I hardly ever take lessons so this would be a hard no for me. I also kept my horses at home for most of my life, so jumping alone is something I am used to. However, I don’t try to “challenge” myself particularly if I’m not in a lesson or clinic, or riding with other experienced friends.
A funny aside. The “instructor” at my barn keeps setting up little courses and leaving them. At first I was delighted that someone else was leaving up cute courses for me to jump. But there was never a line of any kind in any of the courses, and the distances from the edge of arena were always terrible. She also always had fences set up so that you couldn’t get from one to another. I finally figured out that she has no idea how to count out strides, so she can’t set up a line, and when she started using milk cartons (empty side up!) as filler, I decided it would really be better if I just set up courses.
My current barn has a policy of no jumping alone for kids under 16, even on their own horses. I think if a parent is watching it’s ok, though…
It would definitely be a deal breaker if it applied to everyone. Before boarding at my current barn I was always at small backyard barns where I used to ride on my own all the time, jumping included. I even built some jumps out on the trails. LOL thinking back, that was probably not a safe thing to do, out in the empty woods on a feisty, young Ottb mare
I rarely take lessons, and when I do it’s almost always dressage lessons to keep my old mare (and old me) supple and strong. Old mare doesn’t do well in jumping lessons. Way too exciting for her. I have to sneak jumps in if I want her to stay calm. In the summer, we play over the xc jumps out in the field. In the winter, we jump whatever is set in the indoor, if it looks like the distances will be fine for her stride.
However, for me, turnout and excellent care is more important than lessons/facilities etc.
Disclaimer: I recognize that a lot of this would be different if the barn I was at didn’t have an incredible pro in-barn. A similar friend who doesn’t ends up jumping outside of lessons quite a bit, and I can also understand why that makes sense if access to instruction is a barrier, financially or practically.
I have no desire to jump outside of lessons. My horse simply doesn’t need to jump more than once every week or two (this is true now that she is established and competing at a reasonably high level, and was true when she was a just-off-the-track baby), and we regularly go without jumping for several months in the off-season. Our barn might have a formal rule that says we can’t jump outside of lessons, but honestly I’ve never cared to investigate (and neither has anyone else that I know of - and we have multiple amateur riders at Prelim-ish). Not a week goes by that we don’t do several days of polework or mix in some cavalettis as we work on our own, but there is no need for me to jump alone.
What I would have a huge problem with is a barn that did not allow riders to hack out alone (I don’t jump on hacks, we just aren’t set up that way). Hacking her by herself is a critical part of my mare’s weekly schedule, for both of our mental health but also to promote her confidence in herself and where she puts her feet, and her general sense of independence. I want her to come out of the start box looking for the next adventure, not stunned that she’s suddenly outside four walls. We also do our fitness work alone and out on certain trails, including canter sets. I take reasonable safety precautions like making sure other people are around the barn when I go out, and I carry a phone. But hacking and fitness outside of the arena would be far more non-negotiable for me than jumping outside a lesson in terms of ensuring I can train productively to meet my goals.
…and since it’s come up, I’m also perfectly capable of warming myself and my horse up to go jump our round at a show (we probably only have warm-up assistance 25% of the time, if the scheduling happens to be lucky). Our lessons prepare us for what we need to do, including thinking for ourselves.
I have a jump in lesson only policy. The horses jump 2-3 times a week in lesson in my program. They only have so many jump tickets and most people should not school without instruction. Just the facts, I really feel for the horses. These folks want to practice jumping without the pressure of the coach watching but i am the horses advocate, don’t like it choose another program~
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