Sharp and snappy

GRIDWORK is often known as gymnastic jumping, because it helps teach the horse to be more elastic and enables both horse and rider to hone certain techniques without fussing about the perfect stride. Grids are typically set up on slightly short strides – seven yards to a horse’s stride rather than eight – to encourage the horse to be sharp with his front legs and not flatten, instead making a rounded bascule over the fence with the forelegs tucked up. There are myriad grid formats you can set up, but in this session with two of Gemma’s event horses, she chooses one set out on “true striding”.

“This grid is inspired by my friend [CCI5* winner] Laura Collett, who uses it sometimes when she’s schooling racehorses,” Gemma says. “It’s useful for getting