My book order came in! There was no 2020 clinic with Jen Hamilton, so I got my hands on the next best thing: her latest book. I really enjoy reading Jim Wofford's essays, and so his book Modern Gymnastics was easy to add to my cart.
If you know what '9-18-21-22' is, let's be friends. Here's what it looks like:
If you know what '9-18-21-22' is, let's be friends. Here's what it looks like:
Jen calls it 'The Cookbook Gymnastic' because it's a good basic structure to teach horses and riders how to jump. The horse can trot in, so the rider doesn't have to use their 'eye' to find a distance and can settle into their jumping position early. The horse will find the correct takeoff spots and comfortably jump each effort, gaining confidence. We all take a turn! Ali on Ehren, Gabe on Ender, me on Ludi:
Even young First goes through this exercise, when it's built much lower and easier for him.
We took Ludi for a lesson with Jeff McKessock at Westar Farm on August 9 and got some much-needed practice jumping courses. On course, your technique must be solid enough that you stop thinking about it and keep moving forward to the next obstacle. Jeff broke my jumping position down: Stand straight up in the stirrups, turn your toes out and keep your lower leg on. Now sit in the saddle and don't change your lower leg. Don't use the reins for balance. Give it a try!
We took Ludi for a lesson with Jeff McKessock at Westar Farm on August 9 and got some much-needed practice jumping courses. On course, your technique must be solid enough that you stop thinking about it and keep moving forward to the next obstacle. Jeff broke my jumping position down: Stand straight up in the stirrups, turn your toes out and keep your lower leg on. Now sit in the saddle and don't change your lower leg. Don't use the reins for balance. Give it a try!
Once he figured out how to jump down the bank, thanks to Jeff, Ludi attacked the course. I realized we'd need to look at putting cleated shoes on him and probably upgrading his bit to a stronger type if we'd like to keep up this training, but it was very fun and we're planning our next visit!
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