The first pic is the only one I can see anything to really critique...your heals could be down further, and you seem to be jumping ahead of yourself...other than that,your head is up looking towards the next jump and your hands are in good position. Everything else looks good!
Over fences you need to be wrapping your leg around the horse with your knee angle open (like when doing a squat). Your release is in the right place, but it's floating over the horse (unless you are holding mane). You need to drop your hands to the crest so you don't rotate them back and grab your horse in the mouth.
Your over fences problem is the same on the flat, you grip with your knees. Your ankle and heel aren't anywhere near the horse's side. Pull your belly button up a little (rolling you back on your seat bones) and open your hip angle.
You also have my biggest flaw... open piano hands. An open hand creates an inconsistent contact. Once you close your hand and use your elbow as a spring, your horse will really come into the bit.
I have piano hands too and there's a photo of me somewhere on my old pony with "broken wrists" - ah hands, they never do what we want them to. Um.
You want to carry your hands with your elbows at your sides. Don't spill the coffee mugs! You're ducking a little and seem to be ahead of the movement over your fences and tipping forward a tad on the flat but not very much.
Your knees are gripping your saddle and causing your lower leg to swing back over your fences, I do that too. It's very common. If you open your thighs a little and consciously think about trying to keep your heels anchored to the ground and your leg more forward it will help. Duck feet are a cause AND an effect of pinching knees, and you'll find if you fix those feet your knees and thighs will improve. Yours aren't bad though, mine are about there now and I've been working on them for MONTHS.
It's really interesting reading the different advice offered. My coach is constantly telling me off for relying on Monty's crest/mane, but that might be because I tend to duck a little and by leading UP and forward with my hands, my upper body follows and I don't duck as badly. It's the complete opposite of MudPaint's advice which is to use the crest as a "marker" if you will and place your hands in a particular spot on the horse's neck over each jump until you've landed and can re-establish contact.
I hope I'm not upsetting you by mentioning this - but please don't jump in a standing martingale. I know yours is adjusted loose but I just feel like a running martingale is much safer. I don't know if you ride hunters or jumpers, though, and a standing is a much cleaner look for the hunter ring if that's what you ride. So take my advice as coming from a purely jumpers rider (we don't have hunters here in Aus, not in the sense the USA does at least) and apply it only if it's applicable to your discipline.
I hope I'm not upsetting you by mentioning this - but please don't jump in a standing martingale. I know yours is adjusted loose but I just feel like a running martingale is much safer.
Yey am just after spotting that, I think i have only rode in this type of martingale once in my life because the horse kept throwing his head up in the air. A runing martingale is much better for jumping, It allows more movement for the horse going over he jump, if he has to stretch his neck ..or (it happens us all) miss a stride and they get in to deep or take of a mile away on landing your horse will get a hard jab in the mouth.. So that might be something to think about.. good luck
I think your pics are really lovely, your horse has a great scopey jump. I think the only thing I see maybe is your "piano" hands as its been put. Just have a more steady contact. other than that I dont think youv to much to worry about
I think your leg looks FANTASTIC! The only thing I could really see was the crooked hands and maybe even bringing them up just a tad. But that's being nit-picky, nobody's equitation is perfect! Very nice
Yep MudPaint it's because it's a cleaner look than a running martingale. I don't ride hunters (don't have anything equivalent here) but that's my reasoning. Hunters is partly about presentation so they want the horse to be tidy. A running martingale isn't a tidy look whereas a standing is. And if it's winning, EVERYONE does it in the hopes that it'll increase their chances. I see a LOT of that jumping and eventing, you'll see a huge number of local to intermediate level riders using the same equipment as the pros. The reason being that if it's good enough for the top dogs in the discipline, then it must be helpful, and therefore will help their placings.
And yes, it DOES sometimes (often!) compromise safety.
standing martingales [besides now being a 'look'] are used in the hunter ring because they are used on foxhunts for horses who throw their heads. the reason you dont see running martingales in the hunter ring is because they are seen as dangerous for foxhunting and not allowed during a hunt. show hunters was really made to be a way to judge foxhunting horses. although i think we've moved away from that a bit, i would never want to hunt a 17.3hh fat horse personally. they still look for a big open stride, clean jump, and minimal tack and saddle pad.
standing martingales [besides now being a 'look'] are used in the hunter ring because they are used on foxhunts for horses who throw their heads. the reason you dont see running martingales in the hunter ring is because they are seen as dangerous for foxhunting and not allowed during a hunt. show hunters was really made to be a way to judge foxhunting horses. although i think we've moved away from that a bit, i would never want to hunt a 17.3hh fat horse personally. they still look for a big open stride, clean jump, and minimal tack and saddle pad.
Say what? No runnings in the hunt field? In the three hunts I was a member of (and colored in), runnings were as common as standings. In fact, runnings are safer in the field. Ever seen a horse fall in water with a standing on? Ever seen one have trouble getting their head up to breathe? I have. That is why standings are ILLEGAL in eventing. It is too easy for a horse to drown with a standing martingale on. The people who do use standings in the field should have then on a snap and disconnect it when crossing water.
Ring hunters have very little left of the field hunters in this country.
I think y'all are confusing field hunters with show hunters.
Running martingales are illegal in the show hunter ring, regardless of how common they are in the hunt field, the jumper ring or that they're prefered by eventers.
Both types of martingale are common and accepted in field hunters, though the standing *might* be considered more traditional.
It helps if you recognize that logic doesn't have a lot to do with this.
I personally don't feel that there's anything unsafe about a standing martingale, particularly when jumping stadium type fences in cups. The eventer's argument is that it a horse becomes entangled in a solid fence, that the standing martingale somehow inhibits whatever heroic balancing gestures the horse would make to extricate itself. However, fox hunters jump formidable obstacles in unpredictable footing and uneven terrain, so you would think they would have the same bias, but they don't. Standings are common in the hunt field. Also, eventers also are not allowed to use standings in the stadium phase, which doesn't make sense, as the fences are in standards and cups, but there you go.
FWIW, standing martingales are somewhat of a fashion accessory in hunter ring, because someone somewhere once decided it "dressed up" the horse. A horse that *needs* a standing martingale (It's only purpose is to prevent the horse from raising it's head above the effective range of the bit) probably isn't going to do well in a hunter class anyway.
They're overused, and too many horses learn to use them as a crutch and brace down on them in the turns.
Work on collection on the flat, and you won't need a standing martingale. This is also necessary for jumping. Try to keep contact over the fence, and don't let your reins fly free like that. Otherwise, pretty good job. You don't need to push your heel down any farther.
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