I fell off yesterday

[kitcat]

I sneaked off for another jumping lesson yesterday afternoon ;D I couldn't ride my normal know it all/done it all horse as he was in a lesson before mine (and they were jumping well over 1m ) I had asked that they put me on another that knows what it's doing seeing as I don't. Well they put me on D who is 5 (I think) and has been doing some jumping but still needs more guidance than JS. All was going well until we tried cantering up to a jump. I went into the jumping position too soon and didn't put my leg on, she hesitated and then jumped much higher than needed, I was too far forward and ended up sitting in front of the saddle as we landed She then got frightened and just as I thought I was ok she went sideways and I went splat It was so embarassing as there were kids in the next menage jumping really high and one of the liveries that I know was standing watching Oh and the jumps were only about 1'6" So, I got back on and made sure I did it properly next time. Luckily, there were no injuries and the school had just been resurfaces so was nice and soft but I do have a bit of a stiff neck this morning All in all though it was a good lesson

[zoe]

Poor you but a big well done for getting back on and doing it again

[racaille]

Oops. Glad you're OK. Well, it happens to everyone, doesn't it? It is so easy to make a mistake jumping and some horses just don't have the experience (or don't want!) to save you.

I think I'm picking up a difference in approach between the way you learn jumping in the UK and the way we do it here. I don't think we are as far forward as you (it's what we call our XC position), we tend to be very slightly more upright, especially over small jumps and very especially on inexperienced horses.

[fimacg]

Rac - I think you are right, as a kid I was taught to sit up and wait for the fence to come to you and then fold a bit as the horse started to rise to jumo the fence then fold more if need be and give the rein with the arm, but now they seem to teach leaning forward before you get to the jump. Watching the XC lesson yesterday all the younger riders were being told to sit up as the fences were small and they didn't need to be so far forward cos if the horse stopped the rider wouldn't... Whilst the older riders were all much taller in the saddle until a lot later and didn't fold as much.

Kitcat glad you are OK though and got back on and got over it.

[kitcat]

In my first few lessons they taught me to come off the saddle early and then fold over the jump and now I am being told to sit up and wait for the jump to come to me and only fold as the horse starts to jump. My poor little brain gets very confuddled at times I now ask my instructor to shout 'sit up, sit up..' to remind me for the moment

JS always puts us on the perfect stride so I can tell where he is going to take off but this time I thought Dido was going to jump from a little further out but she put in an extra half stride so we were totally out of sync. It's all my inexperience and not setting her up properly from far enough out I hope that makes sense.

The bruised pride is recovering but I think I'm in for some teasing on Saturday when everyone is around.

[racaille]

Actually Kitkat, I don't think it is your inexperience to 'blame'. Personally, I don't think it is helpful to expect inexperienced jumpers to worry about strides etc. (I know we've had this convo before somewhere.)

We are taught quite simply that the rider's job is to put the horse at the jump in the best way possible: active and straight. We also stay 'en equilibre' (lightly out of the saddle) all the time. This avoids the worry of having to gauge when to stand up and the problem of thumping onto the horse's back after the jump. We take the horse to the jump and wait for it to come to us, there is no worry about when to fold as it happens naturally by 'giving' with your hands to follow the horse's action.
The horse's job is to jump. Our job is to do nothing to hamper it. Most horses, given a good active approach, can work out for themselves when to take off. If they put in a last-minute mini-stride it usually means they were not active enough - I don't mean fast, but engaging the back-end power. Also, if a rider looks down at a jump (as opposed to looking past it) or is leaning too far forward it can unbalance the horse.
Obviously some horses are more talented than others but over small jumps most can manage well enough. I have watched loads of lessons where our talented teenagers have worked just on their approaches to fine tune their own hands/leg/seat with fantastic results.
But the message is always the same: the rider has to give the horse every opportunity to jump well, but it's the horse's job to jump.

glass of rosé for anyone who got to the end of this rant!

[kitcat]

Oh yes please, I'll have a glass. What you say makes a lot of sense Racaille. It gives me something to take in to account and work on in the next outing.

[duckles]

Oh Kitcat, I am sorry- falling is not fun.
Looks like you were put on a novice though- which means they think you're good,
Hope you are feeling fine and ready for more therapy!!

[fleabitten]

Glad you got back on and did it again and youre not feeling too sore

[maximum]

*holds glass out for Rac to fill*

Hope you are feeling less sore now KK! Its a lesson learnt and you know they must think you are capable of better than your push button boy or they would not let you ride the youngster.

Like rac I hate to see people too far infront of the movement- its a disaster waiting to happen- Lucinds Green is very hot on this Still she also says' you can do it all right, ride the horse correctly and it still goes t*ts up' !!!

KK can I reccomend any of Tim Stockdales dvds to you ( if you want to borrow mine PM me your addy) he is very keen on not jumping the jump for the horse and just allowing it come to the jump with sufficient energy and in a good rhythm and letting the horse do the actual jumping.

[kitcat]

Thanks Maxi, that's really kind. Please can you let me know which you think are best for the beginner as I would quite like to buy one or two anyway. This way I can share them with my sister.

[brigadier]

Its an interesting debate this, if you watch ponies jump they do all the work and the riders are just passengers who steer. Unfortunately a lot of horses are slower at developing the ability so as novices require a little help to work it out and develop the confidence to take the rider forward. the problem comes when young horses are asked to jump with novice riders (riding schools do this a lot) and get confused by the signals the rider is giving them. This leads to them taking off too far away and putting in huge jumps or fiddling and getting in close. A horse that has been loose schooled properly will learn to adjust its stride three or four out so it meets the jump just right and then if left alone when ridden can jump with confidence. alas many riding schools simply dont have the time to put in this prep work so try to school the riders into schooling the horses but it simply doesnt work. Hence the confusion.

[racaille]

True. But if you always help a horse he'll never learn to work it out himself. I think you have to be a pretty accomplished rider to 'see' strides etc and IMO most people are better off concentrating on their own position and the approach.

I do agree though Brig that the worst combination is a young horse being 'helped' by an inexpert rider.

[fleabitten]

Good point brig. There was a young horse at my RS and she did put the more experienced riders on him for the most part whilst he was there and he was only really used in the more advanced lessons. He was brought on well and even did a little cross country. Then after several months more novice people were put on him as he was showing to be a good little horse if a little strong. I cant remember him ever having a silly 5 minutes in a lesson but he did have his moments where the brakes failed, run outs, spooks etc. all normal stuff. Funny enough he was the horse that I fell off last June - he spooked at an umbrella - I still have that damn lump!