Fred Bergendorff, Swedish eventing team head coach:
Apply some simple principles and watch your jumping technique improve. Showjumping coach Fred Bergendorff shows you how
Jumping your horse should be fun for both of you. Follow my simple principles and you’ll soon find his jumping technique improves and your confidence soars. Jumping a course will be easy.
JUMPING SHOULD BE fun for both you and your horse. It adds variety to your horse’s work and it encourages him to use different muscles.
It’s really important to make riding safe and secure — it doesn’t matter how experienced you are, that should always be your focus. This was the topic covered by British Showjumping coach Fred Bergendorff at Your Horse Live last November.
In his demo, Fred explained that his training structure is based on three key areas that he believes will help all horses and riders, whatever level they are at. These areas are:
Seat and position.
The right structure to use when working on the flat.
The safe way to get around a course of fences.
“Follow my simple structure and you’ll soon start to see an improvement in your horse’s jump, making jumping more fun for both of you,” says Fred. He goes on to explain that it’s important to work on each of the elements in turn and only move on to the next one when you’re ready.
1 SEAT AND POSITION
It’s important to assess and correct your position in the saddle before you move off and start jumping.
“If you can’t sit well, you won’t communicate with your horse well,” says Fred. “As part of your warm up, take a few minutes to run through my position checklist.”
Sit in the middle of your saddle in all paces.
Ride with an upright upper body. Have a secure lower leg position — your stirrup leathers should hang straight. Your knees should be relaxed — not pinching your saddle — and your heel should be lower than your toe.
Your arms should be relaxed, with a straight line from your elbow to the bit.
It takes time to perfect your position and this is an area of your riding that takes constant focus, whether you’re riding on the flat or over fences. For you to be effective and as safe as possible, however, you need to make your position in the saddle as good as possible.
2 WAY OF GOING ON THE FLAT
Working your horse well on the flat is fundamental to improving his jump. Fred focuses his flatwork on a number of the scales of training, which will help with your jumping. Working on improving rhythm, suppleness and contact will all help to make jumping so much easier for both of you.
Rhythm and suppleness
The first thing to look at is whether your horse is going in a good, consistent rhythm. To help develop a better rhythm you can work your horse over poles.
“I use a lot of polework during my warm up,” explains Fred. “Working your horse over poles on the floor in trot and canter will also help to build muscle, use his entire body and improve his suppleness.”
Staying connected
Riding with a good connection is also key. Your horse has to be in front of your leg and into your hand.
“If you don’t have a steady contact, it’s like trying to talk to someone on your phone when you’ve got a bad reception — it’s hard to understand the conversation,” explains Fred. “This is the same for you and your horse if you don’t ride with a steady and consistent contact — your communication won’t be as clear.”