A Different Type of Gymnastic Exercise: Dynamic Turns

Leo and I had a great lesson with Sally today. At the beginning she asked me if I was having any issues I wanted to work on. I wanted to work on straightness and wouldn't you know Leo was jumping super straight today. Sally said when something is top of mind for the rider, we are more focused on it, and do a better job of correcting the problem before it starts.

She also explained that in order to jump straight - i.e. jump and land on the same line, a couple of things have to happen. First, I have to commit to the line and be disciplined enough to find my line and ride the line for every jump. Second, Leo has to have the strength to use his body equally, which will result in a straighter jump.

This idea of building Leo's strength leads us to gymnastic exercises. Sally explained that a traditional gymnastic - trot into a bunch of fences in a row with varying and very specific distances in between elements is great for the horse, but doesn't really help the horse and rider partnership. With one horse, every jump has to count and if I can build Leo's strength doing exercises that help me practice my riding skills then we're both better off.

This is how the jumps were set up for the lesson:

We gradually worked up to the full turning exercise outlined in blue. I saw an earlier lesson ride the exercise and thought to myself: "oh shit." The turns were tight to say the least. 

After warming up, we broke the exercise down into parts. First we rode orange fence 1 to orange fence 2; then orange 3 to 4. Then we practiced the other side, riding from gray fence 2, left turn to gray fence 1. 

Leo's weaker side is his right / right-lead canter. Turns out we got a better jump and better turn when we approach on his strong side (left lead) and landed on the right lead - even though landing right included a sharp turn. When we approach on the right lead and landed on his left lead, the turn was 10x harder - even though he was on his stronger side through the turn. Sally said the jump in determines the turn, so I'll get a better jump off the left lead which results in an easier turn. This is important rider education for me so I can be more effective when planning and riding my stadium rounds. I know now that when I am riding a course that involves a right-to-left lead turn, I'll need to support even more through the turn out of the fence in order to manage Leo's balance. 

Amazingly, we were able to put together all 4 fences in a serpentine, going in both directions. I was very impressed and Leo was jumping great. I really had to commit to the turns. We started with the orange sequence first (more turns that were easier for Leo) and ended with the blue (which had more turns that were harder for Leo). There were moments when I was like: "Oh shit, I'm not going to make this turn..." but you've just got to make it happen no matter how ugly it feels. It helped to have Sally yelling through each turn: "Look Now!! Tighten your core!!" It helps to have a little piece of Sally in your head! 

Sally said this was a perfect example of a gymnastic exercise (even though it's not what I think of when I think of a gymnastic exercise). The horse has to really sit back on his haunches to make the turns and they are shifting balance so many times, they have to really use their bodies - which builds strength and muscles. But unlike a traditional gymnastic exercise I was able to practice 1) looking through my turns; 2) riding the fence and then reacting quickly to the horse & balance I had on the other side. All of which help me get more comfortable in stadium.

As a side note, she also said to start riding raised cavallettis. They should be set at 3'9". She said it is really quite hard for the horse and is great for building strength. 

Important insight from the night: Ride the distance you see. 

Ride the distance you see and deal with it on the other side of the fence. We won't always get the distance we want, but you can't doubt yourself in front of the fence. It might be a little long or a little short, but you still have to commit to it as a rider (and support your horse through it). Always keep riding.