In this exclusive article for H&H subscribers, top British showjumper Joe Stockdale demonstrates a simple exercise with poles that he uses to teach his horses the leg aid can mean stay straight, not just go faster

Does your horse have a tendency to drift right or left over a fence? It’s a common problem, particularly with inexperienced horses that are still working out how best to use their body.

Joe Stockdale is riding Millfield Counterfeit (Cooper) for this jumping exercise. Cooper is a 12-year-old by Cooper VD Heffinck who is competing up to 1.50m classes. While Joe is demonstrating this exercise on a relatively experienced horse, he describes it as especially useful for young horses in teaching them what the leg aids mean in terms of keeping straight.

The setup consists of three canter poles 3.2m apart to an upright. On the take-off and landing side of the fence are “tramline” poles, creating a channel through which the horse must travel. He starts with the tramlines set at about two human strides apart, making it a narrower channel depending on the rideability of the horse.

Joe uses lightweight square poles for the tramlines: “If he did happen to jump left or right and step on a pole, they stay flat, it stops them rolling, so it’s a lot safer than using a round pole, particularly on the landing side, where there’s a chance they might step on it.”

Showjumping training for straightness with Joe Stockdale

“This is a simple exercise, especially for a young horse, to teach them the aids to keep them straight,” says Joe. “They must take off and land without jumping to either side. Most horses tend to jump a little to one side, which doesn’t matter at this height, but once the jumps get big or wide it can be problematic.”

Joe starts with the planks at about 90cm high, popping through a few times so that the horse understands the exercise, before increasing the height. While Cooper stays straight through the set-up, he initially cuts the corner afterwards, so next time Joe asks for a couple of extra strides in a straight line before turning.

Both the canter poles and the tramlines serve a purpose in this exercise that encourages the horse to stay straight without rushing.

The role of the canter poles

“The canter poles are to help the rhythm, because I want to use the leg for support to keep the horse in the middle of the jump,” says Joe. “The poles prevent them from thinking that the leg only means go faster.

“The poles stop them opening the stride, so they learn I’m supporting them to keep straight – not asking them to open up.”

Joe adds: “The line of poles makes it hard to fail. If it was an isolated fence, with the tramlines, when I put my leg on to support his straightness, the temptation for the horse would be just to go faster. The canter poles contain them.”

The role of the tramlines

“First I jump it with the tramlines nice and wide, making sure he’s confident, then slowly bring in the channel so he has to be really disciplined to stay straight,” Joe says.

“Even though I have the tramlines to keep the horse straight visually, I’m giving instructions with my legs to back it up. The young horse will then learn what the aids mean. The answer’s there, I’m just showing him how to get there.”

Joe explains how his own position is paramount.

“I need to focus on my position, staying centred, tall and light. For straightness, the first thing that will make him go to one side is if I’m unbalanced, so my priority on the approach is to keep my body and head in the middle of the horse.”

The beauty of this exercise is in the mix of the two arrangements of poles.

“If I was to take this all away and put a load of right leg on to keep him from jumping right, that’s when he’d get quicker,” Joe explains. “But because we’ve got the canter poles and the tramlines, he’s naturally going to stay straight because he has to. On the approach to the tramline channel I’m going to give him the leg aid at the same time so he starts to associate my right leg with not jumping to the right, but staying straight instead.

“So it’s like I’m giving him the answer to the problem, and then showing the aid that I want to use.”

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Being able to change your horse’s canter lead while in the air over a jump might seem daunting, but it’s a necessary skill if you want to ensure a smooth jumping round – and be competitive. Plus, horses do flying changes naturally in the field all the time. Use this figure of eight jumping exercise to master lead changes in the air at home so you can save vital seconds when it counts.

Aim

• use a four-fence set-up to practise and improve lead changes over a fence

The setup

You will need: four fences – you can use cavaletti, full jumps with wings, or ground poles – and cones or markers if you have them.

Setup: construct two sets of two fences at right angles with a distance of approx 20m between the points of each set as shown in the diagram. You can set the fence at whatever height is appropriate, or even start with poles on the ground.

If you have cones, place them as a guide about 10m from the point where each set of two fences meet, at each end.

How to ride the exercise

• Once warmed up and ready to jump, in left lead canter ride around the cone to the first fence (red) – follow the black line in the diagram above.
• Change lead in the air. By looking round to the next fence in the sequence (yellow), the natural shift in bodyweight and direction sends the message to the horse to land with the new leading leg. If you and your horse have not yet established changing leads over fences, see “tips and troubleshooting” below.
• Go round the outside of the other set of fences (blue/green) on the right leg.
• Jump the next fence (yellow), changing to the left lead in the air.
• Go round the cone and repeat. After a rest, repeat on the other rein.

For a more testing challenge, you can come inside the second set of fences making a tighter circle (following the white line), increasing the focus on your rhythm and balance.

Do the same over the blue and green fences to mix it up. Just switch the direction of the set-up, starting on the left of the diagram above, so that you jump the blue and green jumps and go around the yellow and red ones.

Tips and troubleshooting

1. My horse won’t change leg

All horses have a favourite leg to land on, so training them to land on a particular lead takes practice, starting by making sure your aids are super clear and consistent.

Do not lean into the new direction as this can throw your horse off balance. Instead, sit straight and balanced, looking ahead in the new direction.

Support your horse with the new outside rein, and put the new inside leg on at the girth while opening your new inside hand in the direction you are turning.

2. Course-building tactics

If you build one set of fences small and the other slightly higher, you can start over the small set and not have to dismount to adjust before jumping the bigger one.

3. Mix it up

With this set-up you can also practise riding dog-leg turns.

4. Keep it smooth

Being able to change legs in the air will save you time and enable you to produce smooth, rhythmic rounds in competition. Keep thinking ahead, preparing for the next fence as you jump each one.

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Olympian Vittoria Panizzon shares her “baseline” gridwork exercise, which can benefit horses at any level, in this exclusive article for H&H subscribers

This gridwork exercise for improving technique is a favourite of Vittoria Panizzon. It uses wide parallels to develop jumping technique and is particularly useful for training horses for eventing. It can help horses regain their jumping bascule after a cross-country session where they are likely to jump with a flatter technique.

It’s also a great gridwork exercise for improving the rider’s balance, as it requires a light seat and giving hands so that the horse has total freedom to use his back and neck fully.

How to ride this gridwork exercise to develop technique

The aim: to develop the horse’s shape over a fence and build strength, as well as rider balance.

The setup: the final grid will be a cross-pole, with a placing pole, followed by at least two parallels with ground lines, three for experienced horses. But you should build up gradually, fence by fence.

You’ll need a helper on the ground to put up poles and move wings forward.

• Jump the cross-pole a few times until the horse is jumping calmly.
• Add in the subsequent elements of the grid one at a time, with ground lines at each fence. Initially, the distances between each element should be about 7m.
• Each time the horse jumps through well, pull the wings 5–10cm forward. You can raise the fence a hole as the horse understands the exercise. This makes the distances between fences shorter, as the fences get higher and wider. The parallels shouldn’t be too high (90cm–1m is ample for most horses) but well over 1m wide for experienced horses.
• As the fences get wider, you can add a diagonal pole on top of the parallel. This encourages the horse to make a good shape but also prevents the horse misreading the fence as a bounce.
• Jump through each altered grid once or twice. Don’t hang around between each approach as you don’t want the horse to switch off.
• The number of times you do this exercise, and the height to which you raise the parallels, will depend on the horse’s experience, level and fitness.

How this gridwork exercise helps you and your horse

Vittoria explains that this is her baseline exercise, which she was taught by Sarah Bullen.

“As the parallels become bigger and wider, it helps develop the bascule and strength of the horse, as well as the rider’s balance,” she explains. “It encourages the horse to use themselves really well, getting stronger with their push from behind and making a big, round shape.

“I tend to have the groundline a little in front of the fence because I like to help them learn to make the best shape by spelling it out for them. There are times to let a horse make a mistake to sharpen up and learn, and there are times to set them up to succeed, and as this exercise gets harder I want to be encouraging them.

Vittoria emphasises that this exercise relies entirely on the rider dropping their hands so the horse has full use of his neck.

“This style is the way I was brought up to ride in Italy, with a military instructor who had us riding through grids with no hands, and would make us jump off drops cross-country with no reins,” she says.

“So I did it a lot as a child, and similarly Sarah would also make me release a lot, to give the horse plenty of freedom. Horses gain so much trust in the rider if they know they will always get the freedom they need to jump.

Vittoria offers another challenge to teach horses to look after themselves, to sort out their own technique.

“While the grid is still small, I like riders to go through with no hands, and then putting their hands over their eyes. It’s not a gimmick; it helps the rider, which helps the horse. It’s the best way to get the rider in the right place – the horses jump beautifully when the rider has their hands over their eyes!”

Learning to be well balanced to make the horse’s job easier is a major factor.

“The rider must always stay in jumping balance, in a light seat between the fences,” Vittoria explains. “This is because as the striding gets shorter and the parallels wider, the horse needs to stay round in his back, which they cannot do if you are sitting into the saddle.

“I like to come into the grid in trot, because that means you can’t just hang on to the reins and be pulled over the fence. The rider has to get the timing right to fold, and the horse has to push over the fence, so it fine-tunes both rider balance and the horse’s reactions.

“You don’t need speed to jump big, but the right technique and balance.”

Variations

The grid above can have multiple variations and tweaks to improve certain horses’ weaknesses, such as:

• An upright rather than a parallel as the final element. I build this higher than I would the parallel. This encourages the horse to really lift his shoulders because they have to combine first the stretching and pushing for the parallels, and then lift high for the upright.
• Start the grid with a bounce to make them sharper.
• Use wing poles to keep the horse straight on whichever side they drift.

About Vittoria Panizzon

Event rider Vittoria has been a stalwart of senior Italian teams since 2005. She has contested three Olympic Games, finishing 11th at London 2012 with Borough Pennyz. Having competed at numerous championships on a range of horses, including at the 2025 Europeans on DHI Jackpot, she is also currently campaigning two of Pennyz’ offspring, Borough Tuppence and Borough Threpence. Based in Redmarley D’Abitot, Gloucestershire, Vittoria is a former junior European champion who has lived in England since she was 17.

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Like humans, most horses have a dominant side, but too much drifting left or right in the air can land you in trouble, especially when courses become more technical. Top showjumpers Trevor Breen and Jodie Hall McAteer discuss why it happens and what you should do about it in this exclusive article for H&H subscribers

There are several factors that will affect how you stop your horse drifting over a jump, and the key lesson is that even top-level showjumpers do it, so don’t lose heart. Drifting one way or the other in the air is a common error in showjumping training and competition and one that can have a multitude of causes.

“Straightness is really important in everything you do, but I’ve had plenty of very good horses that have either jumped left or right in the air. Some I’ve been able to correct, some I haven’t,” says reigning Horse of the Year Show leading rider Trevor Breen, who cites two of his top rides – one past and one present – as prime examples.

“I used to ride a very talented stallion called Classic who always jumped to the right as a young horse, but the more I worked with him the more I was able to iron out the drift and by the end of our partnership he was basically straight,” he says.

“By contrast, [current five-star ride] Highland President, has always drifted right in the ring and still does. The important thing for me is that I adapt my riding accordingly and that I’m very aware of where his drift might put me off my line and alter a distance, making it too long or short, or how it might affect a turn in a jump-off. That’s all part and parcel of my job as a rider.

“There are many good horses who have their own, unique styles, but the careful ones figure out a way of leaving the poles up,” he adds.

Nevertheless, it is important to know why a horse jumps to one side. There are generally three reasons:

1. Physical discomfort

If a horse suddenly starts drifting left or right, they might not be using themselves correctly because of pain. If you suspect something’s amiss you should always get them checked by a physio.

2. Natural one-sidedness

Most horses have a stronger and a weaker side. If, for example, your horse jumps to the left, it is probably because his right hindquarter is stronger and has more push. It’s your job to train him to become more even.

3. Rider influence

Without necessarily knowing it, the rider might be more dominant on one side than the other and this will affect the horse’s balance on take-off. If you lean just an inch to one side, almost all your weight will shift off-centre.

How to stop your horse drifting over a jump

Exercise 1 – canter poles

Teaching your horse to stay straight on a line should be ongoing within your daily training.

Top rider Jodie Hall McAteer regularly defaults to a very simple polework exercise to check her horse’s straightness.

1. Set out three or four canter poles in a straight line down your school two, three or four horse strides apart depending on the length of your arena.

2. In canter, practise cantering over each pole right in the middle. It sounds easy, but it’s much harder than it looks and you have to be very self-disciplined.

3. You need to get ready to correct your horse’s balance and straightness immediately with your aids (legs, seat and reins), which are light if he stays on track but become more pressurised if you feel him starting to drift. Simply cantering over a few poles on both reins tells you a lot about whether you and your horse are truly straight.

4. To ramp it up a notch, a variation on this exercise is to aim for a different point on the poles, for example on striped poles you could aim for the second coloured band from the left-hand side and keep exactly to this line over all the poles.

Exercise 2 – landing pole

To help a horse stay straight in the air, Trevor and Jodie advocate using a carefully positioned pole on the ground on landing to encourage the horse not to drift mid-air.

“If your horse jumps to the right, for example, I would put a pole on the floor at right angles to the fence, around halfway between the centre of the jump and the wing [pictured below], to encourage him to stay straight on landing,” says Trevor. “It is best to use a soft, foam training pole rather than a solid pole in case the horse accidentally lands on it.”

Jodie adds: “Don’t be tempted to over-correct a drift with your hand as you will likely lose the softness through the horse’s body. Instead, look up, ride to a point in the distance and let the pole do the work.”

The rider’s influence

If you are struggling with how to stop a horse drifting over a fence, don’t forget to analyse the influence from the saddle. A horse’s straightness when jumping can be directly impacted by the rider and staying straight and balanced in your own position – looking up through the horse’s ears is crucial.

“Most riders will carry some degree of asymmetry, but a lot don’t realise it,” says Jodie. “If you’re stronger down one side of your body than the other then you’re not going to be using your aids equally, which can cause the horse to jump to one side.

“There are often tell-tale signs that you have a dominant side — the leather on the inside of your boot may be worn on one leg more than the other, or your gloves may wear out at different rates, for example.

“If you can recognise your own positional faults – video analysis can be helpful with this – then you’re in a position to do something about it.”

It’s important to work on straightness out of the saddle as well as on board, and what works for one rider may not work for the next. Jodie is a big fan of reformer Pilates.

“It’s great for working on my weaknesses and for improving my symmetry, strength and balance, plus I really enjoy it, which is a bonus,” she says.

If it ain’t broke…

Jodie warns that while it’s vital to work the horse in a way that always promotes straightness, it’s important not to get too caught up in over correcting a horse that naturally jumps right or left, especially if he is experienced.

“Remember, if an older horse is jumping successfully at a good level, his way of going has already got him there,” she points out. “I’d be more likely to try and correct a young horse jumping to the side before it becomes an ingrained habit.”

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Help your horse sharpen up his technique with the advice from European young rider gold medallist Will Fletcher and grand prix rider and accredited coach, Joao Charlesworth, in this exclusive article for H&H subscribers

Not all horses are born with the ability to tuck their knees right up, dropping their head into a perfect bascule. And while many showjumpers get along just fine in their own style, knowing how to improve a horse’s jumping technique will ultimately make you safer and more competitive in the ring.

“There are plenty of good horses who don’t tuck their front legs right up, but who are very, very successful,” says four-star grand prix winner Will Fletcher, who reels off several household names – past and present – whose forelimb techniques were less than copybook.

“Growing up I can remember watching a brilliant German stallion called Embassy, ridden by Hans-Dieter Dreher, who jumped with a very ‘open’ technique rather than folding quickly at the knee,” says Will. “He was so powerful and careful that it didn’t matter that he didn’t bring his front legs right up underneath him. He made it look easy.”

Even more famous was Milton, who had a habit of dangling his front legs and over-jumping, especially at the beginning of his career. His rider, John Whitaker, once said that his legs were “all over the place”.

There is no question that being snappy in front is a desirable trait in a top-notch jumper, but the good news is that there is plenty you can do in training to encourage a horse to bend his knees and sharpen his reflexes.

“If a horse can leave the fences up I don’t worry too much if he is a bit untidy, so long as he has the power and conscience to make up for it,” says Will.

Grand prix rider and top coach Joao Charlesworth agrees.

“Horses that don’t have a classic fold are mechanically slower to bring their forearms up and over the jump, but if they’re brave enough and you’ve built their heart up, they can still jump clear rounds,” he points out.

The role of conformation in jumping technique

There are many factors that influence a horse’s foreleg technique, with conformation being one of the most important.

“A horse who is straight through the shoulder will find it harder to bring his knees up than a horse with long, sloping shoulder,” points out Will, who explains that there is a big difference between a horse that hangs its forearm and one that dangles its legs below the knee.

“A dangly forearm is much more of a worry,” he says. “No amount of gridwork is going to fix that, but a young or inexperienced horse may jump with an open technique because he doesn’t yet have the strength to be neat in front. This often improves over time,” he adds.

Exercises to improve a horse’s jumping technique

Both Will and Joao agree that the focus on how to improve a horse’s jumping technique should revolve around building core strength, confidence and self-awareness. Here are some jumping exercises to try.

1. Add a groundline

“A horse that doesn’t snap up quickly needs to be given more time in front of the fence,” says Joao. “Using a good groundline can help with this as it will give him more time to fold his legs and bascule.

“If you get in too deep to a fence too often, you’re not giving the horse the opportunity to organise his legs and that’s when he might lose a bit of self-belief.”

Joao explains that at home he uses shorter distances in tandem with groundlines to encourage the horse to work harder and be quicker with his reactions.

“The groundlines will be pulled out a foot or so from the base of the fence to give him room to get his forearm up and over,” he says.

Joao uses this simple gymnastic exercise to help a horse use his shoulders and sharpen up his technique.

2. Introduce “V” rails

This groundline exercise can be built on by adding V-shaped guide rails.

“Set up a placing pole three yards away from a small upright (starting at no more than about 70cm) with a ground rail, followed three yards later by a slightly taller vertical with “V” guide rails to encourage the horse to stay in the middle of the fence and use his shoulders.

“Keep the fences small to start with and the “V” rails pulled apart so you don’t surprise the horse. Approach in a short, bouncy canter. Be prepared for a green horse to have a look, so keep your leg on and don’t get in front of the movement.

“When the horse is jumping through this set-up confidently you can add another upright seven yards after.

“For a more experienced horse you can play around with shortening the distance between the final two uprights. I find this exercise is great for building the horse’s confidence in his jump.”

3. Speed up reactions with bounces

Will Fletcher’s go-to exercise to help improve core strength and encourage quicker reactions is a very simple row of bounces.

“I do a lot of bounces with my horses at every stage of their career as it teaches them to be quick-thinking, athletic and to use their shoulders,” he says.

“I start with two bounces on a 12-foot distance and add in one more bounce at a time until there are four in a row.

“Approach in a quiet canter and ‘pop’ in over the first part, making sure you stay soft through your arms and follow the horse’s movement.

“It’s important not to overdo this sort of work. Bounces are hard work physically and mentally and doing them four or five times is enough.”

Tactics in the ring

Once you’re in the arena, you won’t have the benefit of a judiciously placed ground rail or a row of bounces to help you warm up.

“You need to think about giving your horse a little bit more room in front of the fences,” says Joao. “This isn’t an easy thing for an amateur to do, but you can start by making sure your canter has plenty of power so you’re not creeping into deep spots.

“You also need to consider how you ride related distances. For example, if you have a five-stride distance, you don’t want to be pushing down the distance and ending up with your fifth stride too close to the base of the second fence or you run the risk of your horse not getting his front end out of the way quickly enough. Instead, sit up as soon as you land and rebalance early, so you can then ride forward to the second fence without ending up too close and deep to it.

“Similarly, if you have a regular three- or four-stride distance it can be a good idea to treat it as if it were on the short side, so you’re giving the horse more room in front of the second fence. Sit up on landing and support the horse between your leg and hand, so you’re not too open and floating between the fences.”

Will adds: “You can help the horse by keeping your upper body up, especially in the last few strides before a fence, so you’re giving him time and space to bring his shoulders up without restricting him.”

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Are you an eventer looking to sharpen your showjumping skills so that clear rounds become your new norm? We speak to international event rider Jeanette Brakewell and accredited trainer Cameron Beer to discover how to improve both horse and rider’s reactions and make sure you leave the coloured poles in their cups

It’s easy for event riders to neglect training over coloured poles in favour of cross-country schooling practice. But whereas a little rub on a fixed fence or brushing through a hedge is part and parcel of efficient cross-country riding, most of us need to adjust our skills to learn how to stop a horse knocking down jumps when each one costs four penalties. We need to sharpen our showjumping reflexes (both horse and rider’s) so that our hard-won, speedy clear across country is not nullified by rails down.

The boldness of a natural cross-country horse doesn’t always translate to the jumping ring, where a careful bascule, pinpoint accuracy and a good jumping technique are required. This is tested to the utmost at a three-day event, with the showjumping phase on the final day, when the horse may jump flatter and feel a little more fatigued than normal after his efforts on the cross-country.

Of course, it all starts long before you even get into the competition arena. A good warm-up is crucial to securing those fault free rounds so make sure you use your time wisely, ensure your horse is listening to you and that you’re in the correct canter.

How to stop a horse knocking down jumps: warm-up exercises

1. “Shoulder-in is a good warm-up exercise to sharpen your reflexes for showjumping because you’re positioning the shoulders, so the horse has to work around your inside leg more,” says Jeanette Brakewell, who won individual silver at the 2002 World Equestrian Games.

“It’s important that the rider’s doing shoulder-in correctly. Put the horse on a nice angle and let them carry themselves on that line, don’t hold them there. If you apply too much pressure and hold the horse there, they tend to slow down and switch off.”

2. British Eventing UKCC level 3 accredited coach Cameron Beer suggests doing a warm-up exercise called 4-4-4 which works on changes of pace within the canter to help sharpen both horse and rider reflexes.

“Do four strides in collected canter, four in working canter, four in medium canter, then back to working, then back to collected,” he suggests. “If 4-4-4 is too much, start with 6-6-6 but not more than six because that defeats the point of the exercise.

“It’s a simple warm-up exercise but it’s helpful as it works the gears. Often riders have stayed in one gear forever and it takes them 10 strides to change to another gear. In this exercise you’ve only really got one stride to change it.”

Training quick reactions for the horse

Ensuring your horse responds to your aids in a timely manner is also important.

“As a rider, it’s important to be aware that you’re always training the horse to be reactive to your aids. That means using your aids with good timing and the correct amount of pressure,” says Jeanette.

“Some horses are naturally more reactive than others. For horses that aren’t reactive enough, it’s important to sensitise them. That doesn’t mean riding with loads of leg and loads of pressure. You want your horse going in a reactive, fresh way – not a dull, bored one.

“To get a better reaction from your leg, you don’t necessarily apply a stronger leg aid – you might use a quicker, sharper aid and then relax your leg. If the horse thinks, ‘Oh, you’re not telling me to keep going so I’ll slow down,’ you give them another quick reminder with your leg saying, ‘Come on, stay in front of me’.

“That should help activate the hindlegs so they can carry their own balance, rather than dropping onto the forehand and ignoring the leg.”

Building “A frames” on fences as well as using gridwork exercises can be a useful tool to hone accuracy, rhythm and confidence.

“The key to gridwork is to ride with good balance and enough energy, so the grid does the work in teaching the horse to use its body properly,” says Jeanette. “The distances are all set, so once you’re in you can focus on your position and your balance.”

Jeanette recommends adding ground poles or dressage boards (positioned wide enough for the horse to easily work out and go between) in front of the middle of the fence if you’re struggling with straightness.

Training quick reactions for the rider

Working to sharpen showjumping reflexes is not all about the horse. To test rider reactions, Cameron likes to change the profile of fences – although they don’t need to be big or difficult.

“I would use an ascending oxer, with the back rail three to five holes bigger than the front, and with a ground rail,” says Cameron. “I’ll do that off the turn, and then an unrelated related distance to a double of verticals on a short distance, or a bounce, or a plank with no ground rail.

“It’s about the rider having to come in brave to that ascending oxer – they can’t cheat and come in quiet – and then put the horse back to the correct gear for the different fence coming up next.

“Then mix in lots of blind turns and rollbacks. With the blind turns make sure you put a wing in to go around as that breaks up their eye. Then they come around that wing and suddenly pick a distance. You have to think about the canter quality, trust your eye and be more reactive rather than just counting canter strides.”

Cameron also believes in applying pressure to riders during training to mimic the competition environment, providing it’s a safe time in their stage of training to do so.

“Sometimes I will say, ‘We’ve warmed up. We’re going to jump the course once and I’d like you to jump a clear round’,” explains Cameron.

“That makes the rider feel a little more nervous, but it’s important to put the rider under pressure in that situation because then their reactions might feel a little blurrier, and they have to deal with that – which then puts them in that competitive mindset.

“If you train too safe with no pressure, then the rider may not have the right reaction when pressure’s put on – but that only comes when you know they’re comfortable with all the questions being asked, you have all the building blocks, and they have in their head what the priorities would be for them and their horse.”

From frustration to riding club champion

Following a frustrating spell in the showjumping phase for event rider Esther Bowness and her 13-year-old Irish grey mare Blackwater Grey Lady (Polly), straightness was a key part of their homework with trainer Catherine Vale.

“Catherine’s favourite phrase is ‘straightness is greatness’, because it doesn’t matter what angle you’re coming into the fence, you’ve got to be straight,” says Esther.

“Catherine gave me a few simple tips like keeping my body upright and tall, lowering my hands and riding straight and I found that my mare wasn’t fighting me into the fence, and she was much more relaxed over it.

“I was also told to balance the canter. I started leg-yielding Polly to make sure she’s listening and off my leg on both reins and then did a few teardrop shapes in canter to ensure we’ve got that uphill canter that you need for showjumping.

“Those tweaks were massive in terms of what they’ve achieved because I was thinking about them rather than micromanaging Polly into the fence. We’ve gone from knocking fences down to consistently jumping clear and we recently won the senior 80 showjumping competition at the British Riding Clubs National Championships.”

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In the first of a two-part focus on gridwork, exclusively available to H&H subscribers, Gemma Stevens explains how she builds a horse’s confidence and concentration using a grid of six fences

“Gridwork is fun,” says Gemma Stevens, who competes internationally in both showjumping and eventing. “We do it twice a month in the winter – the horses tend to enjoy it.”

For this gridwork exercise, Gemma sets up wings down the centre of her arena with hexagonal poles on the ground. The final set-up will follow the diagram (below), so you want to have everything you need ready before you get on the horse – and you will need a helper on foot to adjust the fences as necessary.

Gemma warms up briskly in walk, trot and canter for about 10-15 minutes.

“I’m making sure I’ve got all my controls, that the horse is listening to me, and that she is limbered up and elastic,” Gemma explains asking the horse for a few flying changes.

The grid is set up to ride away from the stables, so horses aren’t encouraged to rush down the line. Gemma canters over the poles, which are all still on the ground, to familiarise her horse with the task in hand.

Gemma Stevens’ gridwork exercise with an experienced horse

The first horse Gemma rides is rising eight and competing in 1.30/1.35m classes. Gemma begins with a raised placing pole to a 2ft 6in upright, building up to bouncing over two more uprights at the same height.

“Now I’m going to build up the fences gradually according to the horse’s ability,” Gemma says. “This horse is experienced so I can build this up quite quickly.”

Each time the horse goes through the line nicely, another jump is added. Gemma has someone on the ground to raise the fences – “you always need a helper for gridwork” – and they add in one fence at a time. Gemma keeps moving, approaching the grid off both reins, with the fences being put up as she canters back round to the start, taking short breaks in line with the horse’s fitness.

After the double bounce, there’s a stride to an oxer, followed by another stride to another oxer, then two strides to an upright to finish – equalling six fences in total. Gemma has put guide poles in V-shapes on the ground in front of the three final fences, to encourage straightness.

“Grids help encourage the horse’s elasticity and footwork, but I find them really great for building confidence,” explains Gemma. “I never make it really difficult or overly demanding for them.”

Gemma incorporates oxers in the middle of this line to teach the horse to open up their jump, before closing it down again for the final vertical. The first time she tackles the oxers they are slightly ascending (the front rail slightly lower than the back one), but they are squared up (level front and back) next time round.

“This format makes the horses really elastic,” she says. “And I keep the striding in this grid on the short side because I want to encourage the horse to be bouncy – I’m working on the shape of their jump rather than pushing them for the distance.”

After they have jumped all six fences once, Gemma starts raising the height, one fence at a time. The oxers are now at about 3ft 6in and the final vertical at 3ft 9. Gemma is happy with the horse’s first attempt at this height so calls it a day there.

“The horse was super tidy and I’ve achieved what I wanted to,” she says. “I like to push them a bit the last time down the line, but I won’t jump more than two holes higher than they are jumping in competition. Then they finish the session feeling good about themselves.”

Adjustments for less experienced horses

The second horse Gemma Stevens rides for the same gridwork exercise is rising six, and has been competing in young horse showjumping classes up to 1.20m.

Gemma starts the jumping phase as with the more experienced horse, cantering through the grid with the poles on the ground and then building up over the 2ft 6in bounces. She repeats them a couple of times because the younger horse is keen, but green, before moving on to the oxer at about 3ft.

Gemma explains that this horse has a tendency to rush. While the older horse has V-poles as guides on the ground, this horse has them on the fences.

“It’s not to make her more careful, because she already is, but to help slow her down and encourage her to back off a bit,” says Gemma. “She used to go down a jumping line flat out, so I keep the distances short and I use the Vs to make her back off. I let the grid do its work to slow her down.

“If you have an onward bound horse, you can also add a canter pole or a plank on the ground between each fence, to give them something else to focus on,” she advises.

Troubleshooting

“The whole point of doing the gridwork is building confidence,” says Gemma Stevens. “If the horse does feel green, I’d pat them and come again or I’d take a fence out. Don’t hesitate to bring the height right down if they aren’t happy. If you haven’t got their trust, you’re always going to struggle.

“To take a horse back a step feels like a negative move at the time, but a few weeks later it will be worth it and you’ll be in a much better place.”

Pole choice for gridwork

Gemma uses hexagonal poles for grids, both on the ground and on the fences.

“I don’t like using a round pole on the ground because you don’t want anything that will roll,” she explains. “You can use ‘soft training pole’ on the ground or these hexagonal ones. The important thing is that it cannot roll or the horse can turn their fetlock or get the pole caught between their feet.”

Gemma doesn’t insist on ground lines.

“I don’t use ground lines on the bounce fences as I want them to learn to be careful in judging the fence without them,” she says. “I don’t necessarily use them on the oxers in grids either.”

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Showjumper Sarah Lewis, who competes up to two-star level after switching from three-star eventing, explains why some horses rush and shares a useful jumping exercise to help retrain horses that tend to do so, as well as tips to help tackle the issue at shows

It can be quite unnerving riding a horse that is inclined to rush his fences. It makes it difficult for the rider to judge a good distance to the fence, and can result in the horse getting quicker and quicker as their showjumping round progresses. So if you have a horse like this, don’t despair as there are some simple jumping exercises for horses that rush that can help resolve the problem.

Riders may instinctively want to take their leg off a horse that is very forward going and increase their rein pressure. In most cases this is the opposite of what the rider should do, because the more they pull, the more likely the horse is to rush. Horses often start to rush because they feel the rider isn’t encouraging them to have enough impulsion and so try to communicate to the rider that they would like a more positive approach in order to easily clear the fence. Horses like these are often very intelligent, so you have to come up with ways to keep their minds with their rider on the approach to the fence.

A useful jumping exercise for horses that rush

1. Start by encouraging the horse to accept the rider’s leg, and work on both horse and rider being comfortable with a consistently stronger rhythm in the canter. Riding counter canter loops in the school can be very helpful. Start with a 5m loop on the long side, then increase the depth of the loops. In order to keep the horse in counter canter the rider must support the horse with their inside leg, but without encouraging the horse to accelerate. This helps horse and rider learn that the leg doesn’t always mean go faster.

2. Next put up a cross pole with a placing pole on the ground 3.5m either side of the jump. The two poles, especially the pole after the fence, will encourage the horse to lower their head and neck to look at what the question is and work out where to put their feet. Establish a good canter before coming to the pole, cross pole, pole exercise. On the approach ride very square turns – not only the corner before the fence, but the previous corner too. The square turns help the rider control the pace without pulling at the horse. The rider needs to be looking at the fence before they turn the corner and focus on maintaining the rhythm, rather that looking for a set stride or distance.

3. If the horse rushes or is a little quick through the exercise, keep the horse straight on landing and ride a downward transition to halt. Once the horse is standing still, the rider should take a breath and praise the horse, then put their leg quietly on, and repeat. The partnership may need to practise this a few times, but should find that once the ability to ride a straight halt on landing is established, the horse will be ready to come back to the rider after a jump, allowing them to rebalance the canter before negotiating a turn to the next jump. This tends to be more effective than pulling the horse up on the approach or turning away when they rush.

4. As with any training exercise, it is important to know when to stop. Once the horse is listening and an improvement has been made, pat him, and move on to something else, or maybe take him for a little hack. It is important for both horse and rider to remain as calm as possible, but using this jumping exercise frequently can encourage the horse to listen more to their jockey.

5. Taking this training forward to a show, think carefully about how many practise jumps the horse really needs. Give the horse enough time and space to warm up but don’t jump more than is necessary. Once in the ring the rider should pick up a good, strong canter rhythm before approaching the start, ride a fairly short approach to the first fence, and use good quality turns around the course to help maintain the canter rhythm.

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Here’s some great advice on how you can still practice some great jumping exercises, even if you don’t have access to lots of equipment, from five-star event rider Coral Hardman (née Keen)…

1. Serpentine jumping exercise

This jumping exercise is great for suppleness, straightness and to practice correctly bringing a horse’s shoulders around the turn. Set the four fences up down the centre line of the school and you can then jump it in both directions, making sure you have a square turn to each fence. This exercise highlights if a horse is not even on both reins and it is a good way of checking that you can landing on the correct lead.

2. Jumping exercises: the turnback

The turnback exercise is a great one for making sure the horse is listening and turning in a soft and supple way. It will highlight if your horse is falling in or out through the shoulders and checks that you have control on the landing. It is quite a difficult exercise, so for the less experienced horse and rider, start with poles on the ground and then progress from there when you are ready. If you want to make the exercise more challenging, you can make the roll backs even tighter.

3. Bending line exercise for jumpers

This exercise really makes you plan ahead and works on bending lines. Again, you can start with poles on the floor before raising to a fence. The overall idea is to encourage you as a rider to land and look where you are going, while not letting you horse fall in or out on the bending line.

4. Clock jumping exercise

Set your poles out on at least a 20m circle radius. At the start, focus on keeping the same rhythm over each of the four elements, making sure you have balance and control and that you can bring the horses outside shoulder around, so you are going over the middle of the fence. Once you have achieved this, you can progress to playing around with the adjustability, putting a different number of strides in between the obstacles. Jump and count your strides between the fences – you should be doing the same amount of strides between each fence (if built evenly). You can then progress to adding a stride between them and even building up to two extra strides. Then you can go to the opposite, crank it up and open the horse out in the frame and do less strides. This is quite an intense exercise for horses, so I would recommend giving them lots of breaks. It is also a fairly difficult exercise, so don’t expect to master it on your first attempt!

5. Jumping exercises using barrel

Version one — if you have a barrel or old drum, place this in the middle, either lying flat or stood up, depending on the height you want to jump. Then place the four wings out from it (you could use blocks if you don’t have a barrel). You ride straight over the pole on the take off and the landing, then ride a 10m circle away from the exercise before approaching the next fence. Then ride straight again, followed by another 10m circle. It really gets the horse supple and adjustable and listening to you when you are landing. It is really important to make sure the horse stays straight before circling away.

Version two — in addition to the above, you can also jumping across the middle of exercise over the barrel, you can go from any direction and the poles frame the barrel — so it is a good set up for practising skinny questions.

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Individual World champion Ros Canter shares a simple jumping exercise to help develop your horse’s balance, turning and accuracy, using just two fences

Aim

The overall aim of this exercise is to improve your horse’s straightness, turning and balance. Jumping on an angle will test your horse’s responsiveness, and confirm he is on the aids. From a rider’s point of view, this exercise tests your ability to hold a line, and your awareness of where the horse’s body is travelling beneath you.

The exercise

1. Set up two fences in the school, one stride apart. I prefer two oxers, but it can be two uprights or a spread and an upright if you prefer.

2. Work in, and establish a good jumping canter. Begin the figure-of-eight exercise by approaching the first fence at approximately a 45° angle. Hold your line through the jump (keeping your aids firm to keep him straight), and then change the rein, turning a half-circle towards the second fence and jump this on the same angle, but in the other direction. The exercise should form a figure-of-eight over the two fences.

3. If you’ve set up the exercise towards the corner of the school, the approaching fence line will naturally encourage the horse to start turning and is a good way of teaching a horse to land on the correct canter lead.

4. To pick up where the horse’s weaknesses are, try setting up the exercise in the middle of the school. You’ll find the half-circle in one direction may be really small (the horse may try to fall in) and larger in the opposite direction (falling out). Riding this exercise in the middle of the school will test the rider’s accuracy if they are disciplined about the size of their half-circles.

Tips and pitfalls

• Make sure the rider is always looking ahead so the horse learns to follow the rider’s eye.
• Do not allow the horse to start anticipating and turn early — the rider must hold a straight line over the fence.
• Do not allow the horse to fall in or out on turns.

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British Eventing National under-18 Coach Caroline Moore shared some of the best polework and jumping exercises for improving rider lines when jumping when she was one of the speakers at The Pony Club Coaching Conference at Hartpury College earlier this month (14 February 2019). Below we explain what these exercises are and how to ride them effectively.

1. Format: Place two parallel poles in the middle of each side of a square. Ride around the square ensuring you come straight out of your corners and through the middle of the poles.

Start the exercise in trot before progressing to canter where you can then count your strides around the corner and down the sides which will help you maintain control.

Points to remember: Sit up tall, look ahead and use both your inside and outside leg to support your horse around the turns. Keep an even rhythm and focus on riding straight down the sides of the square.

What Caroline says: “This exercise works on both straightness and turns and is particularly good for balance. It makes riders aware of a good square turn which is important when jumping and ensures the rider focuses on coming out of turns straighter.”

2. Format: Set up three sets of three or four trotting poles on a serpentine and trot over them from both directions. This exercise works the horse’s gluteal, abdominal, oblique and trapezius muscles and, if done regularly, will really improve their physique and muscle tone.

Points to remember: Always be looking ahead to the next set of poles so you have time to prepare and can ride the line you want. Aim for the middle of the poles.

What Caroline says: “This exercise gives the rider responsibility for their line and teaches a horse to be careful. Have the right energy, be balanced and be patient if your horse wants to canter through the poles, keep riding through it concentrating on your line and let him work it out.”

3. Format: Lie a short pole at either end of the arena with a set of jump wings halfway between the two poles. Ride over the middle of the first pole, through the jump wings and then over the second pole to practise your straightness. Start the exercise in trot and then progress to canter before making the poles into skinny jumps and the jump wings into an upright.

Points to remember: As you ride down the line keep your eye on the final pole/jump to help you maintain a straight line. Stay straight for a few strides after the final pole to ensure your horse learns good habits.

What Caroline says: “With this exercise less is more. Ensure you only use light aids and try not to interfere too much with the stride pattern, focus on your line and the rhythm will come. If you start to deviate from your line use shoulder in to correct yourself.”

Article continues below…

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4. Format: As exercise three (above) but add in cavalettis on an off-set angle either side of the upright. Then ride in a straight line over the first two elements before taking a curving line to jump the cavaletti.

Points to remember: Always look ahead, keep an active canter and wait for the fence to come to you.

What Caroline says: “You are your horse’s sat nav, they don’t know where they are going so make sure you tell them before you jump so they are looking at the next fence. Concentrate on your line and your rhythm rather than worrying about seeing a stride.”

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