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Never jumped...

4K views 25 replies 11 participants last post by  bumble 
#1 ·
I have never jumped before, but it looks so exciting and I think I might want to try it. I used to ride saddleseat on Saddlebreds and just adored it, but all you jumpers are making me crave jumping! My only problem is that I haven't had a lesson in a while (or even ridden in about a year) so I know I'd need to start out with that first. How long did you guys ride before you started jumping?
Also, I'm not very much of a risk-taker and feel that that might stand in my way, but I'm really interested because it looks very fun!

Any words of advice?
 
#4 ·
i've only taken lessons for almost 4 months and i've jumped 2"4'
 
#6 ·
I started jumping 3 months into riding, but that was on one of my trainer's VERY good school horses! It helps to first try it on a horse that really knows how to jump and that way you can just focus on what you are doing and let the horse do the jumping! ;-) It is fun, but definitely can be scary...I still don't jump more than once every 6 months or so, just because I'm so new to it and now with Sandie she isn't trained to jump so we have to learn from the ground up with her!! But it's FUN you'll love it! Try little cross rails first, they're much less intimidating...and have a trainer that KNOWS jumping! My trainer does eventing and he's an awesome teacher! HAVE FUN! :)
 
#7 ·
I feel that there are coaches out there, who are allowing their students to jump, way before their students are capeable of doing so.

Too many coaches, allow holes in their students training/education - then we end up with uneducated, teaching the uneducated.

There are riders out there who are jumping, before they even have any solid, funcitonal form on the flat. Who cannot even do the basics on the flat. Who cannot even do a 20 meter circle under control, rhythm, balance. Riders who cannot even do simple Training Level Dressage movements...but yet - they are flying over fences, far before they should be. Who have no concept of the importancies of basics...to make that jump safe, secure, fun, educated, functional.

Because we have coaches who want he $ in their pocket.

Find a coach, who really puts the value and importance on your education. Find a coach who cares. Find a coach who wont allow holes in your training.

Because you deserve nothing less. :wink::wink:

Basics, basics, basics first. Most importantly. Find a valuable coach, who will work on the basics with you.

Walk, Trot, Canter. Control, rhytm. Functoinal Form. Bending, Circles, lateral work. Lune line work.

Because, you deserve nothing less. :wink::wink:

Learn how to walk, trot, canter on your own - through balance, security, rhythm, control, safety.

Learn lateral movements.

Learn control, via seat to legs to hands.

Then when you establish those important basics - then move to trot poles. Learning how to blance thorugh your heels. Learning to secure your two point. Learn how to control your rhythm though the trot poles.

Learn how to solidfy your form for when you start to go over fences. Solid lower leg, seat low to tack, strong core, strong upper body. Releases.

Do all of this over trot poles, cavaletties and x rails.

Lune Line work is always a fabulous way to learn all of this. I am 32, been riding all my life. Experienced allot in my days of riding from Prelim Eventing to haveing the priveledge of riding with the World Famous Lippizaner Stallions, to enjoying my days in Pony Club and blah diddy blah blah - yadda yadda yadda - and I Even go on the lunge line.

Even GP Level Riders go on the Lunge Line.

No one, is too good for the lunge line :D

I do allot of Reinless work. Establishing rhythm and control through my seat. My lower legs. Establishing balance and security. Learning to rely on my lower legs and heels to supprort me through my 2 point.

Of of this is valuable and important for when you start learning to jump.

Far too many riders out there are being permitted to go over fences, far before they should be. Horrible form over fences - riders who cannot even establish control and rhythm on approach to a fence.

It isn't the height of the fence that matters, it is the quallity of the fence that does. :D:D


I am not saying to not go out there and learn - on the contrary. I am saying, find an educated, valuable coach who is willing to work with you, to give you the needed education you deserve - to be the best rider you possibly can be, for your horse.

Afterall - it isn't about you. It is about the horse. Brining out the best in them, at all times while on their backs. :):):)

GP Riders, jump once a week. Sometimes they wont even jump until the warm up ring at a comp.

Because they spend most of their time doing Dressage/Flat Work.

GP Level horses, know minimally level 3 dressage.

Jumping - afterall - is dressage with speed bumps :D:D

I wish you all the best, and be picky on who you choose to coach you :D
 
#9 ·
I Love jumping! It is scary at first, but feeling like you are flying is so worth it! I have been jumping for 6 years and now jumping 2'6" oxers! Find a trainer taht will work with you! If you wouldn't want to spend time outside of lessons with him/her why would you want to train with them? I have spent a whole weekend in a hotel room with my trainer + a three hour car trip! Now that takes love! Follow what MIEventer said! She knows what she's talking about!
 
#11 ·
I can not tell you how many students I have "fixed" that had holes in their training and had ridden for a long time, yet lacked balance, the fundamentals of centered riding, and were gripping with knees and legs and clenching and not riding with an independent hand, rather than balancing and moving with their horses. The difference is tremendous, and riding from back to front rather than front to back makes a HUGE difference.

Centered Riding, then Dressage is a wonderful foundation for all disciplines imo. Find a trainer that can get you centered and balanced and moving with your horse so that things like riding in two point for an extended amount of time is not hard, it's relaxing b/c you don't need to use your muscles to stay on, you use your balance to move with the horse b/c their and your center of gravity is aligned.

Hope that all made sense!
 
#13 ·
I can not tell you how many students I have "fixed" that had holes in their training and had ridden for a long time, yet lacked balance, the fundamentals of centered riding, and were gripping with knees and legs and clenching and not riding with an independent hand, rather than balancing and moving with their horses. The difference is tremendous, and riding from back to front rather than front to back makes a HUGE difference.

Centered Riding, then Dressage is a wonderful foundation for all disciplines imo. Find a trainer that can get you centered and balanced and moving with your horse so that things like riding in two point for an extended amount of time is not hard, it's relaxing b/c you don't need to use your muscles to stay on, you use your balance to move with the horse b/c their and your center of gravity is aligned.

I whole heartedly agree 100%. Great post.

There are FAR TOO MANY people out there who feel they have the right to stick the "coach/trainer" lable on their shirt collar, when in reality, they are only adding to the strife of uneducated riders.

Uneducated teaching the Uneducated.

GM Beefs about this quite often in his columns in Practicle Horseman. I wholeheartedly agree with him - he is sickened at where the lack of quallity in the education of our younger riders today.

You see it in pictures and vids whenever people post them on forums like this. You see it at horse shows all the time - unfunctional riding, unfunctional form over fences.

For some reason - people seem to think "I JUMP, THEREFORE I AM" but it isn't.

You hear people bragging "I just 3'0" and I've only been riding 2 months"

I pitty that person.......lack of education.

It isn't the height of the fence that counts, it is the quallity of the fence that counts!

Coaches want the $$, so they allow their students to jump -

Parents aren't involved, have no idea what is going on or concept of how important it is to have their children learn the importancies of basics -

It seems to be a competition or bragging right amongst these riders.


GM would far wrather see a rider going over an X rail with solid functional form, way before he saw someone going over a 3'0" verticle with horrendious, unfunctional form.

And I agree.

Too many are being put over fences, far before they should be.

I am very picky on who coaches me! This is MY money. MY horse. MY time. MY effort. MY riding career. I deserve nothing less.

Too many Uneducated Coaches, turning out Uneducated riders.

What a shame......
 
#14 ·
You hear people bragging "I just 3'0" and I've only been riding 2 months"
It seems to be a competition or bragging right amongst these riders.
i kinda feel attacked by that yea..i've only been jumping since sept. but i know i can jump and my trainer is a very good one.
I do agree tho that there are way too many uneducated trainers out there and that is a reason why i changed to a new riding school. (i wanted to jump and the trainer wasn't very educated in the whole jumping area)


i didn't mean to brag or anything...i'm just proud :oops:
 
#15 ·
Oh, no - I didn't mean it like that. I do appologize.

I was thinking back at a horse show I was at and over hearing young riders going on about it "I am good because I jump this high" - then watching their rides in the jumper ring.

Out of control, no rhythm, horses flat and on forehands. No change of leads. Hauling on horses faces. Racing around, plowing through the fences - with atrocious, unsafe form over the fences.

If the horses stopped, they'd of flew like superman.

They were lucky to be on horses who coverd their patunks.
 
#17 ·
I completely agree with MIEventer. It really surprised me when I saw some people post saying they only rode a few months before starting to jump. I rode 5! =O By the way, MIEventer, when it gets warmer and I can get my parents to get pictures of me riding, I would absolutely love a critique from you! =D
 
#19 ·
#20 ·
Yes, I do allot of competing. Not only Hunter/Jumper schooling shows to keep fit over the winter, but I also do many HT's over the summer - because Eventing is my passion.

But just because one competes, does not make them a good rider :) *wink*

I would far wrather see a functional rider, 100x over a pretty rider.

Pretty is as pretty does.
 
#22 · (Edited)
And again we agree...and I agree with your earlier reply to me. So much is lacking in education - and just because a rider can get on a polished horse and jump a 4' or 5' course does NOT make them a trainer, or a good rider for that matter. There was a trainer around here that was riding and showing all over the world - this person came from $$ - and looked to be a beautiful rider. Wound up getting a job at a barn not too far from me, and at the shows, the students of this person were all awful. If they were on "made" horses, they placed, but often in harsh bits and riding off the hands. (They showed jumpers.) Even worse, a client that had left my barn to go to this trainer who was closer to their home had severe issues with their horse....when with me the student/horse were doing 2'6" courses with ease, and showing combined tests up to 2'3" courses and intro and training level dressage. With the new trainer, the student dq'd 2 of 3 jumper courses at 2'. TWO FOOT! And then the "trainer" got on and had to use a crop and spurs to get the horse - a previously willing jumper - over a 2' course at a show. Even worse - their "follow up" training at home was free jumping the horse 4', and bragging with pictures all over the internet. It was heartbreaking to me to see for the horse, who has a heart of gold, and frustrating that there are unfortunately so many trainers out there like this.

Have I let students jump high to build confidence? Sure. What I love to do is let them do a gymnastic where the last element his higher. For example I let a 10 year old pony-clubber with her own push-button pony and she has been riding for about 6 years, do a gymnastic where one day for fun I let the last fence go up to 3' (the rest was 2' - 2'6"). All easy distances where she simply needed to stay in two point. Her confidence soared, and yet I reinforced the rules that 1. she was NEVER to do that alone and 2. she was NEVER to do that outside of a lesson (and her mom is a horse person so I know it won't happen). Would I let her do a 3' course? Or even an individual 3' fence? No way! When she shows 2' she still gets stage fright and all the good at home training goes to toes down and knee gripping! She's not ready for that. So there's also a place for allowing a student to jump higher as a reward or to learn the feel of it, in a controlled environment like a gymnastic exercise with easy distances on a well trained horse. VERY different than saying I SHOW 3'.

Again - it's not height that matters....it's riding ability.
 
#23 · (Edited)
And just because you've now got me on a tirade ;) Something I wrote a while back (and not directed at anyone in here) but I feel it bears restating....

Bad trainers + beginner riders + 3'6" fences = SCARY/STUPID

From a post on one of my groups on MySpace -
Worth resaying - the girl was 14, riding for less than a year, and was jumping 3'6" at camp and asked what everyone thought. EVERYONE thought it sounded pretty damn stupid.

My reply:
Um ditto to everyone else out there. Sure - a push button horse pointed at a 3'6" fence w/a beginner rider can probably handle it and from the sounds of it, you didn't get hurt - THIS TIME.

Here's some food for thought - how big was this horse's stride (in feet)? How many strides did you need to the fence? Coming off the fence - between fences? What's the average horse's stride length? How does this horse compare to the standard hunter stride on course? How does the
horse like to jump - chip, fly, just right and do you know the difference and why horses do what they do? And how to correct it if you hit a wrong spot?

Counting 1, 2, 3 to a fence does not at ALL by any means constitute knowing where to take off. Anyone can count strides but how do you pick your distances? If you just trust the horse to do it for you, eventually he'll make a mistake and if you don't know how to ride that long spot or that half stride chip, you're in for a world of hurt.

I've been riding for 25+ years, even went to Centenary and got my degree in training, and evented jumping solid obstacles up to 4', and that took YEARS to get to. Even now, my jumper that I hope to be training with one of the top Grand Prix riders on the East Coast, and showing professionally in the next year or two when he is ready is only doing a max of 2'6" - 3' to school on a regular basis, with some course work to 3'6", even though he's jumped 4'3" under saddle and 5'6" free jumped. There's a whole lot of technical work we are doing well before we start hitting the pro shows. And it sounds like that's a lot of what you are missing.

Like stridage and the difference in riding a vertical or an oxer or a triple bar or a 1 stride or a bounce and how all of that affects the rest of the course. Riding a gymnastic combination for balance and position and takeoff spots. Lead changes over fences, riding deeper to bigger fences, jumping up and down inclines, over liverpools, taking a broken line vs. a bending line vs. a straight line vs. a combination thereof that includes oxers, combinations, triple bars, and liverpoools.

Hey - I don't think anyone here is bashing you - we just all want you to know how stupid and dangerous what you’re doing is, and if you are comfortable with that, well then hey, that's your prerogative.

Final Thought: Christopher Reeves - AKA Superman - was jumping a well-trained horse that he had ridden before with an excellent trainer that knew what he was doing, and the horse was a good jumper and knew his distances and was able to just point at a fence and go. Look how tragically that turned out. Even the best horses make mistakes.

Guts only get you so far. Skills and Heart will get you Grand Prix.
 
#25 ·
I agree that too many riders out there are falling into the trap that everything must be done in a certain time frame... I find those who coach/teach one on one dont end up rushing the rider, like they would in a lesson size say eight-twelve horses. Over here in NZ I went to a riding school as a kid where these large numbers were the case. I find they couldn't really work on the individual per say, although we did all learn and get advice, I find that by the time you've spent five minutes on one person you've gotta move onto the next.

I went over my first pole on my first ride -ever-... I also trotted.
I went over my first cavaletti I believe a month later (I was led). By the end of the first two months of riding I was walking, trotting and cantering and taking my trusty palomino friend Sunny over all the cavaletti heights.
Looking back on it, I realise I could have a better, more balanced style now if I hadn't of learnt so many ways to lack. I don't regret my early riding training, I was a kid, I had fun with all my friends, and always rode the more difficult horses, so I do believe that made me a better rider anyway. However now as I have three horses of my own and getting private instruction, I realise how much further I'd be along had I had more training in the earlier days.

I don't jump now... I'm too scared to. I'm not really sure why, I think its because both my riding horses are still learning... and I feel like I don't have the balance to jump these days. I have turned into a nervous rider from my past experiences too, but am pushing past that slowly.

I think it's important to not rush things... you've got the time. There's no need to be out competiting immediately or doing all the things your friends can. I prefer to have my horses going exceptionally well at home and then take them out... instead of rushing and then creating another bad experience.

JMHO.
x
 
#26 ·
wow, thanks guys! i don't have the time to read all the posts yet because i'm heading out to eat, but the ones i've read have really helped. i'm going to start working at a ranch near me in exchange for lessons, so i might look into it!

sorry i haven't posted for a while, lost internet for about four days! :)
 
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