How to stop over folding when jumping?

So at my old barn, the trainer told me to "bend" over the fences, she basically wanted us to throw ourselves onto the horses neck. I have recently started jumping 3', and the horse I ride really jumps up, since he can only jump 3'. But I find I am over bending and throwing my hands up his neck. But, my lower leg doesn't swing back, and my back isn't rounded. How can I fix this?

Here's some examples of my position


Ignore my leg in that one, it was a while ago.

Subbing, I have this problem as well :)

Schooling over trot poles really helped me. Prictice getting into the right position. Once you are good over the poles slowly start to go up in hight.

One thing that has helped me is to go over small jumps with no reins/hands. It's much harder to fold over or get on the neck when your hands are empty and out to the side! Best to do this with a trainer, though.
Adrianne

Your crotch should not be over the front of the saddle when you two-point. If it is, then you have done too much of a two point.

The best way for me to do it, as I've had a problem with this too, is, as George Morris suggested, right before the jump, squeeze with your legs. As your horse lifts, move your hands. The horse's jump should lift you out of the saddle without you having to do anything. If you have to do something, fold slightly at the hips.

I also like watching people jump and playing that scene in my head over and over again. I feel like my jump position has gotten a lot better, but I will have to wait and see when I get a video of it.

Best of luck to you!

Jump with your eyes closed. If you can't anticipate the jump, you don't over-fold, you just go with the motion. Set up your jump along the track of the school, and close your eyes once you are on the line.

Have to agree with Corazon. It's not the bend, so much as that you are ahead of the horse. Your weight should be in your heels, and your legs should be bent and perpendicular to the ground. That way, even if you fold, you fold over the center of gravity (just behind the whithers).

And as Corazon said, the horse's jump should put you in the correct position; you shouldn't be flinging yourself on the neck. If the horse jumps from a long spot and stretches out or jumps very very high, you should be folded over the center of gravity with your arms over the neck. The hands (but not your body) should be on the neck to allow it to stretch. (Either that or let go of the reins for the long spot.) The neck is the horse's balancing mechanism.

Now please take what I said with a large grain of salt, I am not that experienced; I am simply telling you what I have been told and what I see in your photos.


(And yes, Minstrel is right: jumping with your eyes closed does help: it forces your body to follow, and not anticipate, the jump. But I've only been willing to do that with an instructor. Horses are not that well behaved.)

Haha, that's why I only close my eyes in the last few strides - I have a lovely honest horse who I can feel with my eyes closed where he's going and what he's going to do. If in doubt, have an instructor present, or you can try this with an on the ground assistant on the lunge (although make sure you always prep your jumps for lunging with guide poles and blocks rather than wings)