German Riding Instructor

Get more in the habit of a moving round than a waiting round so they aren’t waiting for the pull!!

Your number 1 priority is your pace and rhythm, then you can think about your connection but it needs to be consistent, not a pulling or rowing connection- believe me your horse is saying no thanks to that one!

If you need a tip so you stop pulling to your fence, think about soft elbows, keeping your hands even and riding into your connection. I don’t mean have long reins and try to find a connection on the end of the reins because that isn’t going to happen. You need short reins and you want to feel your horse on the end of them, that is the sweet spot ✅

Let us know any Q’s ⬇️

When the pace is alive, you have to trust it.

If you keep picking, waiting, and taking the pace away, you can end up creating the deep distance you were trying to avoid.

But when the horse has a good pace and is moving into the hand, the jump starts to make more sense.

They can travel across.
They can use their body.

Be committed to the ride you created ✅

Top Tip Tuesday — Put the work in at home.

Be disciplined. Be intentional.
Training at home is where preparation happens — every exercise should be ridden with purpose and effort. When you turn up to a show having done the work properly, you arrive confident, prepared, and ready to give your all.

The show isn’t where you train — it’s where you showcase the work you’ve already put in.

Always remember: you won’t win in a pulling match 😉

When the horse lands and wants to take over, pulling back with your hands just gives them something to pull against.

Instead, keep your reins short, your hands down on the withers, and keep the same connection.

No chucking the reins.
No pulling back.
When the horse softens or stops pulling, the pressure is gone.

That is how you give the horse a clear place to come back to — without getting stronger, or getting into a fight with the hand.

Short reins.
Same contact the whole way.
No achy arms ❌

And if you need to steady, use your upper body and keep your connection the same ✅✅

Working on the track through the turn and how it affects the canter to the fence.

When the rider stays too far on the outside track, they then have to bring the horse back towards the centre of the jump. That correction can put on the brakes and contract the canter.

By looking over the shoulder, finding the jump earlier, and riding through the corner, the rider can come out of the corner and up to the fence with a much better pace.

Less fixing at the last second.
More preparation before the fence.

Working on the track through the turn and how it affects the canter to the fence.

When the rider stays too far on the outside track, they then have to bring the horse back towards the centre of the jump. That correction can put on the brakes and contract the canter.

By looking over the shoulder, finding the jump earlier, and riding through the corner, the rider can come out of the corner and up to the fence with a much better pace.

Less fixing at the last second. More preparation before the fence.

It may not feel like enough, but trust the good pace you’ve created.

It felt calm, so the rider thought she had to do something… when in reality, it was calm because the pace was right.

When the canter is good, you don’t need to manufacture anything. You stay tall, keep the rhythm, and let the distance come to you.

And when it’s the perfect distance?Do not ease into it with your body. Stay tall. Stay still. Let the horse jump up to you.

Trust the pace you created early ✅✅