One step forward

I have spent all week sweating over it. The jumping. All week I have sat there pulling apart my position and they way the horse jumps, and then putting it back together again. Of course, I've only done it in my mind. Today we get to practice.

I reset the jumps so that I have a couple of nice cross rails and one vertical, and many related lines in between. The cross rails are so small that I know the horse can just walk over them. In fact I know that the horse could pretty much walk over the vertical too. Then I start putting it all back together.

First, my position must be correct, I must be looking up and sitting up. Second, the horse has to be in control and travelling slowly. Period. That's all there is to it.

I go over the first cross rail, looking up. The penny drops. The rider never gets to see the jump. They have to feel it. There is no other way. The rider gets to see the jump two strides out. From there on they ride. They jump comes. The rider must perfectly stay with the motion of the horse. Then the horse's effort in the jump forces the rider to fold. It's bizzarre, it's amazing, it's like riding blind.

I keep trying this concept over the other jumps, time and time again. I try related lines. Once, just once, Princess goes too fast from one jump to the next. And it all feels like it's falling apart again. I take control, I reprimand, the next related line is much slower.

I took it apart, and put it all back together again, and it worked.