52 ways to make your dressage marks rise
Instinct and quick decisions are key to successful jumping. Four-time Olympian Eric Smiley shares the simple exercise that will help you go clear every time
THINGS HAPPEN QUICKLY when you’re jumping, and instinct plays a major role in pulling off a clear round. But instinctive reactions don’t always happen correctly, says four-star event rider, Eric Smiley, if you haven’t trained your brain to act quickly. Eric explains that circles are the foundation of everything we do on a horse. “Cross-country lines are often curved, with fences off circles,” he says. “Showjumping courses are more creative now too, with curves, loops and rollbacks, so we need to be experts at riding these sorts of lines.”
EXERCISE 1: Test yourself with tramlines
Set up two poles parallel to each other, with space to ride in between – this is your tramline, marked (a) on the diagram. Place another tramline (b) further around the 20m circle on a curving line. Canter through the poles and ask yourself the following: Is the canter forward and taking you, or are you having to push? This doesn’t mean an excited or spooking horse running away with you. He should feel active and in front of your leg, but listening to your aids. Is the rhythm regular? The canter should stay the same the whole way round. Are you straight between the poles? If you’re not holding a straight line here, you will have problems riding to a fence as you progress. Canter between the poles on both reins equally.
THE NEXT STEP
Add a pole at the end of the first tramline (a) so that you have to canter over it. “We do this because we want the horse to start looking and thinking about where his feet are,” says Eric. Your horse will be surprised to see the
pole at first. Then you should notice he starts to look for the pole around the corner. He will look earlier and take off closer to the pole the more you do the exercise. “Repetition of a simple task like this helps a horse to understand,” explains Eric. “They are buying into the process of looking for a jump. As riders, we’re quick to tell horses where to arrive at a fence, but we shouldn’t be. If you’re keeping the canter forward, straight, and the rhythm regular, thinking about where their feet are is the horse’s responsibility.”
EXERCISE 2: Let the horse work it out
Build a small upright on the next quarter of the circle (c) so that you jump it after cantering between tramlines (a) and (b). “The rider’s job is the circle, line and regularity of the canter – nothing more,” says Eric. “As horses learn what’s going on and where they need to be, they start to think and look ahead.” You should nurture forwardness around the circle. It is tempting to kick or pull in order to alter the point of take-off, but you mustn’t – that is the horse’s job and working it out is the only way he will learn. “If a horse knows it’s his decision, they begin to work out what they need to do. They look where they’re going and think about what might be at the end – they learn to solve problems.” A nippy horse might take several gos to realise he needs to look and think about where his feet are. It’s difficult, but you, as the rider, need to sit still and allow him to work it out. He can only do that though, if you haven’t altered the canter. “Eventually he’ll say ‘Oh, is that all you want me to do?’ and relax,” adds Eric. You should ride this in reverse too, so that the upright comes before the tramlines, testing your ability to hold a line.
THE NEXT STAGE
Turn the first tramline (a) into a small upright, so that you have two uprights on either side of a semi-circle. Still pass through the tramline in the middle. “Don’t ask for a stride,” reminds Eric. “Sit still, let the horse make a decision and support it. Manage the speed and make the exercise happen. If you change the canter it’s unfair on the horse because they’re trying to look and assess.” As you and your horse become confident, build up to four uprights, one on each quarter of the circle. The key is repetition. “Eventually, because you are being methodical, the horse can canter, jump, canter, jump – it’s mechanical,” says Eric.