tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543945977774319437.post693132538230233521..comments2024-03-28T03:28:50.712-04:00Comments on Starlight Lane Farm: Jumping funLiz Stouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18267806576736655184noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543945977774319437.post-66357986256332095682012-10-20T04:51:35.687-04:002012-10-20T04:51:35.687-04:00I think your position is great!! LOVE the first pi...I think your position is great!! LOVE the first pic of you two jumping in this series-it is flawless! In the one photo where you ask (1st photo after groundwork pic)-for equitation purposes, your hands would have been better about 4" higher up on Q's neck, but there is just enough slack in the reins to let her use herself, which is excellent. I like how it looks like you allowed Q's jump to close your hip angle in that same photo (that sounds so George Morris, but it's what I see :) ) Your hands are perfect in all the others. In some of the photos I think you're jumping ahead a little bit (you've come out of the saddle more), but it's hard to wait when you have a horse charging fences! I had this same problem when jumping-don't let it turn into a bad habit like I did. A trainer once told me to think about slowing down my upper body when going over the fence, and this visual helped me a lot, and it also helped slow down my horse. Your leg position is perfect! I think this is one of the things that takes the longest to get right, and you've got that down solid! Regarding exercises for slowing Q down, one trainer had me do a lot of grid work (bounces, lines with different stride numbers between the fences, combinations of lines and bounces, etc) to get the horse thinking about a sequence of jumps and focusing on using himself, instead of just flying over a single jump. If you don't have a lot of jumps, just setting up several ground poles to and after the fence can help-you can play with stride length and distances to see what works best with Q. Another exercise is trotting to the single fence, jumping, and then halting right after. When she has that down pat, practice cantering, jumping, and trotting away. You should be able to work up to the point where you can canter, jump, and stop as soon as you want to after the fence. Just some tricks from my OTTB jumper training days. :) I did a lot of jumper training on my own for many, many years, and I totally hear ya on how hard it is to get an idea about your form when you ride by yourself. You're doing an AWESOME job! Nicole Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09817619834026667737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543945977774319437.post-29234192799552803022012-10-18T22:33:21.679-04:002012-10-18T22:33:21.679-04:00It's been years since my formal jumping lesson...It's been years since my formal jumping lessons, and I never got comfortable with anything over 2'6"...but FWIW...in terms of your hands, I say put them wherever feels the most secure and stable to you and gives you the most control. My reasoning for that is if it's secure and stable, you're probably going with the horse and you're not going to be in their way, versus forcing your hands into an unnatural position that doesn't feel good -- if it's stiff and uncomfortable, you might not end up providing the needed release. At least, that's how I remember doing it, and the pony and I were both learning to jump at the same time.Ashleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04720090581233703530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543945977774319437.post-45101751137096214642012-10-18T12:00:04.401-04:002012-10-18T12:00:04.401-04:00Haha, love these pictures and great goofy face ;)Haha, love these pictures and great goofy face ;)Emmihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03449719746034488461noreply@blogger.com