My current horse has a massive jump and I’m struggling a little with jumping position on him. I ride most of my course in a light half seat and I don’t have trouble following his motion and staying with him but I’ve noticed my problem on the landing side of fences. I tend to straighten my arms out and sometimes my back will round. Is this just because I’m not letting my horse finish the jump before I pop back up and I should stay in my two point for longer? It doesn’t seem to be really be a problem with my lower legs either because my legs stay the same with my heels down.
It’s core and shoulder strength IME. Think about keeping your should blades back the entire arc of the jump. Make sure you are bending at the hips and not in your lower back.
I tend to have this habit too, sometimes it’s because I pop up too soon, but mostly it’s if I’m not consciously thinking of keeping my shoulder blades back throughout the arc of the jump. What has helped is to use a landing rail and making myself stay in two point over that as well, really focusing on squeezing my shoulder blades together.
Another exercise that helps me is to hold one hand behind my back and jump with bridged reins. You can’t balance on your horses neck in this position, so it makes you use your core.
Another thing you think of is keeping your hips pushed back. Will have the same result as holding your two point longer and not opening up too soon, but is a different way of thinking about it. Just a thought!
Could you please post video? That’d be much easier to review.
For the time being, here’s an exercise. Hold your two point for a stride or two after the jump. You’re not allowed to “pop back up” until you’re away from the fence. It’s a simple exercise, but can be very challenging.
