If you often watch show jumping competitions, you’ll notice one thing: skilled riders have an excellent sense of the distance between obstacles and can always pinpoint the right take-off point, allowing their horses to jump naturally and smoothly just before the obstacle. Both rider and horse appear calm and composed when facing the fence. In contrast, less skilled riders often run into problems due to poor take-off point judgment. The rider (or horse) charges toward the obstacle in a hurry, and due to poor coordination between horse and rider, the horse’s speed fluctuates wildly, the rhythm becomes chaotic or even completely lost. As a result, in most cases, they fail to achieve good competition results or are even eliminated.
What the audience sees is a restless horse, whose behavior may include running out, refusing jumps, or outright disobedience, which also raises concerns about the rider’s safety. In fact, competition performance is closely tied to the rider’s foundational training. To find the correct take-off point, the rider must maintain a consistent rhythm regardless of speed during the course. This ensures: the horse’s natural stride rhythm remains undisturbed, enabling it to calmly identify the right take-off point.
In reality, the rider and the horse have distinct roles:
The rider is responsible for:
1. Maintaining a good rhythm and cadence in the horse’s movement;
This is the most important and also the more challenging aspect. First, the horse must move with a rolling motion like a tire, with a feeling of jumping strides rather than just flat-forward running. During training, this type of stride must be maintained, and the rider must carefully execute every step, ensuring that each aid is applied correctly. Second, the horse should be able to lengthen and shorten its strides, switching freely while maintaining the same rhythm and cadence. The rider’s responsibility is clear here: if you rely mainly on hand aids to achieve the transition, the rhythm will inevitably be disrupted or even lose impulsion. Therefore, the rider’s HALF HALT training is very useful—it allows the horse to change stride length while maintaining its rhythm.
2. Guiding the horse in the right direction, aiming for the center of the obstacle;
The rider should look at the obstacle as early as possible during the approach to set up a good line. Never look down at the horse—if you do, it’s too late to correct by the time you look up, and problems are likely to occur. A well-trained dressage horse is supple and obedient, capable of bending correctly and transitioning from curves into straight lines aimed at the obstacle. During turns, the outside rein and outside leg are crucial—you must teach the horse to understand leg aids for steering. It’s common to see riders pulling excessively on the inside rein, causing the outside shoulder to swing out, and the horse then runs away along the outside shoulder. If the horse tends to escape with the right shoulder, doing more right shoulder-in exercises can help. The same applies in reverse. Many times, horses avoid obstacles because they’re not aligned with the center—so from basic training, we must ensure the horse always jumps through the middle. Crossrail jumps help the horse learn to jump from the center.
3. Maintaining the horse’s forward impulsion, staying connected with the horse at all times, and handling situations as they arise;
How does a horse have forward impulsion? Because it has the desire to go forward. That’s the most critical factor. We train the horse to think forward, to move ahead of our aids, with leg aids merely supporting that desire. Impulsion is actually forward thrust, generated by the horse’s engine—the hindquarters. Proper hindquarter function is key to maintaining propulsion. The horse’s back can only effectively engage its core muscles and produce good hindquarter movement after full extension. Show jumping horses don’t need to be overly bent like dressage horses, but they still require core engagement and hindquarter work, with the center of gravity lifted to facilitate jumping. Once the horse is well warmed up and full of forward desire, we can begin jumping. The rider’s calf aids are also part of staying connected with the horse, just as important as rein contact. There’s a saying that may or may not be easy to understand: through your seat and leg aids, you transmit the horse’s impulsion from its hindquarters to your hands.
4. At the moment of take-off, learn to wait appropriately, not rush the horse, and minimize interference.
This waiting doesn’t start at the exact moment of take-off but should begin during the approach to the obstacle. The horse can only jump correctly when it’s collected, and the rider sitting back before the obstacle increases pressure on the horse’s back, causing it to arch its back and become more collected for the jump. On bends, try to maintain the horse’s natural stride, keeping the rhythm steady. On straightaways, the rider must judge the distance—collection can help evenly adjust the horse’s stride length to find the right take-off point. The rider must clearly understand how much impulsion the horse needs to jump a given height and width of obstacle. Overusing collection sacrifices jumping ability and is counterproductive. Rushing the horse before take-off is absolutely not allowed and is very dangerous. Apart from calf aids, the rest of the rider’s body must remain still, especially the hands, which should be steady. Never anticipate the jump by leaning forward—this isn’t a mechanical action but a gentle movement as the horse jumps. The rider’s feet should move slightly forward, feeling the body and toes fold slightly, while the hands follow the horse’s neck extension and push outward, ensuring they don’t hinder the horse’s aerial position. The range of motion and timing of body recovery depend on the obstacle’s height and width. Beginners might misunderstand this as simply standing up—that’s incorrect. The overall rider’s position should remain stable, and riding without stirrups is an essential step that can completely change the mindset of “standing up.” This way, after the jump, the rider can quickly resume the working trot.
The horse’s role: (though success ultimately depends on the rider)
1. Submissively entering the working state and understanding the rider’s aids;
This is definitely the rider’s job—from basic training to warm-up before competition, the horse’s performance reflects its everyday training level.
2. Developing good movement habits and not fearing obstacles;
Horses are naturally timid, and only scientific training can make them obedient and unafraid of obstacles. In truth, horses instinctively don’t want to jump, but they fear the rider on their back even more. So obedience must come first before overcoming fear of obstacles. Again, this is the rider’s responsibility.
3. Calmly finding a suitable take-off point for itself.
The horse’s judgment of the take-off position is based on experience and the rider’s guidance. Approaching the obstacle with a natural rhythm and cadence makes jumping much easier. Just like how we naturally step onto stairs without measuring our steps. Therefore, maintaining a relaxed rhythm and cadence, combined with patience, is the best way to solve take-off point issues. In the end, it’s still the rider’s task. Easy to say, but far from easy to do!
Because all of this is built on the foundation of trust between rider and horse—that is, the principle of riding. And the mutual trust between horse and rider is based on daily training. The stronger the foundation, the higher the level of trust. Only then can the horse perform well under challenges. In the British instructional video *Successful Showjumping*, a British rider put it well: the rider pats the horse to encourage it only after they’ve both cleared the obstacle, and that’s when the horse realizes the rider is still there (“Oh, you’re still on my back…”). That’s the best example of a skilled rider not disturbing the horse during the jump!
This shows that the horse fully trusts the rider and focuses entirely on its own jumping technique, while the rider remains resolute and composed, making decisive decisions amid rapidly changing conditions on horseback. Because the rider believes in the horse’s abilities and fully trusts their partner. This is precisely where an excellent rider excels. Thanks to the trust between horse and rider, the principles of riding are never violated. Even if the rider is eager to win, they won’t mistakenly rush the horse, punish it, or infringe on its well-being, because they know that haste leads to failure. They adhere to the principles of riding, thereby increasing their chances of winning. But if the rider, driven by vanity or ambition, consciously or unconsciously violates these principles—rushing the horse, punishing it, or even compromising the horse’s welfare—resulting in a breakdown of trust, failure is inevitable.
