Jumping into the new year
As you know, I’ve been dealing with a crippling—can’t-ride-over-poles-on-the-ground crippling—fear of jumping. I kept trying to tell myself I was resigned to it, but as everyone but me realized (I’m sure), I really wasn’t.
The thing is, I liked jumping. A lot. And I don’t like giving in to fear.
A few weeks ago, I was watching a rider school over a vertical and I realized something very important: when the horse jumps, they go higher over the pole than when you ride over it on the ground. More air space = less chance of the trolls that live under the poles eating you. I thought about it for a while, then emailed the trainers at my barn at home. I’m coming home for Christmas and I want to jump, I said.
After they got over their shock, they asked me if I’d prefer a kick-quiet mare or a gelding who could be quick but had a flatter jump. I decided that, in the event that I froze in front of the jump and stopped riding, I’d prefer a horse with his own momentum. That he wouldn’t jump me out of the tack was just a bonus.
The gelding was a super cute little Morgan cross. We did a few trot cross rails and then my trainer set up a 5/6 trot in / canter out line. The gelding had a stellar sense of humor, because the first time we cantered the 2’ vertical, I did indeed freeze and stop riding. He jumped anyway.
By the end of the lesson, I was getting through the line calmly and even adjusting the ride to get both the 5 and the 6. And that—the ability to make a decision in the middle of the line—was a huge boost to my confidence. I was as excited about making it through that line as I was going over my first 3’3” eq course as a teenager. You have to get the job done first, and then you can start making it pretty. We got the job done.
I had fun doing it.
The second lesson my trainer wanted to do grid work so we could focus on my position. I agreed, as long as the grid didn’t have a one stride in it. I fell off at a one stride in a combination. She grinned and said, “Good, we’ll do that then.” I stared at her in dismay, reminded myself that the reason I was jumping for the first time at home is that she knows me and my riding very, very well, and told her I’d do it, but she better not kill me.
We started out with a four stride. No problem. That was like the last lesson. As we went along, she kept adjusting the line—moving it to a three, moving it out to a four and putting poles in the middle, etc. The last time through, we did the one to a one. The jumps were all of 18”, and cross rails at that. I honestly think the horse just cantered over them. That’s not important. The important point here is that I cantered over them with the horse.
And was alive on the other end. Breathing. Grinning.
It was fun.
I’ve really missed jumping. I think I’m finally ready to get back into it. Here’s to a new year and new beginnings for all of us.