Please Critique me and my ponies jumping!

Hi. You may have seen my other post about my new horse Archie. He is going great. I just need to see if there is anything me and Archie can improve with our jumping. I understand that in these photo's my hands arn't giving much, because he is still new to me. Feel free to ask question about him if you haven't seen my other thread.

You really have no "2 point" position at all. Try moving your upper body so that it's parallel to your horse's neck. When doing this, push your seat back out behind you. Both of these might help with release.

Also your toes are almost completely perpendicular to the horse's sides in some of the pics, try keeping them pointed forward a bit more.

He's a cutie and looks like a saint!

Need to two-point more. Maybe bring your stirrups 1-2 holes.

He's cute :)

Oh he is adorable. You need to give quite a bit more with your hands, tuck your toes in and don't let your leg fall back.
Lovely pony though, congrats on getting him.

Thanks for the repiles. Yes I understand what you are saying. Do you think he is jumping big over the first one?

He's a little high over the first one, but because his knees seem relatively tight and clean it doesn't bother me so much. Work on your position (looks like you get left behind) and you guys will make a great pair!

Well, you have no 2-point at all, and if you don't get the basics of the 2-point down you're horse is not going to have a good experience jumping and may not like to jump anymore. You really need to give with your hands, the horse is getting yanked in the mouth, and he does not look happy about it. You need to let your horse move freely over the jumps.

You need to put your stirrups up about 2 1/2 - 3 holes and practice your 2-point and giving with your hands over ground poles and getting a good feel for your horse.

Another thing is make sure your stirrup irons stay on the ball of your foot, the first picture they look too close to your heal. In the last picture your toe is turned way to far out. BUt again practicing your 2-point will help with this problem.

Your horse is jumping really big in the first picture, but its nothing to be concerned about. You should be encouraging your horse to jump not pulling him back.

Both of you have a lot of potential..good luck with him, he is a nice looking horse.

GREAT pony, he is awesome!

I would shorten your stirrups two holes, anchor your ankle to the girth and open your knee a little to help with keeping your lower leg perpendicular to the ground. I would also like to see you stretch your arms a little further along his neck to allow more of a release. Also, you have a tendency to lean to the right, especially noticeable in the 2nd and 3rd pics and you are balancing off your hands to compensate, focus on a more solid seat and staying above your horses centre of gravity to allow him a free jumping motion.

Good luck!

You Def need to bring your stirrups up. You have absolutely no lower leg, no wonder your' grabbing at the reins.

Once your stirrups are up... if I were you're trainer, I'd have you grabbing mane 3/4 up just to make sure you aren't hitting your horse in the mouth till you are more stable and can advance to the lower releases. The photos show a progression of a horse jumping more upright because of a restrictive hand.

Eyes up... in several of the pics you are looking straight down or at least not up. Remember, you need to look where you're going. You really don't want to be going down.

Congrats on your new horse, he looks like he's got some oomph... =) tighten yourself up and I think you'll be a nice pair. From one white horse owner to another... happy cleaning.

Practice 2 point position and grab mane to help figure out your balance and to save your horse from getting grabbed in the mouth.