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you and your horses first jump...

5K views 22 replies 19 participants last post by  Pinto Pony 
#1 ·
i've always enjoyed watching horse jumping and training to jump on youtube but since i am currently horseless, I can't do horse jumping. so tell me what your and/or your horses first jump was like. i am a good reader.
:wink:
 
#2 ·
Ah ha ha ha, Nelson's and my first jump. Ah, that one is very memorable.

Nelson is a big 16.3hh TB Gelding, built like a Draft - very powerful, very thick, very forward. His previous owner at the time still owned him when I started to ride Nelson, but she bought a much younger horse and had Nelson up for sale - so she hired to me ride him for her to keep him in shape for her so that when potential buyers came to try him out, he was at his best.

So one day I wanted to jump CC with him - oh boy. The first fence I pointed him at was just a Novice 3 log pile, no more than 2'11". We approached the fence lovely and then just at the take off point KABOOM he turned from this fun loving, gentle horse that I knew *all we did previously was dressage or aka flat work in lessons* into this powerful, forward, heavy horse.

By the time I was able to bring him back down under control - we were clear on the other side of the CC course.

So at that point, Dorothy Crowell was coming to the barn for our local PC to give a Clinic. I singed up with Nelson - and thank god for someone of her knowledge, experience and understanding - because she showed me how to fix it...but before she had any clue as to how he jumped...she had to see us jump.

She set up a 3 jump combo for our 3 rider class. We were doing Novice with her - so the fences were mixed between 2'11" and 2'9". The combo strides, I cannot quite recall what they were, something like 4 to 5? Or maybe 3 - 4? I don't remember....but Nelson took the strides in much shorter distances than required.

He took the 4 in 2, and the 5 in 3 - it was rediculous. When we approached the first fence, we were rhythmic, steady tempo, we were both locked into it - and then BAM he became that powerful horse I knew would show its' ugly face.

I was standing up in my irons trying to bring him back under me - nope...didn't work.

That was when Dorothy pulled us off to the side and worked with us for sometime while the rest of the class worked on the combination with her assistant.

Seat into Legs into Hands to Soften is what she taught me. She showed me allot on how to incorporate it, and if you give a horse something to lean into - they'll take it.

Now, because I was taught how to ride him correctly, I have an amazing horse. Many jumps came after, under control. lol.
 
#4 ·
I've never had my own horse but I remember my first jump in a lesson (at my old barn). It wasn't a jumping lesson but we jumped sometimes (we also played mounted games). The instructor didn't know that I had never jumped before so I jumped the same height as everyone else ( about 2ft). I was too shy back then to tell her and I couldn't speak Finnish too well so I was like, 'ok...I can do this'. xD
I wasn't scared or anything. I just tried to do what everyone else did and did pretty well for a first timer. haha... (This happened a few years ago)
Now I have jumping lessons every week :D
 
#7 ·
I have a 6 year old Tennessee Walking Horse gelding named Spirit. He broke his leg when he was little, so at first we would only jumped twice (BUT I just got the OK to jump really small jumps now and I'm SO excited!!! <3). We jumped the lowest possible crossrail a couple times bareback (only have a western saddle and I didn't want to use it). He was pretty good even though most TN Walkers are not naturally great jumpers. Got some video still shots though :)
 

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#11 ·
Haha my first jumpp... hoo boy.

So it was my first time officially being allowed to canter. I had had a bad habit of trying to canter everytime my instructor turned her back so it wasn't my first time cantering, just my first time with permission haha.

So I was riding some huge 16h ex show jumper, I was told she had been pro but now she was around 25 so she was quiet enough to be a beginner lesson horse. Well, my first time cantering around the ring, I lost control of her and she headed right towards a fairly high jump that had been set up in the ring. She must have had a flashback to the glory days, so instead of jumping the jump or running out, she jumped the STANDARD! It was one of the smaller standards, maybe 4 ft, but ohh man was I terrified. It had been my first time even cantering!!!

I landed the jump and then slid off the side. According to eyewitnesses, her back legs would have come down square on me but instead she did like a double hop on her front legs to avoid me. I can honestly say I owe Fancy the rest of my horse life. If I had been stepped on as a beginner at such a young age, I never would have gotten near a horse again!
 
#12 ·
Well the first time I ever jumped was at a friend's house, over a log that would've been about 18".

But the first time I jumped MY horse was just a couple weeks ago, and we've haven't quite gotten to the "jump" part yet.




We've trotted 12" crossrails, but she has never actually jumped something. We'll get there :)
 
#14 ·
My first time jumping was well..amazing <3

IKt was on my 14 hh pony that hates having me on her back. She seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood that day, so I decided to dig out my English saddle, and she took to that much more than the western saddle..She had never jumped except free jumping and I had never ever jumped on a horse, so I'm sure she was a bit nervous too. So after I taught her to accept me posting on her [for some reason she wanted me to just sit down. lol] I practiced 2 pointing around the pasture, then had my friend who was watcing just in case set up a low crossrail and we just kept raising it until we got to probably 3-4 foot crossrails. I was really proud of the pony because she carried me over it so elegantly, even though it was the first time for either of us.
 
#15 ·
Haha xD
My horses first jump with me, was a bit of a disaster. It was a fall type jump a gate with fake pumpkins and orange flowers at the bottom. I take him to the jump, he trips, tries to jump, but ends up knocking it down and breaking part of the gate. Then he trots foward and trips one more time.
We only did cross country for a while after that.

He's much, much, much better now :D.
 
#17 ·
I don't remember the exact details of my VERY FIRST jump, because it was quite a bit ago. But I do remember it was on my first horse when I was about 11/12 years old. A quarter horse that had originally been trained WP, so he was a very quiet horse for me. My trainer had us go over a tiny crossrail, and my QH took it as a jump in stride. All I remember about it was that I was thinking "This is SO COOL" and wanting to do it all the time after that.

So, that leads me to my addiction now. Hahaha...

The horse I have now, our first jump was actually just about a month ago. He is young, and never had formal training over jumps. So I set up about a 2'6, just to see how brave he was. I got light in the saddle a few strides out, but kept my rein/leg contact to encourage him to it.
I was thinking "He's a little Morgan, he'll probably just do a little jump over it."
Totally underestimated my guy. He jumped it like it was 4' and completely jumped me out of the tack.

Yep. I had a huge grin on my face and knew that I had bought the right horse for me. I underestimated him, and he is proving me wrong every single day. He is just phenomenal, and LOVES to jump.
 
#18 ·
I can't seem to find the video of my first time jumping, I know I have it somewhere.. I was riding a like 26 year old horse that was blind in one eye. He loved it so much he'd actually JUMP over the tiny cross rails, and even though I only meant to trot after them he'd be having so much fun he'd canter off!
I do have a video of one of my first jumps on Eddie, the horse I'm going to be leasing in September.. this was only my second time riding him and booooyyy was he testing me. I've seen him go over this cross rail with his owner over and over again no problem, then I get on and he kept running out lol. But eventually I got him to do it and this is how it went.. I know I don't look great but it will improve once we get used to each other.

 
#19 ·
I don't remember the first time I jumped, but I do remember the first horse I jumped...well she was a Shetland pony, and we didn't jump really high; just about 12" at the most alot of times, as she was old, and I was young...Lol! :D
 
#20 ·
I dont remember the first time I jumped but the first time but I do have pics of jumping prada for the first time (Shes the first horse I had owned in like 10 years)

She had been jumped before but not for over 4 years as she had been turned out for the last four years - and I had only just brought her back in:



 
#22 ·
My first time jumping was around 2 years ago. I was riding a 14.1hh 20 yr old school pony with my instructor and a few other girls down the back paddocks (the school is on 50 acres and backs onto reserve bushland) and there were all these fallen logs around. We were cantering along the fenceline, towards a line of trees. We were meant to STOP just before the trees, but McGregor had other ideas. It had been so long since he'd been allowed to canter for such a long period (he'd endured countless hours of endless plodding, rein jerking, leg tapping from children) that he got just "a little" excited. When the others all veered across to the right, away from the trees, towards where our riding instructor was waiting, McGregor sped up and before you'd know it, we were dodging trees.
We popped over about 3-4 small logs before I managed to pull him up. My instructor and the others came running up to see me clinging on half-way up this now-happily-grazing horse's neck and making strange noises which seemed like a combination laughing and screaming!!!
 
#23 ·
I remember jumping Spider at pony club when I was about 6/7 years but my mum was dead strict and I wasn't allowed to jump at home but one day she caved, I think I was about 8 here


But at pony club they had these 1 foot cavaletti for us in the little kids group and they would set up little grids for us and maybe 4 or 5 in a teeny course and me and the other 2 or 3 kids would always forget the order and just jump them however haha. Just randomly cantering our ponies around and jumping. Was so much fun.
 
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