Right? I know lots of good pros who can’t see anything 8 strides out and would love that ability…
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Exactly! Glad I’m not crazy (at least in this).
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Ha no. I know exactly one non-pro who can do that and she’s only an amateur because she comes from family money so doesn’t need to be a pro.
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And I know good Pros who claim they cant see a perfect distance because there is no such thing. They just make any spot look like it was exactly what they wanted. IMO the “perfect distance” is more managing the canter and riding the jump perfectly from wherever they end up then perception of one perfect take off point.
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Fourth ‘thank you’ here.
How long did it take you to develop the eye for distances?
Like knowing when your going to get bad distance and knowing how to fix it 5 strides out 
My trainer has us learn how to understand pace by counting strides (very common) before jumps. I can do 7 or 8, sometimes more. It isn’t unheard of. I know my horse’s canter incredibly well and if you can do 4 or 5 strides out…6, 7, then 8, can be easy. It just takes an IMMENSE amount of practice. I do not know every single jump 8 strides out typically. But if i am riding a consistent solid canter and a good track, 8 strides out is there for me at times.
I will tell you I am NEVER thinking about the take off spot (“distance”). Ever. I am only thinking about my horses stride and how many strides out I am from meeting the fence. That may mean I meet the fence slightly long (support), slightly short (leg on shoulder back and condense canter) or dead on. But I know I will arrive at some reasonable take off spot X number of strides away, which helps me not get so worried about “the perfect distance” and instead riding and maintaining the canter I have. Sometimes I am wrong and get to 7 instead, or I’m a stride early and get to 9, but I never miss badly because I can tell, oh, oops, not quite 8 away need to add leg and move up to make this work nicely. (Or the converse!) [ETA: I shouldn’t say never, I chipped bad last week because I gunned my horse at a jump and he said wtf lady? Lol]
I will say, when I started with my trainer, counting just 3 strides out was hard
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A little off topic, but I’m curious if there are other riders out there like me - I can reliably get my horses to a good spot, so long as I don’t do silly things, but I have very little concept as to what number of strides I am riding in longer lines. For example, a 7 stride line: I ride in, see that I need to balance or move up, and can do so to make it all work out smoothly. Ask me on landing how many strides I just rode the line in, and I have no idea. I have tried to teach myself to count, but usually forget when I’m concentrating on riding well, or giving the greenies a good experience. I have learned just to establish a good canter and trust that the lines in the hunter ring will ride as they should if I stay consistent. 
The wonderful coach I ship in for lessons with just laughs and says I grew up riding too many ponies by myself, jumping off of my eye. She jokingly calls me her field hunter, although I have only hunted a handful of times, and says I’m irredeemable.
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Me! Except not hunters. I also don’t look or even think about the takeoff spot on the ground (or my body would try to go to there). I’m thinking about a lot of things like balance and impulsion and track and how the horse is feeling, but not that. I admittedly also don’t jump anything high.
