Story by Emma Mason and Photos by Ann-Maree Lourey & Julie Wilson
You’ve performed a classy dressage test and produced a solid clear round across country. There’s just one thing that lies between you and victory – the often-dreaded showjumping phase. But this minute or so of nail-biting intensity – in which a competition is won or lost – needn’t be a terrifying experience. While there is no magic formula for producing a winning round, an accurate and thoughtful preparation in the weeks and months beforehand will secure your best possible performance in that crucial 3rd phase of an event is optimum. This month, we’ll discuss those factors that will influence your ability to leave those coloured poles standing when it matters most…
Training
It’s important to consider the age, experience and confidence of your horse when designing a schooling program: The older 3-star horse that has ‘been there and done that,’ to use the common adage, will have different issues to the youngster, and your jump training should reflect that.
The young horse
If I’m riding something that’s a bit green or spooky, I like to jump “little, but often,” meaning I’ll aim to give the horse some sort of exposure to showjumps – even if it’s just poles on the ground – every couple of days. I like to school an exercise that involves 2 poles, perhaps 6 strides apart. I’ll begin by just cantering on through in the conventional 6 strides (the counting begins after the horse has landed over the first pole), concentrating on having the horse absolutely straight – this is harder than it sounds – and the strides even. Ideally, I want him reaching softly for the bit, with his neck down. When he’s comfortable with the exercise, I then want to be able to adjust the stride length: I’ll start coming through in 7 strides, which means I have to shorten the canter. It’s critical that the strides are even – 4 long strides followed by 3 choking ones defeats the purpose of the exercise! Also, you want to establish the stride length early – well before you reach the first pole – and again, you’d like the horse to remain soft and round. As he becomes more advanced, I’ll challenge myself to fit in 8 or even 9 strides. And don’t forget the other end of the ‘canter spectrum’ – lengthening the stride. Once again, establish the bigger canter early so that you’re not chasing the horse between the poles, and try for 5 nice, even strides. What I like about this exercise is that it helps to improve your eye for a distance without the wear and tear on the horses legs that repeated jumping will cause. It also is beneficial for your flatwork, as it gives you a very truthful reflection of your ability to adjust your horse’s canter stride – often in the dressage arena, it’s easy to be fooled into thinking we’ve effectively shortened or lengthened. The presence of poles soon brings us back to reality!
With the younger horse, while I’m definitely interested in gymnastic work, such as grids, to encourage good technique, I also want train over small courses, getting him used to general idea, and helping him to become confident travelling between the fences.
The experienced horse
The more experienced horse is no stranger to bright poles or jumping around a course, so the focus of your training at home will be more technical. In fact, a chat with Wendy Schaeffer revealed that this eventer, who is renowned for her high standards in the showjumping phase, works by the general principle that the more experienced the horse, the more gymnastic work it performs. Wendy is coached by Jamie Coman, and has also attended clinics with Gilbert Boeckmann: From these trainers, she has drawn (among other things) the idea of ‘jumping dressage’, rather than simply jumping – in other words, the way the horse travels and his frame coming in to each fence are very significant.
Try to think carefully about the strengths and weaknesses of each horse, and let this guide your jump schooling. If possible, it is highly beneficial to call on the expertise of a coach, as he or she can help you to identify the areas that need the most attention, and design appropriate grids and exercises. As an example, my 2-star horse, Angelina Ballerina, is a nice jumper but a little hot, and has a tendency to come against the hand 2-3 strides in front of a fence. Therefore, my lessons on this horse (I’m also coached by Jamie) include lots of canter work, with the focus on shortening and lengthening the stride with her staying soft and round. Angelina can at times ‘switch off’ and drop behind the leg between fences, which results in a sudden ‘bid’ at a jump when she finally spots it, so we’re always concentrating on keeping her active and in front of the leg through the turns, drawing forward into the hand. Approaching fences off short turns is also an exercise we use to encourage her to keep her focus even when a fence is not immediately in front of her.
In contrast, my advanced horse, Pharinelli, is a little spooky and can get tight behind over his fences. As a result, we’ll school a variety of exercises with me riding in a light 2-point seat. I hate it, as it’s both tiring and makes me feel really un-co, but it encourages the horse to soften over his back. Jamie also stresses the importance of not finishing the jump too early with my position, especially on this particular horse – in other words, while for cross country we’re used to adopting a defensive seat, bringing our upper body back asap, this technique in the showjump arena can sometimes discourage a horse from freeing up his back end.
Certainly, the influence a rider’s position can have on the way a horse jumps has been a real eye-opener to me, and is another reason a coach is very useful: Common habits such as ducking your upper body, looking down over a fence, and not releasing enough can all have a profound affect on your horse’s jump, and are difficult to address without someone shouting at you from the ground!
Showjumping competitions
When a weekend rolls around with no eventing competition scheduled, resist the temptation to enjoy a sleep-in and Sunday brunch, and take your horses out showjumping! This opportunity comes up almost every weekend, whether its height classes at an agricultural show, or your local showjumping club. While the very thought of all the waiting around, and the squabbles over who is following who into the ring, make these competitions most unappealing to the event rider, the importance of exposure to the competition arena cannot be stressed enough: It is one thing to ride beautifully at home and in lessons, another altogether to produce the same performance in an atmosphere of hype and pressure, in front of spectators and fellow riders.
Try to force yourself out of your ‘comfort zone’ at these days, and ride at a height above what you are required to compete at in your eventing competitions. Your confidence in the showjumping phase of a One-Day or Three-Day event will depend largely on how comfortable you are jumping fences of the height required for your grade: Knowing that you’ve jumped bigger tracks in the past is a key factor in determining this degree of comfort.
Wendy, as I learned in our recent discussion, shares a similar opinion of the value of these showjumping competitions, and particularly of the advantages of jumping higher classes. Her reasoning is that, with the Olympic format now encompassing not one but two rounds of showjumping, selection onto the eventing team will be very much influenced by a horse and riders’ performance in this phase. Thus, Wendy makes sure she is very comfortable jumping a 4-star track, and achieves this by frequently jumping 1.4m classes and even – impressively – World Cup tracks. Using this formula makes the ‘eventing’ showjumping suddenly seem very do-able!
At the Event
Walk your showjumping course carefully, making a clear note of the start and finish flags – they’re not always in an obvious position, and plan your warm-up lap. You have 45 seconds to pass through the start once the bell has rung, so use the time to your advantage: If I’m on a spooky horse, I’ll try to let him take in as much of the ring as possible before I canter through the start. A sluggish horse might need to be ridden really forward and open in that initial lap. Look out for opportunities to save a second or two on the course, such as riding a tighter turn, and in the case of a related line, where the distance may not be conventional, try to make a decision – based on your particular horse – as to how many strides you’ll take. If possible, I like to watch the first few horses jump, to see how certain lines are riding, and this may cause me to revise an earlier decision.
Arrange for a helper in the warm-up area – it is frustrating, and a waste of your hard work in the lead-up to the event, if you aren’t able to warm-up in a way that will produce your horse’s best performance in the ring. Chris Burton, in the August 2007 issue of THM, provided some excellent advice for warming up the event horse, and rather than repeat his words, I’d encourage you to read his article.
When it’s your turn in the ring, your heart will most likely be pounding, and your lips dry! Possibly, you’ll feel as though you might be sick. Try not to let this distract you – when you’re nervous, your senses are actually heightened and your reactions improved, which enhances your performance. If you’ve done the miles in your training, and had plenty of experience in the ring at showjumping days, you can be very confident – and rightfully so – in your ability to produce a good round.
And so we reach the end of this 3-part eventing series – I really hope that, at some point in your eventing careers, at least one of the hints or suggestions will come in handy!
A big thank-you, also, to everyone who has responded with positive feedback thus far. Good luck and happy riding!
Em xo