Warren Lamperd is an Australian eventing rider based at White Hart Stables in the UK. He has a UK Coaching Council Level III qualification, with both British Showjumping and British Eventing and an MSc in Coaching Science; in this article he takes a look at some of the things to consider when training eventing horses for the show jumping phase
One of the most important thing to remember with Show Jumping for Eventing is that all you have to do is jump a clear round inside the time allowed. As you move up through the grades the height increases, the speed the course is measured at increases and the technicality of the course questions will develop but the principle is still the same. This article reflects the way I think about jumping clear rounds.
Presenting the horse to the fence
In its essence you create a quality balanced canter at the right tempo, this gives the horse the best chance of jumping, and you concentrate on riding good lines and presenting the horse to the fence in a way that it can gauge the stride pattern it requires to jump the fence. Remember the horse jumps the fence so it has to understand the question and be allowed to jump without hindrance. What we do as riders is agree or disagree with the horses’ interpretation of the fence and alter the canter accordingly. We’re the ones that walk the course so we know what is around the corner and what we need for that.
Research shows that a horses centre of mass, the bit in the middle or balance point of the horse, doesn’t have to get higher in order for most horses to jump up to about 1.10m. Effectively the horse will lift its front end and then its back end and, as long as its speed is right, it should get over the fence. Above this the horse has collect the stride to sit more onto the hocks in order to propel itself up into the air. The faster the horse is travelling with a more open stride the harder this is.
The show jump course is designed around a twelve-foot stride pattern, generally four of our strides, with six feet allowed for take-off and six foot for the landing. As a rider if you can generate a quality canter with a twelve-foot stride pattern you should be able to just canter around and jump the course. Any related distances will be a multiple of this pattern and with the right canter then you shouldn’t have to do much. It’s when we start trying to help or control that things often start to deteriorate. Horses are incredibly forgiving and will generally find ways to accommodate our attempts to help.
Understand what is happening
What many riders are able to do, particularly at lower levels, as a result is go to a fence on an increasing stride length and increasing speed, creating momentum, in order to get from one side to the other. You will see the rider, and often the horse, waiting on a line or drifting a corner to make space and then increasing to the fence. The take-off spot will often move away from the fence in order for the horse to jump with a flatter trajectory.
You can ride like this and the technique will involve a stronger bit to act as a brake and possibly a shorter martingale to keep the head down. Many people ride like this and have much success. Effectively the horse's back and stride stay fairly flat and it works off adjusting the horses speed as opposed to the stride quality. Because the horse accelerates off the ground the rider has to move forwards earlier with the shoulder. If the horse decides to chip in then the rider is left in front of the movement, often up the neck. If a horse is stopping you have to evaluate why it is and often it comes down to the factors described above and the horse just saying I can’t do it anymore or knows when it can’t. It’s a shame when you see a horse being disciplined for this behaviour when the reality is the rider needs to understand what is happening more.
A well trained and confident horse will, just like a dressage horse, have the ability to shorten its stride by waiting onto the hind leg or lengthen pushing forward from the hind. A horse getting faster will go through the front and get longer and leave the hind leg behind. What we want to do in training is help the horse understand how to use its body, develop the elasticity and strength required, and improve the quality of communication between the horse and the rider.
The quality of the canter relies on the lifting and stepping through of the hind leg
In essence create the canter, keep your balance over your foot (so the horse can trust you) and learn trust the horse. Horses that don’t trust their or the riders balance will restrict the canter and the jump. Sometimes we have to help the horse by showing them what we want. I do a lot of work with poles to help the horses bend and reach with their legs. The quality of the canter relies on the lifting and stepping through of the hind leg, as indeed does the jump. As the horse develops it learns to balance onto this hind leg getting stronger and more powerful over time.
Using pole work
I do a lot of work with poles for my horses and for my students to give a reference point to the quality of the canter before I start jumping too much. I initially use two poles about ten feet apart. If the canter is suitable the horse should be able to just canter through these. If there is a problem with the canter the horse will not have a problem with the first pole but hit the second. If the horse lifts through the head over the first pole it will jump through the front end and leave the hind leg which will then not jump into the distance well enough and the horse will catch the second pole. As this starts to work I will incorporate a third pole again on a ten foot distance. The horse learns that it needs to jump the hind leg into the distance over time which helps it understand itself and the mechanics of jumping better.
I will then increase the canter to a medium canter on approach and then ask the horse to control the canter in front of the poles. If it comes against the hand it will catch the pole with the leg. I find this is a good way of getting the legs to bend and reach which will then help the horse soften the jaw and let go of the bit.
I also like approaching the poles in walk and then ask for canter a stride or two from the poles. Again if the horse lifts its head and comes against the hand in the transition then it will leave the hind leg away into the poles. Over time I find horses learn that they need to step into the transition from the hind leg in order to accommodate the poles which builds the quality of the canter.
I also use pole on the diagonal line close to the corner so that if a horse drops the shoulder on the turn and steps short behind it will have trouble with the poles. Again the horse learns to move the hind leg out of the corner and come to the fence with a better canter so doesn’t need to run.
I will then also use two poles ten feet apart then a four or five stride distance to another two poles on ten feet. The two poles activate the canter and then I add a stride in the line so do five or six strides, and then move them up to the true striding. I will take a yard out of the distance as I’m not jumping and it makes the distance work better. If the horse goes faster and leaves the hind leg rather than increasing the stride length it will struggle with the second lot of poles. Equally if it comes against the hand when adding strides it will struggle with the second lot of poles. If it goes wrong then you’re not going to end up buried in a fence. As the horse understands more about itself and what you’re asking for then you can build the complexity of the questions.
Remember if you give the horse the canter then it will deal with the fences.
Article by Warren Lamperd
Read Warren Lamperd's article The Equine Athlete Fitness Programme
