Jumping exercises for small arenas

Jumping exercises for small arenas

We’ve had loads of requests for jumping exercises for small arenas. So this is another exercise for those of you that have a small arena. It was filmed in the usual arena which isn’t huge but it isn’t tiny either. However, the exercise should comfortably fit in a dressage-sized arena. So it starts off with a testing little gymnastic, so stay small here, and then moves onto a nice little track with a few related distances, a tricky turn, and ends off with a nice juicy triple bar.

Jumping exercises for small arenas can be quite tricky to get a one size fits all type of exercise. So feel free to add or remove a stride in the related distances to suit your arena a little better. You can also take out jump four as shown in the course plan below. The video to this exercise also better describes this. So be sure you watch the video as well.

How to set it up

This is not a super complicated setup, however, I always think it’s much better to just lay the poles out first, to make sure that you can get a good approach to all the jumps, and that your turns are as smooth as you can possibly get them, and lastly to double-check all your related distances before you actually build the jumps.
Jump 1
So let’s start with the gymnastic down the top long side of your arena. These are the measurements. So from the first vertical to the first oxer it walks 7 paces for one stride. Then from the oxer to the second vertical it also walks 7 paces for the one stride. And from the second vertical to the last oxer it walks 10 and a half paces for 2 strides. And then the placing poles are 3 and a half paces from the jumps and from each other.
Jump 2 and 3
Then you set up this related distance on a curve vertical to oxer. It walks 28 paces for six strides on a curve.
Jump 5
You then setup this oxer 20 paces away from the vertical you just set up, for a four stride related distance.
Jump 4
And to complete the line, you set this vertical up at an angle like this so that you can ride a five stride related distance on a curve to the oxer. The distance walks 24 paces for the five strides.
Jump 7
And finally you set up a nice triple bar at an angle like this.

I know some of you have really small arenas, so if the line down the bottom of the arena doesn’t fit in that well, you can leave out Jump. And maybe make the related distance between 5 and 6 a five stride related distance.

Some of our latest exercises:

• Exercises for horse riding
• British show jumpers
• Ludger Beerbaum
• Daniel Deusser
• Harrie Smolders

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