Showjumping courses, tips

[Katie]

hey, has anybody got any tips for doing a show jumping courses? thanks any help would be appreciated. xxx

[Rockchick]

I think the only advice i can give is

Walk the Course
look at where you are going
give your horse plenty of room to turn in to jumps
never look behind you, always ahead.

[~Alice~]

Don't worry about the fences. Fillers, gates, walls ect all rider scarers. Yes some ponies may find it difficult to focas on the fence due to the colours of whatever but just cause theres a filler, ride it no differently.

I walk the course twice, first time I work out where the heck the jumps are lol and 2nd time I walk the exact course I intend to jump, then I can be sure I'm giving silly mare the best line to jump on and so on

Um have fun! Just enjoy it lol And don't be put off by wizzy kids with big bits and spurs!

[Spockky boy]

Relax! Very important although it's hard, horses can pick up signals and start to back off from jumping

Breathe!!!!!! VERY important, Last time i did a round + a jump off in one I one breathed 4 times, and my god I felt dizzy, sick and generally bad afterwards...Also if you breathe 'Normally' it helps you to relax.


Enjoy! if you don't enjoy yourself you will gain nothing from it, and it's a waste of time.

[Taurus]

If you're jumping a fair sized track then make sure you know your strides between combinations and related distances etc - even for small courses it will help to know your strides so when you move up to the bigger ones it will all be second nature to you.
If things are going wrong and you are somehow finding yourself on a bad approach to a fence turn a circle and approach on the correct line - much better to throw away a class than to get into problems and lose confidence or get either you or your pony injured.
Above all enjoy it!! Its meant to be fun - for both of you!! xx

[Spockky boy]

Keep your hands still as possible as horse can get mixed signals as to where to go! Seen so many times lol

Keep your leg on, you want to drive the horse forwrd into a nice pace, but by no means rush around the course...By rushing you are only asking for trouble.

[Taurus]

Concentrate on getting a good rythmn(sp?!) in your canter and then let the fences come to you.
Don't hurry or hold the pace too much - work at home on getting a stride that you can play with - down the long side of your schooling area count how many 'normal' canter strides your horse fits in and then play around with the size of the stride, until you can adapt it to suit what you need if ever you're on the approach to a fence not on the perfect rythmical stride!!
And flatwork - if you're pants on the flat you'll not get good results over fences! xx