There is nothing I enjoy mmore than watching a jumping competition on TV. When Daniel Deusser or Scott Brash(1&2 top jumpers in the world) clear those jumps its breathtaking. I recently watched a jumping competition with a young, new rider. His time was poor and his riding not much better. I cringed watching him jump and knew he wouldn't be in the jump off. Here is what I saw.....

Going into the jump he was fine. His posture was good and the horse looked good. Thee first jump came and  they cleared it in a tacky manner. The horse was lazym and rubbed the bars. His looked down instead of at the next jump and he was crooked in his seat. Them more jumps the worse he did. At one point he was bouncing in the saddle as his horse took off. With each jump he struggled with how many strides to take plowing over the rest. In the end he needed to gallop to the finish but chose a slow canter. The rider was young and still learning,as the commentators said this might've been more then he could handle.

There are four phases to jumping for both horse and rider. Let's discuss them.

1. The approach.

The horse will place all four feet in the correct positions as the jump comes closer. The horse will also collect itself before ascending. The rider must maintain a balanced seat with straight posture,preparing to jump with their horse.

2. The ascension

During the ascension you'll notice the horse pauses slightly. Why? He is preparing to jump, collecting himself and shifting all his power into his hindlegs before jumping. While the horse jumps the rider shifts his weight into his heels, leans slightly forward and stares straight ahead.

3. The flight

The horse creates a round arc over the jump, stretching his front legs over while bringing his hind legs beneath him. His neck is arched and stretched with him. The rider maintains position with his weight in his heels, but his hands follow the horses neck, moving up and creating a 'release',while looking straight at the next jump.

4. The Landing

The horse lands with his non-leading foreleg first,then next leg followed by its hind legs. The rider keeps weight in heels, slide hands down to follow the horse deepens his seat to absorb the shock of landing.

Those are the four phases of jumpimg. The next time you watch a jumping competition look for these phases. It's fun way to test yourself. These four phases make you a good jumper.

Have a happy ride!!!