How to Ride Gymnastic Jumps

Getting the Most out of Gymnastic Jumping.

• Step 1:
  To set up a simple grid, place four poles on the ground, spacing them about 3 feet apart. Walk your horse over these poles to get the correct spacing; he should be able to do so comfortably without hitting or skipping any. Once this spacing is correct, move the poles away from each other about 6 more inches, as when your horse trots over the poles, his stride will be a bit longer. As you ride over these, allow you horse to lower his head, so keep a loose rein. His trot will also become more pronounced, forcing your weight up and out of the saddle. Keeping your heels down, your leg on the horse and your seat out of the saddle will help him correctly place his feet and not hit any poles.
• Step 2:
  Add a jump of crossed poles about 18 inches high in the center another stride away from the last pole. This will be the same distance as exists between the poles. As you ride this grid, put your body in what is known as two-point position. This consists of having your heels down, your legs on the horse's sides equally and your seat slightly out of and above the saddle while balancing your hands on the horse's neck. You should be able to ride in two-point position over the poles and over the first jump without falling back down into the saddle or letting you hands come up off the horse's neck.
• Step 3:
  Adding a second jump of the same crossed poles but a little higher will challenge your horse to pick up his feet and be aware of the rider's aides. Set this jump about 6 to 7 feet after the first as this is now a one-stride jump, meaning there is one stride between the jumps. A horse's cantering stride is much longer than his trotting stride, and he most likely canter between fences he is expected to jump. Again, the rider's position is two-point, which means maintaining your center of gravity above the horse's as he jumps. Being able to stay with your horse as he moves will train both you and your horse to be better jumpers.
• Step 4:
  It is possible to add as many jumps as you wish to this grid. They do not need to be high to teach your horse the elasticity he needs to be a good jumper. Proper spacing is more important than height, and your horse's stride will determine this. Some horses naturally have a longer stride than others, and ponies will have a much shorter stride than larger horses. Making your horse do a one-stride, two-stride and a bounce jump (the horse lands and immediately takes off again over a subsequent obstacle) in sucession is a great exercise for mentally challenging your horse to be ready for a competition.
• Step 5:
  To add a two-stride jump, place another set of standards with poles about 12 to 13 feet beyond the last set of jumps. Spacing for a bounce fence is about 3 to 4 feet between obstacles. Practicing these gymnastics improves your horse's flexibility, athleticism, awareness and responsiveness. The rider will benefit as well, learning responsiveness to the horse's motion, and he will be better prepared for jumping over larger obstacles when that phase of training is required. Gymnastics greatly improves the overall balance of both horse and rider.