Controling nerves at a show.

When you compete at a show you could get very nervous. being nervous at a horse show can throw your performance off.

When you are going to a show make sure you can do as much work as possible the night before. You don't want to be running around early in the morning to clean tack or braid your horse when you could have done it the night before.

Make sure you get a good night sleep the night before. I know it is hard to sleep the night of a show. You don't want to be tired when you have to go into your round.

You want to make sure you eat some what healthy while you are at the show. It is hard to eat completely healthy when they only have fast food stands at the show. Try not too eat 3 burgers before your round. The more unhealthy you eat at the show the more likely you are to get sick while you are there. If you feel sick before your round make sure to drink some water.

When at the show I like to listen to music before my round to make sure I stay focused. I will try to stay busy when I'm at the show. If I know that I have to ride soon I will make sure that I focus on my course.

When I know I have lots of time before my class I like to take my horse for a walk around the show grounds to make sure he is calm with what is going on around. If he is nervous I will become more nervous.

Right before my class I like to take my time tacking up my horses. If I know my ride is in and hour and a half i will start to slowly clean up my horse to make sure any small patches of dirt are gone. I will start to tack up my horse. I always want a long time to slowly warm up my horse.

Most importantly when in the ring make sure you try to keep calm by breathing and focusing on your course.

~ Jaida
Give a horse what he needs and he will give you his heart in return.

How to memorize a Show Jumping course

When at a competition you will be giving the opportunity to look at the course usually a while before your class starts. Even professional riders will once and a while forget their courses.

• When you see your course is posted you should look at it immediately. If you have the chance either write down the course on a piece of paper or take a picture with a phone. Make sure when you look at it that you know where each jump is placed.

• When you are able to walk the course take the opportunity right away. the sooner you are able to memorise your course the easier it will be to remember while you are riding.

• When I try to remember my course I have to look at the colour of the jumps and not eh numbers. find out what helps you remember the sequence of the jumps.

• When you are walking the course you should try to see your problem areas and how you will over come them. pick out the areas early to make sure during the course you do not panic when you dont have a plan.

• It is also a good plan to to look at the jumps and say how you are going to ride it. Example, if you know you are doing a turn to the yellow jump you might think of how you are going to do the turn before the jump.

• If you have an expereanced rider with you ask them to walk the course with you to help.

~ Jaida
Give a horse what he needs and he will give you his heart in return.

Costa Rica

In April 2013, I was able to experience a Show Jumping competition that took place in Costa Rica. on April 9-13 we had the chance to ride a different horse and compete in an international show. On the Tuesday (9th) we where able to try out the horse they had chosen for us. On that day we were only able to flat the horses. On the Wednesday we were able to jump them. Thursday, Saturday and Sunday were the actual show days.

After each ride I would go over what went well in my rides. I would pick two specific things that I though I did well to ride the horse. Example, On the first day it was a speed round. On the second jump I was able to nicely ride a tight inside turn, we didn't drop the rail and I was able to us the proper aids to helped set the horse up for the turn. I would also say what two things I could have done better. Example, in the same round I got the horse to strung out and we jumped the jump too flat. If I would have sat back and whoaed before the jump we might not have drooped the rail. I would also see what things I could work on to make my next round better. Example, I would make sure that the next day I wouldn't let her run to the jumps and I would make sure I helped her pick up her feet.

While I was there I set a goal, My goal was to do better than last year. Last year I placed 10th on the first day, 4th on the second and 1st on the last. This year I wanted to place better than I did last year. Even though I set this goal I did not complete it. I didn't do better this year than I did last year. This year I placed 7th, 10th, and 10th.

Even though I set this gaol and didn't complete it, I will work harder this summer to try and get the opportunity to compete in Costa Rica in 2014. I have set goals this summer with my own horses and goals to work on with other horses to try and get invited to ride in Costa Rica again and complete my goal.

Enigma and I

Costa Rica 2013

 

 

~ Jaida
Give a horse what he needs and he will give you his heart in return.

Two-Point over Fences

When jumping over fences and even over poles you need to have a proper leg position.

First your stirrups need to be the right length. When your leg is relaxed the stirrup iron should lay right at your ankle bone. For some, jumping position is easier when the stirrups are a hole shorter than on the flat.

Next you need to keep your heels placed down. Don't jam your heel down, simply lift your toe. If you push to far down in your heel your legs will swing forward and unbalance you. Your heels are your main source of balance. your toes should be pointing towards the horses head. if you are wearing spurs you don't want them constantly poking the horses side.
As you approach the jump make sure to keep the legs gently against your horses side, this will keep the momentum and increase your chance of run outs or refusals.

Yours hands should move with the neck so you don't jab your horse in the mouth. The reins shouldn't be thrown up their neck either, this could throw them off balance. If you have trouble with your hands moving to much and are worried about catching your horse in the mouth you can grab some of their mane to start off.

You want your eyes kept straight to, over, and after the jump. If you drop your eyes this can shift you body weight and unbalance the horse. they might add an extra stride or chip. Also if your drop your eyes the horses can feel you looking at it and might thing it is scary and stop.

You want to make sure you are jumping with your horse not ahead of them or to late. this is also known as jumping for your horse. Jumping ahead of the horse can cause the riders leg to slip back, because the riders weight is in front of the leg. Your leg should be under neath your body.

Your body should be slightly tilted towards the horses neck. Your hip bones should be still under you and just tilted a tiny bit to allow your body to follow the horse. Your seat should always be over the saddle even when your over the jump.

~ Jaida
Give a horse what he needs and he will give you his heart in return.

Correct leg aids

When riding your legs are one of the most important aids of riding your horse. Not only do they make the horse movie forwards, they also engage the hind end. along with that they can: move the horse sideways (leg yield or side pass), and lift it back. The reason we want our horses to do these things will help in the jumper ring. For example if you have come into a jump not on the right line you can ask you horse to move over or leg yield over to the direction you want using your leg.

When collecting your horse their back must round and hind quarters must engage. To do so we must use our legs to round their back. Your leg should gently nudge below the barrel of the horse. this will ask the horse to bring up the back. The horse might not respond to that right away especially if they have never been asked too. Soon the horse will round his back with the blending of the hand and leg aids.

~ Jaida
Give a horse what he needs and he will give you his heart in return.

Bounces

People will use bounces to help the horse learn to quickly pick up and place his/her feet. The reason it is called a bounce is because there are no strides taken in between the jumps. The bounce will  teach the horse good balance, to push off with his hind end, and to fold his front end well. It will also help teach a horse to slow down.
When sitting up a bounce you can have 2 jumps or even 10, usually people will use between 4 or 6 jumps depending on the size of their arena. Your jumps are usually 15 inches to 18 inches sometime a little higher. When spacing the first and second fence should be 3 meters apart and the rest should be 3 meters and 3 inches.
During the exercise you need to keep the horse really straight, in between your hands and legs. When entering the bounces you need to have a connection between your hands and legs to engage the hind end. While riding over the bounce the riders body needs to be kept straight, the eyes need to be focus ahead. the riders hands need to be light and elbows need to be elastic so they can follow the horses movement. Their legs need to keep light pressure to keep the horse moving, but must stay and still as possible.
After the bounces the horse needs to say straight as they ride away. Sometimes its a good idea to place a single fence after the turn to keep the horse straight after.

 

 

 

~ Jaida
Give a horse what he needs and he will give you his heart in return. 

 

Starting To Jump

Trot Poles
When laying trot poles they are to be placed 3' apart. you want to start to tech your horse how to trot, trot poles by laying them in pares. Trot poles tech your horse how to measure its stride, it gives them rhythm and balance. Once you and your horse have mastered two poles, you can add a third pole. When doing trot poles the rider should be in their two-point, they should elivate their seat, but maintain their hips over the saddle.

Gymnastics

An Gymnastic on a horse is a great way to strengthen a horses back and its balance. They will also help depth perception, timing and proper release of the rider. Gymnastics teach horses how to measure distances and shorten or lengthen their strides quickly and accurately between obstacles. It improves their technech, and sense of timing.  when setting up a Gymnastic  you place a pole 9' in front of the cross rail. the pole preps the horse for the jump, not allowing them to take a canter step before. Then there is usually an bounce that follows creates suspension and forces the rider to stay with the motion and balance for the remaining one-stride and two-stride.

Measuring Distance - In a Gymnastic

Two large walking steps equals 6' or two trot steps, for a full sized horse.A bounce measures 9' which is three large steps. In a one stride it should walk seven large steps, which is about 21'. A two stride should measure 11 steps, which is about 33'.

~ Jaida
Give a horse what he needs and he will give you his heart in return.