I don’t have a magic recipe for finding a distance and making a good jump. But I do have an exercise that will help you achieve the most important aspects of getting that good distance and good jump: straightness and rhythm.
These are the most important qualities when you show jump because they are the two that our horses are most concerned about when jumping on their own. In a jump chute without a rider and with set fences, horses want to know: “Can I move up to the jump?” and “Is it straight in front of me?” They want to know the same things when we’re riding them.
Knowing this is the begining of riding in a way that is most natural and complementary to the horse. No matter if you have a fast or slow horse, a small or big horse, they all need rhythm and straightness. These factors help to create any horse’s comfort zone from which he can jump with confidence.
When you can regularly achieve a good result in this exercise, you’ll have a super setup to ride a jumping course.
THE TRIANGLE EXERCISE
Set the Exercise
This exercise involves creating a series of triangles with ground poles (see the diagram above). To set the exercise, place three ground poles—A, B and C—in a straight line so they are almost touching end-to-end. Set two more poles against pole A so the three poles form a triangle. On the opposite side of triangle A, build another triangle with two poles, using pole B as its base.
