My weekend was spent coaching show jumping at the Selangor Turf Club Equestrian Centre. It is something I do about once a year, when a good friend like Wan Ming makes me feel guilty about not doing more coaching. In a past life I was a World Cup show jumper, and in polo’s off season, I am almost happy to allow a brief reincarnation of my show jumping self.
Last weekend, I spent the mornings coaching some of the STC coaches, and some kids from the Selangor Turf Club Equestrian Centre, Bukit Kiara and UPM. We worked on riding forward and riding bending lines, and angling fences. I am known for making everyone ride without their pedals. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable weekend, professed even by those in the lessons!
Coaching adults is always fun. You can lie to them much more than you can lie to kids, because they have egos. They will believe the lies you tell them about how good their eye is, how well they ride, and their relevance to society.
Kids, on the other hand, cannot be lied to. They know the minute you say something politically correct, like “Nice try,” that it was a balls-up. Adults will give you a grin, and walk away like it was a good job, never mind that you now have six poles to pick up. Then they will blame the horse and give you its life history, while all you really wanted to know was how on earth they could miss like that.
Show jumping is about accuracy. It helps to clean your spectacles. If you take them off before a class, I assume your lines are going to be a bit blurry. It’s rather like trying to read. If your eyesight needs correction, it is not going to work if you take your spectacles off just before you start reading. If you need spectacles, jump with spectacles. If you are worried about breaking them, then get plastic sports lens or use contact lenses.
Much of showjumping is common sense. A few years ago (read: decades) I co-wrote the Malaysian Jumping Equitation Manual and updated it in 2011.
Anyone who aspires to be a showjumping rider should start with technique. Here are a couple of articles I wrote then to go along with the Equitation Manual. They are as relevant today as when they were written, all those years ago.
Improving Your Showjumping Equitation Scores
Showjumping Equitation – What’s Next
