MAKE A GYMNAST OF YOUR HORSE!

Having a horse that is agile enough to jump combinations and road crossings is key to team chasing success, says Yvonne Goss, Fox Grant team boss and multiple national championship winner.

“You need to be confident that your horse can jump out if you come to a standstill or to pop in or bounce if the distance in a road crossing is not an exact stride.”

Yvonne trains her own horse Charlie – a former racehorse - using gymnastic jumping and says:

“It’s also good for giving them variety and keeping them supple, much better than just jumping a course of show jumps.”

You don’t need many poles and wings for effective gymnastic jumping – enough for four uprights in a line plus another set is plenty.

“You can place the four fences in a line, slightly offset from each other to gradually jump from the left to the right as you go from fence one to four in a straight line,” she suggests. “This helps you ‘read’ the fence and build trust with the horse. Also, the horse learns to get out of trouble if you make a mistake coming into a solid fence by jumping further along.”

Yvonne suggests starting with poles on the floor to get your line and then gradually building up the height of the fences.

“Put the first one up as a fence, then the second and so on.”

She adds that the exercise should be ridden at an active, but controlled canter.

“The rider’s job is to keep the horse balanced and straight, but I have a relatively long rein so that the horse can make his own decision if it goes wrong.”

“You can also jump the fences on a straight line from an angled approach, looking at the second as you approach the first to get your line. Do this off both reins; it will give you confidence that you can jump on an angle; keep your leg on and aim to pop through.”

You can also add a separate fence on an offset line to the grid and pop this before jumping one or two of the elements.

“You can make this a ‘skinny’ with narrow poles or a filler to test accuracy further.”

Yvonne says that the variations are endless and that Charlie loves to ‘play’, whether it is to keep him fresh in the middle of the season or as a preparation in the latter stages of fitness work.

“It’s brilliant for ex-racehorses which need to develop their agility, but most horses enjoy a bit of gymnastic jumping!”

“And if you haven’t got a suitable arena, join together with some friends and hire somewhere; it’s not expensive if there are a few of you and you can pay someone to pole pick for you.”