4-H showing, project, or a clinic/lessons? If you're showing in a jumping class without any experience jumping, I say scratch the class and look into some lessons if you are interested in jumping. If you're signed up for your project year as English/jumping, I'd advise switching back to Western for this year and taking some English lessons, maybe showing English in some small open shows for experience if you're up to it, then signing up next year for English performance project (or whatever it's called in your state).srry bout the confusion im talking about 4H!
Erm, 4-H does have some fairly challenging jumping classes, hunters, jumpers, and EQ, even at the local level. If the OP is entered in a 4-H Hunter Hack class, I wouldn't be overly concerned as long they have a decent seat. There are only 2 fences and they are probably under 2 feet. If the OP is entered in Working Hunters, or any other "course class", I'd be more concerned considering the potentially increased height of the obstacles, the issue of counting and managing strides, etc.Well if it's a 4-h class you won't be jumping things extraordinarily high, probably poles... I would take lessons until your 4-H class? or show?
I volunteered when I was younger for our local 4-h club. I'm not saying the classes aren't challenging but alot of them are made for the youth/beginner riders in mind. The most jumping our riders did was all under 1ft.Erm, 4-H does have some fairly challenging jumping classes, hunters, jumpers, and EQ, even at the local level. If the OP is entered in a 4-H Hunter Hack class, I wouldn't be overly concerned as long they have a decent seat. There are only 2 fences and they are probably under 2 feet. If the OP is entered in Working Hunters, or any other "course class", I'd be more concerned considering the potentially increased height of the obstacles, the issue of counting and managing strides, etc.
At the club level yes. I'm an assistant leader, and our individual club shows don't usually even include a jumping class (the club is loaded to the gills with little leadline kids and gamers, lol). Our county show though tends to be full of overclassed kids, teenagers, and horses once the jumps are set up. All I'm saying is that, depending on what exactly the OP has been "signed up" for, it may or may not be a problem. I wish I hadn't left my rulebook at school! I could look up the height divisions. Granted there might be differences from state to state, but I imagine that jump height divisions and the like are relatively standard.I volunteered when I was younger for our local 4-h club. I'm not saying the classes aren't challenging but alot of them are made for the youth/beginner riders in mind. The most jumping our riders did was all under 1ft.
::Slaps head:: You're kidding me, right? Seriously, you didn't really mean that did you kiddo? Nothing could be further from the truth. English and western are MILES apart.English and western are very similar..
Umm...your horse's weight or "lightness" has NOTHING to do with your ability to jump.Thanks Scoutrider and whitefoot your really helpful my horse is part throughbred so shes light weight!
Unless the horse reins than no. The only major huge difference is the tack. But from what I've read the horse is TB that has been used as a western horse, but he was singed up for an english/jumping? class, which means the horse was trained using direct contact, not neck reining.::Slaps head:: You're kidding me, right? Seriously, you didn't really mean that did you kiddo? Nothing could be further from the truth. English and western are MILES apart.
I am seriously baffled by this observation and wondering if you're doinking with me. It's possible you're joking, I suppose,'cause if you're not... Well, wow. :shock: .The only major huge difference is the tack.
I am seriously baffled by this observation and wondering if you're doinking with me. It's possible you're joking, I suppose,'cause if you're not... Well, wow. :shock: .
Okay, so let me just say this: At the Quarter Horse World Show this past year, there were more than a few "western" riders that qualified in hunt seat equitation. How they managed to do this is a long story that would involve a rant on my part and so we won't go there :-|, but suffice it to say, a few mostly western riders were in the hunt seat eq. finals. Problem was, they had specialized english judges at the WS. Those judges asked these "western" riders to drop their irons. Honey, you should have SEEN the poop hit the fan. It quickly became apparent who were the "men" and who were the "boys". English is NOT western. It's about supporting your upper body with your base and riding slightly (very slightly on the QH circuit :winkin front of the verticle, not on your pockets. It's about maintaining contact--the RIGHT amount of contact--with your horse's reins. It's about picking up the right diagonal without having to look and, if you know what you're doing, being able to do this without your stirrups. Ooi! I could go on. (The class winner was an absolutely stunning rider, by the way. You can watch her "winning run" on AQHA.com.)
Biggest problem I see with people who go from western to english is that they lose their base (lower leg) because there's no big-honkin' fenders on an english saddle to hold that leg in place. All we have are these little strappy things that cause most western riders to lose their balance and just about fall off. Never mind that we ride with our irons shorter than the average western rider. It can be dangerous. Nine times out of ten they end up hanging onto their horse's mouth for dear life. That, in turn, upsets the horse--chaos ensues. I've seen it a hundred, no a thousand, times.
I keep stressing to the OP to take a lesson or two before attempting to jump. I suspect that when she realizes how hard it is to hang on in that wittle postage-sized-stamp of a saddle, she'll scratch her classes. But I could be wrong.
As far as the horse being TB and so it should know "direct" rein, I have to disagree here, too. (Sorry!). Many TBs never even make it to the track. Many are sent directly to any Tom, **** or Harry that is willing to break them. Who knows what they used in that horse's mouth? Ya know?
I'm not trying to come down on you or nothin'. Seriously. (Although I recognize it might feel that way.) I just really diagree with what you're saying and I've tried, truly tried, not to come of sounding like Queen B of the Universe while pointing out the fallacy of your observation. I hope I've succeeded.
Hugs!
Pamela Britton-Baer