Learning to jump

[Foxtrot_s]

What I see as a big gap in jumping instruction is instructors who have an eye for equitation. So many of the younger, newer instructors do not have this themselves, yet set themselves up as instructors. George Morris was my go-to all my life. Guard against jumping ahead of the horse with the crotch ahead of the pommel, leg slipping back, ducking, and eyes not looking ahead for next jump, or a jab in the mouth on landing when your butt falls back. Not good enogh for the instructor to just say “good” or “well done”.

Eventers have a form to function seat which is secure…Hunters have a slightly different look. (hate it!)

Get an instructor with a good eye.

[KingRocker4Life]

My instructor has a great eye. And she is an eventer which does help. We both agree that the hunter seat is terrible and she is not young ( mid 20s or so ) or inexperienced as she is nearly 55 with over 20 years of experience teaching and riding.

[jetsmom]

Do some exercises at home to strengthen your core. Look up 7 min synergistic abs. Great 7 min program to strengthen ab muscles. Get some 5 lb weights and do butterflies, shoulder presses. Do planking.
. They will all help your riding immensely.

For riding/jumping just remember heels down, and look up. Don’t force heels down, but relax your weight into your heel.

[gertie06]

Practice your two-point! Literally spend as much time doing it as possible. I see too many beginners (and not beginners, if we’re being honest) who cannot hold their body position while jumping. Luckily, you can practice it at the trot and canter. Heck, you can practice it at the walk! At first, you can use the neck for light support. Once you’ve found your balance, try not to use the neck for support. Finding your balance at the two-point is absolutely critical for jumping.

[MissCoco]

Practicing 2 point is great advice, as is general ab strengthening exercises like planks etc.
This summer I have instituted a rule that every solo ride I do needs to include at least 5 straight minutes of two point, it can be at the walk, trot, or canter, but I have to maintain a solid two point the entire time.
I started out by doing two sets of 2 minutes each with a 30 second break, recently I’ve been doing 2 sets of 3 minutes. It really helped me to stretch the amount of time I was in two point.

I remember reading about a “2-point push-up” in some thread on COTH once, that helped me a lot as well, I couldn’t find the thread, but this article describes it (Fix 9)
https://practicalhorsemanmag.com/training/exercises-to-correct-common-riding-problems

I have only ever tried this at the halt, and find it helpful to have a ground person call me out when I let my heels come up or start leaning forward rather than keeping my center of gravity (aka my butt) back over the saddle, especially the first few times I tried it.

[KingRocker4Life]

thanks. I will try all of that.