Training Showjumpers Training up to 1.40m In her 33-year career as a top showjumper, Gonda Betrix has garnered enough awards and titles to fill a book. Here she shares the basis of her philosophy for training showjumpers, follow-up to her article in the November issue of Sporting Horse. (Don’t miss the next issue of the magazine, where Gonda will discuss introducing your horse to a water jump and working your horse over poles on the ground.)
Gonda Betrix
Gonda on Watchfire. A few strides before a jump, showing focus connection and a beautiful seat and leg position.
Once a horse reaches the 1.20m classes he is hopefully on his way to 1.40m / 1.50m. From 1.30m onwards the courses become progressively more difficult. The jumps will be higher and wider, the related distances between them will differ and the angle of approach will vary, making them far more technical. The flat work exercises described here are exercises that I recommend to ensure that your horse is able to cope with the demands of more technical tracks.
Flat Work Recommended For The Horse Jumping Up To 1.40m To recap: While in the 1.10m classes the horse became established in his basic schooling. He was working on the bit, leg yielding, coping with travers and making smooth transitions up and down. He also learnt to canter forward in a calm and balanced manner. Flying Changes At this stage I expect the horse to be able to do an accurate and smooth flying change. My suggestion is you teach the flying changes by building on from the simple change. • Once settled into the canter, change rein diagonally across the school from, say, K to M, and as you approach X, ask for a trot for several strides. Progressively reduce the number of trot strides until the horse is coming back to one stride of trot, then strike off into canter on the opposite leg. An alternative option is to use the long side of the school with a half loop in a corner as described below. Following on from the above: • Canter, on the correct leg, up the long side of the school. In or just before the corner make a half loop back to the long side so that you are in counter-canter. See Figure 1. A couple of strides prior to meeting the wall of the school, bend your horse in the new direction – do not allow him to fall to the inside! – and ask for the flying change by giving him a squeeze or a small kick with your outside leg. The aid is virtually the same as the strike off into canter. When he changes leg, reward him.
In most cases I start this exercise with a pole on the ground. Put a pole down at an angle to the long side of the school. See Figure 2. Canter, on the correct leg, up the long side of the school. In or before the corner, make a half loop back to the long side so that you are in counter-canter as you approach the pole. The horse is likely to jump over the pole so, a split second before he does, apply your aid (as described above) thus asking for the flying change.The small jump he makes over the pole will become the flying change. Very soon you will be able to dispense with the pole altogether. I sometimes recommend the use of draw reins or an elastic neck stretcher for this exercise in the beginning to prevent the horse running away from the leg and hollowing his back.
Figure 1
WHAT DO THE ‘’GREATS’’ HAVE IN COMMON? By Chad Cunningham To fall into the category of ‘GREAT’ in any equestrian discipline, one must first of all be a good horseman. And the first mark of horsemanship is a love of horses. Different horsemen feel or express their love for horses differently. I love, respect and sympathise with the horse, yet it is not the same cuddly emotion that I feel for my dogs. Often the greatest riders and trainers are firm and strict with their horses – tough love! One cannot reach greatness in our sport, or any other, without a certain degree of innate talent. Most people in the horse business can become good, but not great. They just do not have enough talent, physically, mentally or emotionally. I’m not saying that someone has to have talent of genius proportion to become great, but they do have to possess enough. That innate talent is what we call aptitude. Aptitude and attitude are entirely different. Aptitude has to do with talent; attitude has to do with desire, perseverance, heart, consistency and work ethic. I would imagine any trainer would take attitude over aptitude. We all know of extremely talented horse people who never got very far. All the greats I’ve seen over the past 20 years have had a burning desire. They eat, sleep and drink horses. They are obsessed and possessed, and because of this desire they have an incredible work ethic. They simply work harder than others.
Figure 2 (Half loop, with pole)
(Across the diagonal with pole)
It is very important in flying change work to keep the horse straight, not allowing him to fall to the inside (of the new direction) or swing his hindquarters to the outside, as most often this will result in him dis-uniting (behind). Do remember that some horses offer the flying change with virtually no encouragement, while others need to be taught! Unless the horse is exceptionally well balanced, be careful not to ask for too much collection in this exercise at first. Problem Solving the Flying Change A tap with a schooling whip behind the saddle on the outside will often help to make a horse change leg, BUT in some cases the horse may start to run away from the whip. So, this artificial aid MUST be used sparingly, if at all.
The greats, in order to win classes, must have an eye for a good horse. Without this, they’ll perhaps be great caretakers or good riders, teachers and trainers – but they’ll never really make it in the show ring. In our business, the horse makes the man (or woman) as much as the other way around. The real greats of an era, almost without exception, were great caretakers or they surrounded themselves with great caretakers, veterinarians and farriers. Gonda Beatrix, one of the greatest showjumpers of all time, comes to mind. She and her horses were always perfectly turned out going into the ring. It’s the same with Anneli Wucherpfennig,
Stretching at Trot and Canter and Barry Taylor and Ronnie Lawrence’s horses always look their best at a show. Dominey Alexander, Rogan Asken and Gail Foxcroft take care of their horses in a traditional yet modern way. These great riders take note of new trends and techniques in stable management, enabling them to stay at the top of their game. We’re all individuals, which means we interpret things in our own way. Gonda Beatrix and Anneli Wucherpfennig were totally different in their philosophies and methodologies, yet they were both winners at the highest level. The important lesson is: have a system, believe in a system and stick to a system. Let the system work for you. Don’t change all the time. Every great rider I’ve known had faith – an unshakable faith – in their system. And no matter what the system, it ended up working.
The horse jumping 1.20m should be able to trot and canter on a long rein during his work programme. This exercise will encourage the horse to stretch his head and neck down in trot and canter, remaining on the bit. This work is excellent for the horse’s back. While stretching, ensure that both the trot and the canter have long, slow steps – not short and hurried. Shoulder-In Another useful exercise is the shoulder-in (at sitting trot) on the straight or on a 20m circle. This exercise helps to supple up the horse. • I personally prefer to do shoulder-in on the circle. Do two circles of shoulder-in and then one circle with no shoulder-in to give the horse a breather before repeating the exercise. Do this a few times on each rein, working towards making a figure of eight of the exercise. The shoulder-in is a three-track movement, thus, for example, on the left rein the near-hind should follow in the track of the off-fore. The near-fore and the off-hind will be on their own track. See Figure 3. • When riding shoulder-in use a combination of your inside leg and hand. Use your leg just behind the girth and with your hand ask for a moderate inside bend. Don not just turn the horse’s head inwards! Support your horse with your outside leg and rein. Make sure you do not stop or impede the forward movement! The horse must step forward and across with his inside hind leg.
Some horses just jump better for some people than others. Peter Gotz, Barry Taylor and Jonathan Clarke could and do get mediocre horses jumping well. All the greats get horses jumping better and consistently cleaner, than other riders. Only great riders feel a quality jump on a consistent basis. The greats know when, where and how much to show their horses. We don’t see enough intelligent showjumpers in South Africa today. People are always asking how to get to the top. Foremost, it’s sacrifice! A single-minded obsession is a prerequisite. Self-discipline goes without saying and you can’t underestimate attention to detail. The big things are obvious and easy – it’s the little things that make all the difference. Unfortunately, putting it all together is very tough! That is why when a great one crosses your path, prick your ears and pay attention. It is a rare privilege to watch and bask in their light. May we always have THE GREATS to show us the way!
Figure 3 I feel one can demand a lot more from the horse jumping 1.30m. The horse should be executing the flat work exercises described above smoothly. They are an excellent test of whether he is working correctly and, if he is, they will help him reach the pinnacle of his showjumping ability. When the horse has finished his flat work he must walk on a loose rein, i.e. on the buckle. In fact, I encourage my pupils at the end of a jumping session to trot on a long or loose rein for at least a few minutes. After a competition round, go back to the warm-up arena and do as described above. This is a particularly useful exercise for hot or uptight horses.
Jumping Exercises Recommended For The Horse Jumping 1.30m • Jump a figure of eight over a vertical at an angle. The height of the jump should be determined by the ability, temperament and experience of the horse. Jumping a horse at an angle prepares him for the type of approach needed in a jump-off. It also makes a horse that tends to rush his jumps settle and has the added benefit of helping horses that are slow in front tighten their knees. For the latter, use a steep cross but do not ride the angle too severely! • Build a line as shown in Figure 4. Again the height and distance should be set according to the horse’s ability, temperament and experience. In this jumping exercise the concentration of the rider, the straightness of the horse and the correct leading leg after each jump are important. The rider must focus NOT on the whole jump picture but rather on the middle 50 cm of the fence. That is, the middle of the top pole of a vertical, the middle of the top, front pole of an oxer and the middle of the front pole of any staircase fence, e.g. a triple bar, even though it is the lowest pole of the fence. This rider eye focus applies, in fact to all fences! • A different exercise would be to build a dog’s leg as per Figure 5, with four to six strides between the jumps. When walking or riding a dog’s leg line, walk/ride the smooth, most obvious curve between each jump. Remember that the approach to the first fence will determine how the rest of the line rides. A bad approach will result in a bad ride through the line. Either of the lines can be a combination of any type of jump, though the figures show the jumps as a vertical, oxer then vertical.
Figure 4
The only way to achieve the desired result is repetition, correction and patience – but give the horse frequent breaks!
Gonda on Watchfire coming down thw Derby bank, showing wonderful balance and style, ready for the verticle of planks.
Figure 5
It is fairly simple to put a work routine together – the hard bit is sticking to it and doing something when you don’t really feel like it! Keeping The Showjumper In Tune A horse’s flat work should be designed to keep him supple and to remind him of what he has learnt in the past few years. Also remember that horses, as well as riders, pick up bad habits without really knowing they have done so and these bad habits must be sorted out at home in your work. You don’t need to keep teaching him as such – you just need to eradicate any bad habits (of both horse and rider!) that creep in. In addition, the horse must be managed well in terms of feeding, shoeing and veterinary needs. I generally advise that horses are worked six days a week – a mix of flat work, jumping and hacking. Some horses respond to flat work and jumping schooling quicker than others. In such cases, don’t bore your horse! However, there is always the exception that proves the rule. I have known horses that need to be jumped frequently if they are to perform to any standard and I have known others that, once they know their job, hardly need to work over jumps between shows. I do find work over poles on the ground very useful for any grade of horse. Till next time.
A Reminder on Distances ... The table below lists the recommended distances required in the exercises described above. I recommend that you measure each of these distances and then walk them so you know how many of your own walking strides any distance is. Standard Distances One stride Two strides Three strides Four strides Five strides Six strides Seven strides
8 paces 12 paces 16 paces 20 paces 24 paces 28 paces 32 paces
7.3m 11.0m 14.6m 18.3m 22.0m 25.6m 29.3m
Remember: By not overworking/jumping your horse you are prolonging their competition life!
When training at home or in any restricted space, i.e. 70x30m or smaller, I build the distances between fences one pace shorter than what you would see at a show, with the exception of a double or a treble. This is because although the horse might work at a good showjumping pace in a small arena, they tend to “back off the ends�. If exercises are built that don’t accommodate this, the horse can learn to flatten over his jump and hurry into fences.