Building Jumps

Hey,

I am planning on getting some new poles but I don't have any wings and I'd also like to make some cross-country jumps. But as some of you know, buying jumps is not cheap. So I would like to make some wings and some cross-country jumps, I really don't like using tyres and things as wings as for some reason it just annoys me. Also, ideas for cross country jumps would be great. I have a few logs laying around but I would like to build an actual course. I really would like to get into 3 day eventing so I would like to do cross country courses and show jumping courses at home, so lots of ideas would be great. I don't want something that looks like a half attemp though so really detailed plans would be great so any ideas would be awsome.

Maddie,

Theres a book that tells you how to make XC and SJ jumps by maureen summers, i've seen them in saddleries and i have the XC one, its good! and they're pretty cheap too.

I cant really think of anything off the top of my head now though, you said you dislike tires, but you could dig them half into the ground to make a XC type jump.
You could make cavalettis out of poles.
There are plastic box type things you can stack to make wings, although i think they are pretty costly.

I'm fine with tyres but using them as a wing/standard just annoys me, using them as jumps I don't have a problem with. Any other ideas would be great, and I'm sure to have a look at those books.

Wings are SOOO easy to build. Just get a couple of 4x4's , cut them in half so they don't weigh a ton when you're done. Drill holes in them every 3" from 18" on up, use 2x6's cut into four 18" lengths as the feet. Screw them onto the base of the 4x4, and screw it all together. Add jump cups and you're done.

As for cross country jumps, I'm going to use a book for those. If I build anything solid, I want to make sure I'm building them for maximum safety. The only book I can find so far costs $65, so I didn't but that yet.

sorry i got that name wrong, apparently they have heaps of different authors for their books, but they are 'threshold picture guide' books..

As soon as my camera is up and running I will post a photo that I took from a book with ideas for jumps, but in the meantime I will attempt to describe them....ahem..... = D

Things you can use in making jumps can be cardboard tubes from the inside of carpet rolls (go to a hardware store and ask if they have any lying around), poles or branches, traffic cones (steal from the road LOL), tyres, straw or hay bales, oil drums or plastic water barrels.

You can use plastic barrels alone as a jump if set in a line. Change the height by either laying them sideways or standing them upright.

Use the hay bales, barrels, drums and cones as stands for the poles.

Put tyres on the poles or in front of the poles to create a nice challenging jump.

You can even use old chairs or boxes as wings for the poles.

Use drums, poles, tires, planks, chairs and stuff. Before we got wings thats what we used

Thanks guys, we are building jumps next weekend

I have built a few of my own x-country jumps from mostly logs. I took one tree we had taken down, and asked a neighbor to cut the log into about 8-10 2 ft. sections. I then took the whole pieces and sat them upright in a row, and decorated each wing end with a vine wreath with red and yellow fall flowers. If you have enough logs, you can do the same, and it turns out to be a neat, fun jump! I also stacked a collection of locust logs (they are more narrow, thin, and long) into an a-frame, placed two more 2 ft. sections of the larger log at either end as wings, and placed 2 more locust logs on either side so as to lead into the fence. That turned out to be a neat jump as well, and it has been great for schooling! Since most of my jumps are all in the front field of our farm that is visible from the road, we try to make sure they all look nice as well as being functional and fun. If you'd like, I can post pics of the ones I built if you think they may be something you'd like to create! Hopefully this message makes some sense lol... its a little hard to describe in writing how they look!

~Jill

Thanks Jill. I can't wait to get into building jumps. I will post lots of pictures, if anyone has any please post them.