Have any of you made jump cups like this? Ran across this page while I was looking for plans on building standards and saw this. Thoughts???
Not a fan of those big bolts…
I would be inclined to do away with the pins altogether, and simply hang the rope over blocks of wood screwed onto the back side of the standard. It would work the same way, without drilling holes or having those pins sticking out like that.
[QUOTE=Jealoushe;7668699]
Not a fan of those big bolts…[/QUOTE]
So just get smaller bolts. If it’s difficult to get the rope to stay on the end of a shorter bolt, file a groove near the end of the bolt to give the rope someplace to sit.
well any metal bolt really. I would use plastic jump pins…that break.
Why bother? Plastic jump cups and plastic pins are not that expensive. http://www.horse.com/item/pro-craft-plastic-jump-cups-assorted/SLT310143/ these have metal pins you can buy plastic pins elsewhere
the steel ones are even cheaper but I prefer the plastic.
Chicks plastic cups even cheaper $3.99 http://www.chicksaddlery.com/page/CDS/PROD/3099/JC123?utm_source=shopzilla&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopzilla%2Bdata%2Bfeed
I’m a bit skeptical of some of the jump ideas on the website, an awful lot of work and material for designs that don’t look safe. A horse can easily put a foot, a leg thru the stuff.
[QUOTE=Jealoushe;7668870]
well any metal bolt really. I would use plastic jump pins…that break.[/QUOTE]
Ah, I see… I hate plastic cups and pins, but I can see why some people prefer them. Although I think the design here would be pretty safe with metal pins, just use twine or cotton cord for the rope, so it will break under pressure. I actually think it would break easier than plastic pins.
I can see the benefit of cheap homemade cups, especially if they tend to disappear… save the good metal (or plastic if you prefer) cups for shows/clinics/lessons, and use the homemade ones for regular use.
I have a bunch of the cheap jump cups and they break down the middle after they sit in the sun for a few weeks.
[QUOTE=amastrike;7668972]
Ah, I see… I hate plastic cups and pins, but I can see why some people prefer them. Although I think the design here would be pretty safe with metal pins, just use twine or cotton cord for the rope, so it will break under pressure. I actually think it would break easier than plastic pins.
I can see the benefit of cheap homemade cups, especially if they tend to disappear… save the good metal (or plastic if you prefer) cups for shows/clinics/lessons, and use the homemade ones for regular use.[/QUOTE]
It’s also meant to break if your horse hits it…with its body. Those metal bolts are going to go right through your horse.
I think the first site is a price for a pair of jump cups, the Chicks price is for one jump cup so not really that cheap.
I will add that the reviews on the first link are not very positive.
These are my personal favorite http://www.vtosaddlery.com/product/PLJC.htm, not the cheapest, but last forever. They are also really easy to switch out and no pins to lose. In my life, time is much harder to come by than reasonable amounts of money, so …
I have these (I previously only did a cursory search) and they come as a pair for the price $4.99 http://www.jefferspet.com/jeffers-polystyrene-jump-cups/camid/EQU/cp/IA-J1/ and they are reversible for planks and gates.
and I’ve had them for 10+ yrs and all are fine. A few are outside 24/7/365 on the jumps in the fence row. And those are good.
Why would I want to buy rope and cut and drill blocks and tie knots and use big honker metal bolts?
DIY for the win
[QUOTE=pony grandma;7670137]
Why would I want to buy rope and cut and drill blocks and tie knots and use big honker metal bolts?[/QUOTE]
Because not everyone can afford $5 a jump cup set? 
(tl;dr - $60 > $10)
Let’s do the math,
1 jump with three cup sets = $15 (approximate) (Three for those who jump big). A average grid might be four sets of standards (1 stride, 1 stride, 2 stride) so $15 * 4 = $60 :eek:(minus all the other stuff needed like poles and standards).
Let’s compare…prices from from Home Depot
2x2x8 ft piece of wood…$1.87 (round to $2 for easy calcs). From that I can get 8’ (96") / 2" = 48 blocks / 2 = 24 block sets into $2 of 8 cents a set.
They didn’t give a precise value for the rope, I chose 1/4 inch and even that seems over kill. So 1/4 inch by 100 ft is $12. They want 24" pieces so (calculating…) 100 ft (1200") / 24" = 50 pcs / 2 = 25 pc sets… $12 / 25 pcs sets = .48 cents.
At this point I’m still under a dollar per set compared to $5. As to pins, to assuage concerns about metal pins (though really folks, you look at some of the jump standards at shows?) there are two options, I’d go with the wooden dowel approach 3/8ths , cut to display an inch on either side of the standard. let’s say 6 inches.
4’ length at $1 yields 8 pcs again divided by 2 is 4 pcs sets costing $1 / 4 = 25 cents.
No I know this is a lot of math, but you did ask…
blocks - .08
rope - .50 (rounded up)
pin - .25
grand total for a set of cups = $.83 cents. now you could factor labor but that is subjective. Back to the original point, four standard grid would cost $60 to set up with your cups, $9.96 (lets say $10) with these.
Why would I not? 
To get around the pins I think I’d nail/glue wooden strips across the back for the rope to rest in thus removing worries about pins (and makes for quick change). I love this idea and even by this weekend I may try this out to see if it really works. I build my own jumps so this is a great savings all the way around.
---- aside ----
(I currently have @ 9 sets of standards which may be low for a home practice set. I avg 2 cup sets per standard so my cost on the cups was just under $200 ($20 per jump). I also paid for shipping. Now I like my cups, but had I seen this before building… even at a dollar a set that is $2 a fence or just under $20.)
I think these wood block cups are brilliant and would not hesitate to use them–certainly not for safety reasons.
I’ve jumped about a million jumps held up with some sort of pin and never had a problem. I have however had to pull a stick out of a forearm of a horse that I could snap between my fingers–so anyone who thinks you have some advantage of plastic pins “because they break” over metal may be fooling themselves. The comparison of the safety of the hard metal (or plastic) cups compaired to mobile wood blocks actually might foster an argument that these are safer…
Maybe the rest of you haven’t ever been ambition, driven and poor–but thanfully ingenuity makes up for a lot.
[QUOTE=subk;7670535]
I think these wood block cups are brilliant and would not hesitate to use them–certainly not for safety reasons.
I’ve jumped about a million jumps held up with some sort of pin and never had a problem. I have however had to pull a stick out of a forearm of a horse that I could snap between my fingers–so anyone who thinks you have some advantage of plastic pins “because they break” over metal may be fooling themselves. The comparison of the safety of the hard metal (or plastic) cups compaired to mobile wood blocks actually might foster an argument that these are safer…
Maybe the rest of you haven’t ever been ambition, driven and poor–but thanfully ingenuity makes up for a lot.[/QUOTE]
A to the Men.
I would much rather impale on steel instead of plastic (or any other material prone to splintering).
I considered making these for awhile but it ended up being more of a pain than anything. But if you have the stuff already it would be a good idea.
When I measured/marked out for them they actually seemed quite safe pending you take care of where the pins fall.
But the poles would seem to sit very lightly in the ‘cup’ and would fall out easily.
We use a lot of sticks, :lol: for our cup pins. Free and they break easily if fallen.
Also, I finally go the page to load. How is the pin/bolt any different than a regular jump cup? Girl! I know things happen, but if you’re worried about running up on the pins on the backside of a jump, you probably shouldn’t be jumping.
I do like the idea of dowels placed into the outside of the standard (drilled at an angle) at the height interval, and would use chain instead of rope, which has a tendency to stretch.
[QUOTE=subk;7670535]
I think these wood block cups are brilliant and would not hesitate to use them–certainly not for safety reasons.
I’ve jumped about a million jumps held up with some sort of pin and never had a problem. I have however had to pull a stick out of a forearm of a horse that I could snap between my fingers–so anyone who thinks you have some advantage of plastic pins “because they break” over metal may be fooling themselves. The comparison of the safety of the hard metal (or plastic) cups compaired to mobile wood blocks actually might foster an argument that these are safer…
Maybe the rest of you haven’t ever been ambition, driven and poor–but thanfully ingenuity makes up for a lot.[/QUOTE]
OMG, THANK YOU!
Seriously, how many metal jump pins has EVERYONE jumped over the years??? Horses being horses, they are far better at impaling themselves on things like the entire standard. Or an oddly angled piece of hay string. eyeroll
I’m all about safety, but have used plastic jump cups (horrible, do not last, end up creating problems by randomly cracking, snapping, and failing at inopportune moments) and cheap metal ones (rusted, bent, broken welds, you name it), so… looks like a great idea to me!!!
Guess I just can’t find the doorway to that fantasy world where you don’t have to count every dime and you spend your weekends applying your ingenuity to your latest dumpster/burn pile rescue treasures! Eh, I’d probably get bored if I did, building projects are fun and I always learn something new!!
Heck I made “jump cups” at one point buy nailing two nails halfway into the standards and resting the poles on top. If I’m close enough to hit that I have bigger issues.
Besides, I was riding an App who obviously wasn’t valuable enough to injure himself in such an unlucky fashion, that honor seems tone reserved for the high value/high potential ones! He lived in some fields that were bad even by CL standards!
