstatic but hopefully I've got 20 years with Charlie so if it takes me two to get where I want to be, that's fine by me.

If you're happy and the horse is happy (it might be worth examining whether there's a physical reason for the stopping) nobody else matters. He doesn't lie awake at night thinking "I could have gone round Badminton if it wasn't for her."

 

[muddybay]

It's none of their business how high you jump you're not abusing your horse by jumping it lower!

 

[Keith_Beef]

The only reason I do jumps is to be able to jump when I need it out on a hack, like a fallen tree or a small ditch (or a puddle when I'm on a horse that really doesn't like getting wet feet). That's it.

I'm not interested in doing competitions with the aim of showing that I'm better then the next rider. The only competition I've done so far was in our own club and I went around on the same height fences as the bigger ponies at around 60cm (at a guess, my knee height). Clear round in I think 2m40, and the fastest clear round was a shade under two minutes...

Do whatever you want to, to reach whatever your own goals are.

 

[Wannabedressagequeen]

Your horse - your place of enjoyment - your business! You don't need to believe in the opinions of others and don't assume to know what they think about you, your horse and what you do together. If people provide their opinions to you, don't take what they say personally - know what suits you both and enjoy!

 

[Leandy]

If you and your pony don't want to jump then don't. You do this for your enjoyment not anyone else's. If your friends and acquaintances knock your confidence then they are not worth having. Find yourself some new ones who have your best interests at heart. Clearly these ones don't!

 

[canteron]

I would look down on those trying to pressurise you to jump bigger - they are the stupid ones.
Find a way to laugh it off - like saying “oh I’ll leave those jumps to you professionals“ or “just consolidating for this year, they are in my 2023 plan!” Etc etc