Jumping a Single Fence

How many times have you seen a rider approach a single fence in canter, hold the horse back and then suddenly release it and send it forward when they think they see a stride? And what happens? The horse accelerates at the last moment over the jump, lands on his forehand, runs on from the jump and has to be pulled back! Worse still they learn to rush their fences, standing off a long way and jumping flat.

Up to intermediate level, the height of the fences you will be jumping are the equivalent to you stepping up a curb. And when you come across a curb you would just walk over and carry on away in the same rhythm. Rhythm is the key to jumping single fences successfully. I always tell my pupils to concentrate on this and let the jump come to them.The jump is just an exaggerated canter stride, so the more regular and balanced you can keep the stride in the approach, the more natural and balanced the jump will be.

Keep it simple. The main ingredient is rhythm.

It isn’t natural for a horse to rush or ‘attack’ a fence and those that have learned to do this have done so because that is the way they have been trained. That usually means a rider problem. For a horse that rushes into a fence, I use four planks, placed at 3.6m intervals on the approach to the jump.This is the horse equivalent of speed bumps and will introduce regularity in the stride.

Using these planks helps you train or re-train a rhythmical approach to a single fence.You can then start to remove the planks, starting with those closest to the jump. And you can help yourself by counting the strides out loud —this will take your mind off the jump and make you concentrate on the approach.

Attacking a Spread?

Many people think you should attack or ride more strongly into a spread, parallel or oxer. This is a complete misconception. Up to intermediate level, most spreads are designed to cause rider mistakes! They are rider frighteners - not horse frighteners!

Think about it. The length of your horse's canter stride is 3.6m, so a simple spread of 1m is probaby no more than you stepping over a 25 cm puddle - and I'm sure you wouldn't need a real run up for that!

Remember the simple mantra: "Canter rhythm line. Gets it right every time." And let the jump come to you.

Tim Stockdale