How far can I go in showjumping?

[Sputnik_1]

I love this topic! It inspired me to sign up and post.

I rode h/j as a kid and teen but my parents didn’t support my dedication to the sport, there were some money constraints but my father mostly just thought it was too dangerous. As a 20-something, between going to college and working entry level jobs, I thought I had to let go of the dream of high level showing and unfortunately I did for a while. There was some resentment there about not being allowed to show much growing up, and I made the choice not to revisit the dream.

I started lessons again last year, at 30 years old, and I’m happy to say there’s no turning back. I’ve worked up to a pretty good career that allows me to work remotely, and I can finally afford lessons twice a week at the high end h/j barn in town and to do the local show circuit on some nice horses. End goal would be to be able to afford my own horse who can take me around the more prestigious shows in my region, which is going to require some strategic budgeting, but I’m here for it. I’m not looking to go pro, ride in a grand prix, etc. but to finally fulfill my dream of competing consistently and successfully in something I love to do.

We are definitely lucky to love a sport that doesn’t have an age limit (with a touch unlucky to love such an expensive sport). But show up if you want it. I’m upset that I had given up and missed the last 10 years, but I won’t let it happen again. Will I now be using my vacation time for shows, working some nights to ride during the day, spending my extra income on horses? Yep. Am I happy to do it? Yep!

Best of luck sir!

[centaursam]

@Scribbler

You said you’ve been in some shows already? What were they? Where do other folks in your barn show? What is your trainer’s show record? If your trainer is still actively showing, can you go watch? Usually trainers are showing at a higher level than their students. Or ask your trainer about the highest level jumping you can go spectate in your area over the summer.

I’ve been in a few USEF dressage shows competing at the training level (tests 1,2, and 3). All my shows have been locally in Thousand Oaks, California which is where most other people in my barn show. My trainer shows almost every weekend and I definitely can go watch. As to her record, I know she’s showing Prix St-Georges and Intermediare and scoring in the low 70s.

No one in the barns I ride at is aspiring to ride at a high level. Everyone around me just rides recreationally and their interest only goes as far as the lower level dressage tests. Obviously this is bad for me and I need to get around people who are at a much higher level than I.

@ladyj79

small point, when show jumpers talk about longines, they’re talking about the ranking, not a show series. And instead you’re 1000% percent going to just say a ranking class, rather than a longines ranking class.

Do you mean Globals? or global champions tour or league? say that. it’s by invite for pros and select amateurs (some of whom are olympians, it has nothing to do with being a professional as you think it), or by heavy buy-in cost, think six figures just to play.

I’m still not savy as to what all the terminology and ranking is. No clue what the difference is between globals, grand prix, league, etc. and which is “higher” than the others. Hence why I’m not fixed on Longines (although that seems to be the theme in this thread haha). For all I know there exists a level of riding other than Longines-type that I would be content on riding at.

@Midge

You said ideally you wanted to just jump. That is 100% what not to do.

I’m assuming you mean that I just need to ride more, not necessarily jumping all the time and nothing else.

[Scribbler]

Ok, so you aren’t showing jumping at all yet? How high do you jump in lessons? Have you jumped a course with related distances, even if just cross poles? How is your two point, can you canter into a jump and see distances and count strides? Do you have lessons with a jumper specialist coach or just pop over some poles with your dressage coach?

It sounds like you are in a respectable lower level dressage barn and Prix St George for your trainer, and training level for you, are totally respectable.

However it sounds like you are not in a jumping barn. It sounds like you are in a dressage barn. If you want to fast track jumping, then you need to be in hunter jumper barn with a coach that is a jumper (not a hunter) competitor.

Dressage is of course a great foundation but as you go up the levels there are aspects of competitive dressage that don’t translate well to.jumpers. Also the saddle and seat is different.

By and large adult amateur dressage riders never jump

If you want to concentrate on jumping you need to be at a jumper barn that will work on your two point, your no.stirrups work, counting strides and seeing distances.

I can see distances much better now that I can ride 20 and 10 meter dressage circles so the skills transfer of course. But no one rides forward or half seat in dressage, and rarely drop stirrups! There are other challenges.

So step #1 is find a good hunter jumper barn that will take on adult beginners, isn’t just kiddie lessons, with a coach who is actively competing above 3 feet.

[greysfordays]

You are local to me in Southern California. Where are you exactly living and working from? There are many barns here that will compete on any number of major and minor circuits. I think the advice to see where students are competing at is really good.

While the Global Champions really is the pinnacle, the reality is there are tons and tons of fabulous shows in Europe that don’t require you to be in the top 30 to compete. Knokke is about to start and that’s a lovely circuit. There’s MET Oliva. There are shows at Valkenswaard with lower classes that aren’t on the global tour. Shows in Europe are often better organized, with better footing and higher standards and atmosphere. The sport is just a bigger deal over there. I would encourage you to get a subscription for Clip My Horse where they stream a ton of shows every week just to get a sense of the variety and depth.

But you don’t even have to leave North America, there is high quality competition in Florida, Tryon, Kentucky, etc. Or head to Canada for Spruce or Thunderbird. These shows are packed with Olympians and high level Grand Prix riders. What I’m clumsily trying to explain is there is a wide expanse between local shows in Thousand Oaks and the Longines Global Champions Tour. You can find plenty that is very high level (and plenty expensive) that would be a major achievement to aim for.

These high end competitions allow you to gauge your progress and even more importantly, you can stalk the warm ups and learn from those at the top of the sport. This is a great way to grow as a student.

[Salty]

I just want to stress the importance of moving to a good jumper barn. When I boarded at one, people would go off to clinics & then come back & show the rest of us what they’d learned. We would set fences for one another. Longe one another without stirrups. And since there were several high level amateurs riding there, everything seemed attainable.

One of the best GP horses there was an off the track Thoroughbred.

[Redlei44]

A few random thoughts -

OP, you sounds ambitious and enthusiastic, and relatively well-positioned to become a solid jumper rider in the future due to the above and your expected discretionary income. Whether anyone can achieve the international level is such an unknown for all the reasons others have listed regarding luck, horsepower, funding, career obligations, and many other factors.

If you want to jump big jumps as soon as possible, you definitely need to move to a successful high-level show jumping barn, like yesterday, and you need to either make sure that they have a decent string of lesson horses you can progress on (which is getting less common, don’t count on this) and/or you need to lease at least one, preferably multiple, horses that are suitable for you to lesson on twice a week each. As many others have mentioned, you need to be regularly be riding 5-6 days a week.

When you’re talking to potential new barns/trainers, you might consider dialing it back a bit and making your goal to make it to the high A/O jumpers. This is honestly already a huge lift for an amateur rider just learning to jump. Trainers are only human and they know this and you might be more likely to make serious connections with a program that can help you progress and meet your goals. Trust us, if you become successful in the high A/Os, you can easily let anyone you train with know that you’re ready to think about the next step!

[RAyers]

It sounds to me that the OP is more interested in buying his way into the top rather than working. It sadly is all to common nowadays. We are losing those who actually can develop and build top level horses and riders. We are losing horsemen and women who have spent the decades in the saddle and barn. That said, I am finished here.

[Feliz]

@RAyers

It sounds to me that the OP is more interested in buying his way into the top rather than working. It sadly is all to common nowadays. We are losing those who actually can develop and build top level horses and riders. We are losing horsemen and women who have spent the decades in the saddle and barn. That said, I am finished here.

That seems like a great way to turn someone off the sport. I didn’t get the impression that the OP wasn’t prepared to work for it.

Does it matter if the OP wants to “buy his way to the top”? He could spend lots of money leasing/buying horses, paying trainers/ grooms/ farriers/ physios/ vets/ tack stores/ feedstores/ horse shows etc and supporting a little part of the equine industry.

Or he can go spend his money on another sport and all that perfectly good money will go somewhere else.

Or maybe he gets serious about riding and falls in love with starting young horses, or developing ex-race horses or breeding rare breed draught horses or any number of horsey things. In 50yrs he could be one of those amazing people that are still riding after achieving the highest levels with his own horses that he bred, broke and trained. (Incidentally I hunt with some amazing women and men who came to riding later in life, bought some good horses so they could get out there and enjoy it and along the way developed into skilled horse people who then started their own horses from scratch)

Back to the OP . . . .
If you are serious about really improving your riding I think you need to be very focused on the quality of what you’re learning, both on and off the horse. The ideal would be top quality training and multiple rides a week, but if you can’t fit in more right now, you can’t.

Don’t underestimate how much your environment influences you – good horsemanship rubs off – but so does bad horsemanship! So I’d be taking a critical look at your training options. Are there students successfully (and safely) moving up the heights? Is it an ethically sound place for both students & horses? Is there a good environment for learning & growth? Can you learn both riding and horsemanship? If you have limited experience it’s going to be harder to evaluate this but it’s still possible.

The great thing about riding is that it is something you can do your whole life. I rode occasionally as a child and got my first horse in my mid 20s. Nearly two decades later I feel like my riding is only getting better and better. Helped by a decent income and a job that, while challenging, isn’t all consuming. Honestly, I would probably be in the same place riding-wise if I’d started in my 30s but used my time better.

Unfortunately I wasted far too long with a poor trainer when I bought my first horse – she talked the talk, but did not walk the walk. She wasn’t a good horsewoman and was also a terrible gossip and drama stirrer and created a pretty toxic environment for her students. I wish I’d been better at evaluating all the things I list above - 20/20 hindsight vision . . .

[Salty]

I agree 100% with Feliz.

If I had lots of cash, I would buy a schoolmaster jumper & train at the very best barn I could find.

There’s nothing wrong with that.

[centaursam]

@Scribbler

Ok, so you aren’t showing jumping at all yet? How high do you jump in lessons? Have you jumped a course with related distances, even if just cross poles? How is your two point, can you canter into a jump and see distances and count strides? Do you have lessons with a jumper specialist coach or just pop over some poles with your dressage coach?

It sounds like you are in a respectable lower level dressage barn and Prix St George for your trainer, and training level for you, are totally respectable.

However it sounds like you are not in a jumping barn. It sounds like you are in a dressage barn. If you want to fast track jumping, then you need to be in hunter jumper barn with a coach that is a jumper (not a hunter) competitor.

Dressage is of course a great foundation but as you go up the levels there are aspects of competitive dressage that don’t translate well to.jumpers. Also the saddle and seat is different.

By and large adult amateur dressage riders never jump

If you want to concentrate on jumping you need to be at a jumper barn that will work on your two point, your no.stirrups work, counting strides and seeing distances.

I can see distances much better now that I can ride 20 and 10 meter dressage circles so the skills transfer of course. But no one rides forward or half seat in dressage, and rarely drop stirrups! There are other challenges.

So step #1 is find a good hunter jumper barn that will take on adult beginners, isn’t just kiddie lessons, with a coach who is actively competing above 3 feet.

Scribb, I’m jumping in my lessons yet I haven’t competed in jumping yet. Highest I’ve jumped is around 2.5 feet and I do courses in my lessons. I think my two-point is fairly good and I can canter jumps and have worked on no stirrups quite a bit. Currently working on gauging distances and counting strides.

You are correct in that I’m not in a jumping barn :ambivalence: My dressage trainer is the one teaching me jumping and she knows her stuff but as you said, I need someone who just specializes in jumping if I’m really hoping to get anywhere.

@greysfordays

You are local to me in Southern California. Where are you exactly living and working from? There are many barns here that will compete on any number of major and minor circuits. I think the advice to see where students are competing at is really good.

Grey, I live in Granada Hills and work in North Hollywood. I ride in Thousand Oaks which is quite a far drive after work . If I could find something closer to me, it would make it much easier to squeeze in more lessons.

@RAyers

It sounds to me that the OP is more interested in buying his way into the top rather than working. It sadly is all to common nowadays. We are losing those who actually can develop and build top level horses and riders. We are losing horsemen and women who have spent the decades in the saddle and barn. That said, I am finished here.

Thank you for your opinion but I have no clue where on earth you got this attitude from. I pull 15 hour days between work, philanthropy, maintaining my health, and engaging in my hobbies on a weekly basis and have done so for many years. Working hard to get where I want to get to isn’t an issue for me.

Feliz, you bring up some great points. Its easy to disregard the influence of others, especially in small details that add up over the long run. What you said about being able to evaluate all these things sooner rather than later is important too, don’t want to be reinforcing bad habits.

[Mac123]

@centaursam Your first task, then, is to get thyself to a jumping barn*. If you have the time you can keep up some dressage lessons on the side, but you need to be in a jumping program.

The disciplines are quite different, and you really want to have someone who is specialized in the jumpers helping you from the beginning. Even show-specific stuff, type of horse and suitability, additional horses to ride, the general approach, etc., are all going to be better suited for your goals in a jumping barn.

If you were just jumping for fun I’d say you’re fine where you’re at, but with your goals, don’t waste time in a program that isn’t aligned with your overall goals.

If your kid wanted to go to the Olympics in gymnastics, you wouldn’t put her in a gymnastics class at the local ballet studio, right? You’d find a targeted, elite gymnastics gym. Similarly, if you wanted to compete in top level boxing, you wouldn’t take boxing classes at your local Lifetime Fitness, you’d find a boxing gym. What you’ve done so far has give you a good start; now you need to refine that further.

*ETA: and not just any old jumping barn, either. Find a program that regularly produces riders in the bigger jumpers and one that works well with adults. There’s lots of CA-based riders here on COTH and they can point you in the right direction.

Be prepared that with your goals, a trainer is likely going to echo what we all have said here. You need to be riding a minimum of a handful of times a week. Ideally you could lease horses initially so you can move up from horse to horse easier as your skills progress but at some point you’ll need to buy one.

[Scribbler]

OP you are well placed in Southern California for what you want to do. The concentration of population, high incomes, great weather year round, strong showing scene, and i daresay a local culture of outdoor sports, means there are a lot of amatuers riding at a much higher level than in other areas (like where I am).

Things will cost, but the quality is going to be there if you look for it.

Commuting to the barn is the biggest logistical hurdle for most riders with day jobs. Once you find your barn, you might also move house or office to make that commute shorter. I don’t know how the horse community is spread out around LA. There might be good barns all around the edges reducing cross town commute, or might be concentrated on one edge meaning crosstown commute is inevitable for some folks.

Maybe if you started a new thread called “Looking for Recommendations for Adult Jumper Barn in LA area” you could get some advice from COTH folks who live there?

[Darkwave]

One suggestion - progress to the top is made in a series of steps. I suggest that your goal for now should be the adult jumpers (1.1 m). Then, from there, move on through the levels of amateur-owner jumpers. If/when you are successful/comfortable at the high A/O (1.4) level, then start looking at taking the next step.

I highlight this, because I think you should be looking for a barn that has riders at both the adult and A/O levels, so that they will be able to move you up through the levels.

[Madison]

@Darkwave

One suggestion - progress to the top is made in a series of steps. I suggest that your goal for now should be the adult jumpers (1.1 m). Then, from there, move on through the levels of amateur-owner jumpers. If/when you are successful/comfortable at the high A/O (1.4) level, then start looking at taking the next step.

I highlight this, because I think you should be looking for a barn that has riders at both the adult and A/O levels, so that they will be able to move you up through the levels.

Good advice.

[greysfordays]

oh if you’re in Granada Hills, the barn for you is probably Meadow Grove Farm, which is nearby. I used to ride with them and it’s a very high performance adult oriented jumper barn. They’ve produced a lot of top amateurs who compete in Grand Prix competition as well as high amateurs. I came to them having only done hunters and progressed quickly. They show mostly in CA but also at Thunderbird and Spruce.

They do a great job matching riders with experienced and high quality horses and they’re careful bringing clients up the ranks. For all this, I’ll admit they are expensive. But it’s a solid program. The horses live in what’s left of Middle Ranch, which is a very nice facility with more grass than most places in CA.

If you wanted something maybe slightly more low key, at the same facility is Susan Artes and Max Dolger. They are also really terrific trainers, the program is a hair smaller, so you might get more individual attention. They do a great job with the horses and are very knowledgeable. One of my close friends went there and she loves working with both of them. Those would be my top two choices where you are.

Either way, you need to start leasing a horse. Even if you only make it out three times a week, both programs will keep your horse in excellent condition for you. And they do a great job at the shows.

[centaursam]

You all are great, I can’t thank you enough for the advice, encouragement, education, and resources you have provided me in this thread

Grey, I’ll head over to Meadow Grove on my way back home today or tomorrow and inquire. My phone tells me it’s incredibly close to where I live so thank you for the heads up!

[Mac123]

@centaursam Keep us posted! Thanks for being so pleasant - it’s easy and fun to help people who don’t get all defensive or dramatic lol

[centaursam]

I shall definitely keep you posted! Many thanks to you all once again

[centaursam]

Update for you all:

It’s been a horribly busy month but I have parted ways with my trainer and am currently trying out a few jumping barns much closer to work/home.

Hopefully it won’t take long for me to find one that’s more or less permanent, at least for the foreseeable future but I want to make sure I’m at a place that will properly take me to the next level in my riding journey.

Since these barns are closer to where I’m located, I’m looking at 3 lessons a week, and can squeeze in another, just have to move things around in my schedule first.

[BAC]

I’m glad you sent us an update. There are some good suggestions for barns here, I hope you find one that is a perfect fit. I’m interested to see where you end up.