This exercise, as explained by five-star Irish event rider, Camilla Speirs (pictured), explains how to improve lead changes over a fence.

Aim

The aim of the exercise is to improve straightness in the horse and the accuracy of the rider on a circle. Over time, it will also improve lead changes over a fence, as the horse develops his agility.

How to improve lead changes over a fence

1. Set up the exercise of four verticals and two oxers in the school. The blocks (X on diagram) act as markers, to help you ride a consistent, even circle. The inside circle should be 20-25m, and then 30-35m on the outside. With young horses, the blocks ensure they don’t fall in or out (depending on which line you are taking), and simultaneously make sure the rider stays accurate.

2. Young horses often waver in front of the fence if they’re coming on a tight line or circle, so it’s extremely important that the horse jumps the middle of the pole. I keep them dead straight and then, if they have a pole down, they’ve made their own mistake. Eventually, they’ll learn they need to give themselves room, back off and jump cleanly.

3. At first, it’s not a priority to influence which leg the horse lands on. I often find young horses can get flustered and lose the quality of the jump if you insist they land on the correct leg each time. For me, it’s about keeping them straight and I’ll encourage them to do a lead change after landing.

4. With older horses, this exercise helps the change of leg over the fence. All horses have a favourite leg to land on and this exercise highlights that.

5. I don’t want to encourage the correct inside leg by pulling on the inside rein or by throwing my weight to the inside, nor diminish the quality of the jump in any way. Without complicating things too much, I keep my body in the centre at all times and think about pushing the horse over the fences with my new inside leg and holding them with my new outside rein. They must not veer left or right in front of the fence and they must take off parallel behind.

6. Gradually build the verticals higher and the oxers wider. Over time, this exercise will encourage the horse to be careful and use their scope as they jump.

Article continues below…

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Tips and pitfalls

• Do not fall into the trap of looking to the base of the fence. The rider must keep eyes up and around the circle. This helps keep the horse balanced and off the forehand.
• Keep your upper body back to give the horse room to tackle the verticals and make sure you stay in your jumping position on landing from the oxers, so the horse has time to finish behind.
• On tighter circles, the horse will naturally lose impulsion. Use lots of leg and keep the canter active, so you don’t lose the quality of the jump.

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Pint-sized Irish eventing superstar Portersize Just A Jiff has retired from competition “fit and well” aged 18.

The 15.1hh part-bred Connemara competed at Badminton five times, two World Equestrian Games, an Olympics, two senior European Championships and four Nations Cups during his glittering career under Camilla Speirs.

During his 12-year affiliated career, the son of Crosskeys Rebel notched up 1,106 national points as well as wins at international one-, two- and three-star level.

“Jiffy” was bought as a four-year-old from Richard and Deidre Bourns when Camilla was 15.

“Mum was looking for a pony for me, I started on horses and we decided to get a pony while I still had a couple of years left [eligible for pony classes],” Camilla told H&H.

“We went down and they pulled out about seven ponies, before they very reluctantly brought out Jiffy — we just knew straight away.”

He measured 14.2hh as a four-year-old, but a year later had put on a couple of inches.

The pair competed at the European Championships for juniors in 2006 and 2007, making the Irish young rider team at the 2008 and 2009 championships.

Their career continued its ascent and they made their four-star debut at Badminton in 2010, when they finished 14th.

“My first Badminton was incredible,” said Camilla.

“I was so young and he was so young — it was my first four-star and like entering the complete unknown, and he just blitzed around the cross-country.”

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What you didn’t know about… Portersize Just A Jiff

Eventer Camilla Speirs tells H&H about her little horse who thinks he can take on anything

The pair’s best Badminton result came in 2016, when they finished ninth, before going on to secure their personal best CCI4* finish with a sixth place at Pau.

Camilla and Jiffy represented Ireland at the London 2012 Olympics and were travelling reserves at Rio 2016.

“He is like my partner in crime,” said Camilla, adding she “owes him so much”.

Jiffy’s size and achievements have made him a popular horse to follow for eventing fans.

“Because he is so unconventional, people really appreciate what he has done,” added Camilla.

“On paper he shouldn’t be physically able to do what he has done — I’m lucky to have has that opportunity to ride him.

“He is the Pony Club to Olympian dream.”

Camilla said Jiffy still “looks and feels amazing” and will be spending the summer looking after youngstock at home.

He will also be taking part in the Eventing Demo Tour this week (2-4 February) as a farewell to the sport.

Camilla said she wants this to be a chance for people who have supported them throughout Jiffy’s career to meet him.

The horse will appear at every stop of the tour — Maryville Stables, Cork, on 2 February; Spruce Lodge, Wicklow on 3 February and Portmore Equestrian Centre, Antrim on 4 February.

Horse Sport Ireland chief executive Ronan Murphy thanked Bridget and Camilla for making Jiffy available for selection over the years.

“He was a rising star from day one,” said Mr Murphy. “He has left his mark in the history books of Irish eventing and we wish him all the best in his happy retirement.”

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Ireland’s event riders and horses for the Rio 2016 Olympics have been named:

• Clare Abbott with Dr Cormac McKay’s Euro Prince
• Jonty Evans with his own and Fiona Elliott’s Cooley Rorkes Drift (above)
• Mark Kyle with his own, Shelagh and Richard Morley’s Jemilla
• Padraig McCarthy with his own, his wife Lucy (née Wiegersma) and Christopher and Sarita Perkins’ Simon Porloe or Bernadette Utopia, owned by Padraig and Lucy, the late Caroline Creighton, Pearl Chaffe and the late Henrik Wiegersma

The travelling reserve is Camilla Speirs with her own and her mother Bridget’s Portersize Just A Jiff.

Horse Sport Ireland eventing team manager Nick Turner said: “This has been a very difficult decision to make as there have been an impressive number of combinations who have produced some fantastic results to date. We will be fielding a very competitive squad in Rio.

“I would like to thank all of the owners that made their horses available for selection. We will be working hard over the next 57 days in the lead up to the summer Olympic Games in Rio to contend for a podium finish.”

Ireland qualified to field a team in Rio with their fifth place at the 2014 World Equestrian Games.

Mark Kyle (pictured below) is the only rider on the team who has previous Olympic experience, having competed at the 2004 Athens Games and London 2012. The other three riders will be contesting their first Olympics, although they all have championship experience. Travelling reserve Camilla Speirs rode at London 2012 on the same horse with which she has been nominated this time, the diminutive Portersize Just A Jiff.

Ireland’s showjumping rider for Rio was also named yesterday, with Greg Broderick receiving the nod, a decision which has led to some raised eyebrows as most expected the spot to go to Bertram Allen, who is more than 240 places higher than Greg in the current world rankings.

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The goal all the way (at the World Equestrian Games – WEG) was Olympic qualification and I’m delighted. Every little thing didn’t go to plan, but the riders rose above it. They knew that whatever happened, they needed to deliver.

The riders all set out across country with massive determination and I’m immensely proud of them, even [individual] Clare Abbott who didn’t finish.

There was a moment of unrest when Sam had his showjumping stop, but he gritted his teeth and showed professionalism to get home.

I had a great team behind me — the grooms and owners, dressage trainer Terry Boon, showjumping trainer Ian Fearon, vet Hugh Suffern and farrier Nigel Perrott, who makes sure everyone’s got what they need.

This means we can plan for our up-and-coming horses and riders for the next two years, knowing we don’t have to chase FEI points or push young horses before they’re ready.

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Get ready to baffle your friends with some fun facts ahead of this month's World Equestrian Games (23 August-7 September), from youngest to oldest, biggest to smallest, sibling rivalry and husband and wife team mates

Eventing

1. Jean Teulere of France will be the veteran competitor in Normandy at 60 years of age.

2. Conversely the youngest competitor is Ben Vogg of Switzerland, younger brother of Felix Vogg, making these two the only siblings in the eventing competition.

3. Will WEG prove to be marital bliss for husband and wife combo Tim and Jonelle Price? Both part of the New Zealand contingent, they have a strong chance of a medal.

4. Impressively WEG will be William Fox-Pitt’s 17th cap for Team GB — the most capped rider in the eventing at this year’s games (pictured above at WEG 2010).

5. Portersize Just A Jiff will be the smallest horse whizzing round the cross-country course for Ireland’s Camilla Speirs — he comes in at a mighty 15.1hh.

6. WEG 2014 will mark 36 years since Mark Todd‘s first ride in a championships — the first being in 1978 at Kentucky.

Dressage

7. Hans Staub of Switzerland is the oldest dressage competitor at 55 years-old.

8. The youngest British team member is Michael Eilberg at 27-years-old. He also rides the biggest horse on the British team, 17hh Half Moon Delphi.

9. The youngest rider is 18-year-old Brazilian João Victor Marcari Oliva who rides the 16 year-old Signo Dos Pinhais.

Showjumping

10. The youngest showjumping competitor will be the huge talent of Bertram Allen who is just 19-years-old.

11. The oldest competitor is 67-year-old Ian Millar of Canada. Maybe there is still time for all of us to make it onto a team one day…

12. Britain’s youngest horse on the team is Joe Clee‘s Utamaro D’Ecaussines who is 10-years-old.

13. We dread to think of the total cost to WEG who have to fork out for the last four horses used in the “swapping” final — the organising committee must insure the horses and state in the programme the amount each horse is insured for.

14. Britain’s youngest rider will be 21 year-old Spencer Roe.

Para-dressage

15. The oldest para-rider this year will be 63 year-old Brazilian Vera Lucia Martins Mazzilli.

16. At the other end of the age-scale is 16 year-old Russian, Sergey Kulikov who is already ranked an inpressive 17th in the world.

17. Finally, we think Lee Pearson’s mount for WEG, Zion wins the best stable name award — Kevin.

 Find out how to watch the World Equestrian Games on TV

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Eventer Camilla Speirs tells H&H about her little horse who thinks he can take on anything.

Fact file

Stable name: Jiffy

Age: 12

Height: 15.1hh

Breed: Connemara-thoroughbred

Sire: Crosskeys Rebel

Dam: Mizen Talent

Owners: Camilla & Bridget Speirs

Rider: Camilla Speirs

Best results: 2nd Boekelo CCI*** 2011, 1st Ballindenisk and Tattersalls CIC*** 2012

Four things you didn’t know…

1 He can do passage. Camilla says she found out he could do it “through ignorance”.

2 He has won a hat-trick of international classes at Tattersalls: two junior CCI*s and one CIC***.

3 He starred in a photo shoot at Kildare’s swanky wedding venue – The Village at Lyons – for a promotional campaign.

4 Pint-sized Jiffy rules the roost, with Camilla’s other horses looking up to him “figuratively”. He is always fed first, has the best stable and his own paddock.

Read the full interview with Camilla Speirs about Portersize Just A Jiff in 18 October issue of H&H

Read all the latest eventing news

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The eventers representing Ireland at the London Olympics will be:

• Aoife Clark with the Lily White Syndicate’s Master Crusoe
• Mark Kyle with Ronnie Bartlett and his own Coolio (pictured)
• Joseph Murphy with his fianc ©e Jill Andrews, Noel Good and Annette O’Callaghan’s Electric Cruise
• Michael Ryan with Carol and Tom Henry and Sheila Foley’s Ballylynch Adventure
• Camilla Speirs with her own and her mother Bridget’s Portersize Just A Jiff

The first reserve is Capt Geoff Curran with the Minister for Defence’s Shanaclough Crecora and the second reserve is Sam Watson with his parents John and Julia and Tom MacGuinness’s Horseware Bushman.

A shortlist of 11 pairs in the running for the Irish squad was announced after Tattersalls in early June, with the final trial taking place at the St James’s Place Barbury International Horse Trials last weekend. The combinations were selected by Ginny Elliot, Horse Sport Ireland’s eventing high performance manager and a former Olympic medal-winner for Britain.

Apart from Mark Kyle, who rode at the 2004 Games on Drunken Disorderly, all these riders will be making their Olympic debuts.

This will be Aoife’s first senior championship, while Joseph rode at last year’s European Championships and Michael and Camilla both have World Equestrian Games and European Championship experience.

All seven horses are Irish sports horses.

Full report of Barbury in H&H this Thursday (5 July). Read more about the Irish team in our Olympic preview (19 July issue).

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Following impressive performances from the Irish Olympic eventing candidates at Tattersalls last weekend, Ireland’s high performance manager Ginny Elliot has named a shortlist of 10 riders and 11 horses for the London Olympics this summer.

The shortlisted combinations are:

• Aoife Clark/Master Crusoe
• Capt Geoff Curran/Shanaclough Crecora and The Jump Jet
• Jayne Doherty/Ravenstar
• Sarah Ennis/Sugar Brown Babe
• Mark Kyle/Coolio
• Joseph Murphy/Electric Cruise
• Elizabeth Power/September Bliss
• Michael Ryan/Ballylynch Adventure
• Camilla Speirs/Portersize Just A Jiff (pictured)
• Sam Watson/Horseware Bushman

Ireland is assured of a team of three riders at the Games, but this could increase to four or five on 17 June, depending on whether other countries who secured places have sufficient eligible combinations to take up the spots.

Ginny will choose her final team on 2 July following Barbury Castle.

She said that the decision to reduce the list to 10 riders had been difficult after the riders’ strong performances at Tattersalls, where Camilla Speirs secured her place in the shortlist with a win and several other combinations showed good form.

“The reality is that all of the riders performed very well at the weekend, under real pressure, as they knew places were on the line,” she said

“The combinations I have named have all done very well and the final selection looks like it will cause me several sleepless nights, but it is brilliant to have real choices.

“Now that we have a team the key issue will be to select the appropriate mix of combinations to maximise our chances of winning a medal at the Games.

“Obviously the number of places we end up with will be influential in devising this strategy and it will be crucial to get at least one more place and it would be great to get a full five.”

Full report of Tattersalls in H&H this week (7 June).

Ireland will be able to field an eventing team at the 2012 Olympics this summer in London after qualifying for three places through the rider rankings.

Camilla Speirs, Mark Kyle and Michael Ryan’s results at the “last-chance event” at Ballindenisk – one of three horse trials running last weekend to give riders an opportunity to win points before the 1 March deadline – secured Ireland’s spaces. Their places were confirmed today by horsesport’s international governing body, the FEI.

The spots are for the nation, not the individual rider, so can actually be given to any individually qualified rider.

In addition Ireland holds first and third position on the reserve rankings – courtesy of Jayne Doherty and Geoff Curran – so has a strong chance of getting a fourth and perhaps a fifth rider into the Games.

If other nations cannot take up their places, their allocation goes to the reserves – for example, Argentina qualified a team for the Olympics at the two-star Pan American Games, but does not yet have a single rider individually qualified for this four-star championship (17 June is the deadline for individual qualification).

Olympic eventing teams consist of three to five riders, with three scores to count – so with only three riders, Ireland would have no score to discard.

Australia (five riders) and the Netherlands (three riders) are the other nations to have qualified an eventing team through the rider rankings.

In showjumping, it has been confirmed that Ireland has two Olympic places for individuals after Denis Lynch and Billy Twomey finished first and second in the rankings.

And in dressage, Britain will be able to field a fourth rider as an individual – alongside our team of three – thanks to the efforts of Richard Davison, who has been hunting down rankings points with Hiscox Artemis.

Ireland is also second on the dressage reserve list through Italian-based Anna Merveldt and Coryolano.

In all, 41 nations have qualified riders for the 2012 Olympic Games. Seven countries – Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the USA – will field full teams in all three disciplines.

FEI press release: full list of nations qualified and links to qualification processes and rankings

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Pippa Funnell made a positive first step towards retaining her Bramham crown when she swept into the lead in the CCI*** with a typically expressive and polished performance aboard Billy Landretti that earned her a score of 37.4.

Second-last to go on Friday afternoon, Pippa and Jane and Jonathan Clarke’s white-faced chestnut notched up mostly eights and a clutch of sevens and nines to take a 2.4-pen lead over Germany’s Simone Deitermann and Free Easy NRW.

“He’s potentially the best horse I’ve ever had to ride on the flat and we hoped that he would produce a good test,” said Pippa, who won here last year on Redesigned. “He can be spooky in a three-day event atmosphere, though, but today he produced the sort of test that he’s been doing at one-days.”

Simone Deitermann heads a trio of German riders who occupy the next three places. Kirsten Thompson (Horseware Marester’s Boy) is in third place on 41.6 while Kai Rueder (Saaten Unions Charly Weld) lies fourth on 42.

Camilla Speirs leads under-25s

In the Bishop Burton Under-25 CCI*** Ireland’s Camilla Speirs and the diminutive Portersize Just A Jiff lead the field on a score of 46.

“He’s improving all the time,” said Camilla, who will be hoping to make amends for crashing fall at Badminton caused by a lack of brakes. “I’ve changed his bit to something slightly stronger, so hopefully that will do the trick.”

Helen Dunning and Keep Your Options Open lie second on 46.2, while Ben Hobday (Uptons Who) is third on 49.4.

Neil Spratt and Upleadon lead the CIC***, a class they won two years ago. Neil scored 38 to head Ruth Edge and Rogersdale by two penalties.

Cross-country is big and bold

Ian Stark’s CCI*** follows largely the same route as last year although the start and finish have been moved to allow horses a little longer to get into their stride before tackling the historically influential first water complex, the Dickinson Dees Beachside (fences 9 and 10).

Camilla Speirs highlighted this complex, which involves jumping into the first pond over a lobster before turning 90 degrees over a large hanging log into the upper pond, followed by a an angled skinny on exit, as a serious question.

“I haven’t dared walk up to the big hanging log in the middle — I’ve never seen anything so enormous!” she said. “The whole course is going to take serious riding from start to finish.”

Pippa Funnell added: “Some of the questions are similar to last year and, like 12 months ago, I think it’s going to be the cumulative effort of jumping a lot of big fences that will take its toll.”

Cross-country for the CCI*** will start tomorrow at 9am. The first combination out on course will be Izzy Taylor and Thistledown Poposki.

Results after dressage

CCI***

1. Pippa Funnell on Billy Landretti (GB) 37.4

2. Simone Deitermann on Free Easy NRX (GER) 39.8

3. Kirsten Thomsen on Horseware’s Master Boy (GER) 41.6

4. Kai Rueder on Saaten Unions Charly Weld (GER) 42

5. Poly Stockton on Regulus (GB) 42.4

6. Nick Gauntlett on Penguin Ice (GB) 43.4

Under-25 CCI***

1. Camilla Speirs on Portersize Just A Jiff (IRL) 46

2. Helen Dunning on Keep Your Options Open (GB) 46.2

3. Ben Hobday on Uptons Who (GB) 49.4

4. Ludwig Svennerstal on King Bob (SWE) 50

5= Paul Sims on Power Of Dreams (GB) 50.4

5= Tabitha Baird on Enoch (GB) 50.4

CIC***

1. Neil Spratt on Upleadon (NZ) 38

2. Ruth Edge on Rogersdale (GB) 40

3. Kai Rueder on Edino (GER) 43.4

Follow the action from Bramham over the weekend with daily reports on Horseandhound.co.uk

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now