Grid work for horses are something you can never really do too much of. As long as there’s an element that will improve your skills as a rider. Too many people set up a gymnastic line and feel like they have accomplished something by trotting the horse into it and ending off with a big jump.
By doing this you are only really working on your horse’s skills, and not improving your own skill as a rider. So I like to include a track or at least a few jumps after the gymnastic so that I can sharpen up my skills as well. This exercise does just that.
Be sure to watch the video. I’ll give you detailed instructions on how to set this line jumping exercise up. I’ll show you how to ride it. And I talk about the pressure point you may encounter and how best to negotiate them.
This is an excellent all-around exercise. Part of it will work on your horse’s jumping technique. The other part is focused on developing a little finesse in riding a precise line to a jump. And sharpen your skills at riding a related distance on a curve well. So it works on the horse and the rider.
So remember, always share your showjumping training ideas, because what goes around, comes around.
Setup
Alright, so this is how you set this exercise up:
Gynmastic/Line (Jump 1 and 4) On the one side of your arena, set up your first vertical. Quite close to the end, bearing in mind you need to set up quite a long line here. You also need to make sure it’s in the center of your arena as well. Then 3 paces from the first vertical you set up another vertical to make a bounce. Following that you set up an oxer, 7 paces away, which will ride one stride. Next, 20 paces away you set up another vertical, this will ride 4 strides. And to complete the line, 8 paces away, you set up another vertical, to make a double of verticals. Jump 2 and 3 You then set up jump 2, a vertical at an angle in order to build a related distance on a curve to jump 3, an oxer. I find the best way is to build these two jumps simultaneously. That way you can move the poles around to get the line just right before you actually construct the jumps. So it’s 32 paces on the curve, which will ride 7 strides. Jump 5 and 6 Then, as if to mirror what you did on the one side you build another related distance on a curve. This time you start with an oxer, jump 5, to a vertical, jump 6. And this time instead of 7 strides you make it 6 strides, so it will walk 28 paces.
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So that’s our showjumping training tip for this week. You are also most welcome to join our Facebook group. We are a group of like-minded showjumpers from around the world. We all want to become the best showjumpers we can be. You can post videos and get feedback from the other riders, including myself. JOIN OUR FACEBOOK GROUP
