This rider pops over a small rail fence and sits up nicely because she knows there's a ditch up ahead
Jumping a log or small rail type fence on cross country is something that most riders take in their stride (or at least in their horses stride). It is the type of fence you will often begin your cross country schooling with on a young horse and usually causes little problem.
Jumping a ditch can be a little more frightening to the horse, (there’s lots of monsters in those deep holes) and because horses will often put in a big leap over a ditch riders can get a little wary coming into a ditch.
This horse really got up in the air in an attempt to avoid the 'monsters'
Jumping a fence after a ditch can also cause problems because if your horse has put in an awkward leap over the ditch he may not get the best take off spot to the following fence. From the riders point of view if you have been worrying about the ditch you might not have given much thought to the following fence and therefore risk a run off.
Add all those three fences above into one complex and you have what is commonly known as a ‘Coffin’ fence. The height, width and depth of all three elements along with the angle of each part to be jumped and the striding in between each element will determine the technicality of the fence and the technicality will depend on the level you are jumping.
This horse and rider looked very focused on the third element of the coffin fence
Generally at the lower level you may be required to jump a log, two strides to a small, not very deep ditch, two strides to another log.
As you move up into the 1* level you can expect a bigger fence in and out with the ditch deeper and wider with less strides in between.
By 3* level you will usually be expected to jumped more than one part of the complex on an angle, which requires a good mixture of boldness and acruracy from both horse and rider and to added to all that the deep ditch may be filled with water!
But let’s move back to look at the simplest coffin fence and how you should tackle it.
It is important that your horse is jumping confidently over ditches before you ask him to tackle a ditch as part of a coffin complex. If he is at all hesitant at ‘holes in the ground’ jumping a fence prior to a ditch is more than likely going to result in a ‘prop and stop’ which has the chance of popping you out the front door.
Take a look this article we did with Chris Burton about jumping ditches
So let’s assume your horse is happy over ditches and go from there.
The approach to any fence is vital and when jumping a combination fence you need to allow your horse time to work out what he is being asked to do while at the same time keeping him going forward to the fence. People often talk about the ‘coffin canter’, which refers to a steady but popping or impulsive canter, one which gives the horse the power and agility to negotiate the fence along the time to see each each part of the combination. Coming in too fast into a coffin complex, which generally happens when the rider is worried about the fence will often result in at best a refusal, simply because the horse hasn’t had time to work out what to do with his legs and at worst a fall, usually from the rider who is still going forward when the horse stops.
This horse puts in a little skip over the ditch but the rider is in a good position to approach the next element
Once you have established your ‘coffin canter’ and your straight approach to the fence make sure that you sit up on that approach. After you have jumped the first element there isn’t much time to get organised for keeping your horse on track over the ditch and you certainly don’t want to be on his neck as you jump the ditch. Once you have allowed your horse to pop (hopefully) over the ditch keep your contact, sit up and ride towards the third element, keeping your horse balanced.
Horse and rider jump the final element of the coffin complex and are looking for their next fence
Now take a look at a few riders who tackled the coffin fence at Yerinberg Horse Trials and we think you'll agree that they all did a great job.
Generally on a well designed course the fence after a coffin complex will be a nice ‘galloping’ single fence. This will allow the horse and rider to ride forward again and restore any confidence issues they may have had at the coffin and if you look at the first video of Will Enzinger you will see that's just what happened on the Yeringberg course.
We hope we've given you a few tips about how to jump a coffin fence successfully and remember if you or your horse suffer a confidence crisis the best idea is to move back to a lower level for a time to restore that confident feeling
Happy Eventing!
Photos: Tazzie Eggins
