I hope these tips are helping everyone. Here are tips 11-20:


11. As a rider you too need to be warmed up. Through warming up you should release tight muscles. Warming up helps prevent stiffness and injury to both horse and rider.

12. It is important to get your horse’s body and his state of mind prepared for what you are going to ask him to do.

13. Get the basics right and you will have a firm foundation for jumping.

14. It is a misconception that you should do all the work. Try doing a little less yourself and allow your horse to do it for you. By training and producing the right habits in your horse, as a rider you can start to ride with a softer position and posture. And it is much more enjoyable.

15. In your schooling sessions always have a clear idea of what you are aiming for. Be consistent and your horse will understand what you want.

16. If you have to keep telling your horse to canter as you ask him to shorten or slow the speed down, it is like driving a car which stalls everytime you take your foot off the accelerator. You will quickly lose your rhythm.

17. Trot is very clearly sold as a separate entity. In other words horses go from walk to canter and canter to walk.

18. A young horse will naturally look at the first plank, gather himself and do a round stride over it. But an older or more experienced horse may need a little encouragement or squeeze of the legs as his nose goes over it to get the round stride. Remember if the horse just trots over the plank then you are back to square one with the wrong sequence of leg aids to jump in a balanced fashion.

19. I use painted planks on the ground as round poles will roll if stood on or knocked. This may trip your horse up and cause injury. An alternative to planks are square poles.

20, Rosettes are made at home, you just collect them in the ring. Spend time developing the correct technique and right habits.

Tim Stockdale