Introduction to Showjumping

I have done some showjumping with Crownie in the winter of 2007. In fact we did a quite tight indoor freshmans course at grade 4 level. She was totally calm and went clear. So I know she can jump. It's just a question of getting her fit enough again.

Oddly enough, it is precisely today that I stumble across an article (based on a lesson taught by Will) which talks about how a horse's balance must develop, first over trot poles, then over increasingly bigger jumps. I had never thought about this before, but it makes absolute sense.

We all know that a horse must develop balance in walk, trot and canter when carrying a rider. Jumping is no different. So when you're going over trot poles your horse must retain rhythm and straightness. If they rush before, during or after the trot poles, the they are not really ready to go onto jumping.

I apply this principle when schooling Crownie. We go over the trot poles, and I look for balance. Once I am happy that she can maintain her rhythm, we progress onto cross rails. These are so low that she chooses to trot over them. This is fine. I find that she hesitates just before the cross rail. It's only half a microsecond, and it's basically a balancing problem. So we continue the exercise until it gets smoother, then call it a day.