PONY Magazine – May 2020

plus

stacy gregg pony club rivals book!

This Esme's totally awesome!

jumping

Tips

Add sparkle to your

BE A

XC

star

WIN

pony’s

A SADDLE

Quiz

MINI MINI MAG MAG

paces How much do you

INSIDE INSIDE

ponies?

Imporuorve y

riding

without a pony

Meet

Teddy the Shetland

R E P SU

sj sesh

Here’s how Esme gets the most out of her SJ schooling sessions with Casper

J

umping’s one of my absolute fave things to do with Casper, and he loves flying over fences, too! Because he’s fairly experienced, I don’t need to jump him very often, but I’ll try to pop over a few fences once a week to help us stay at the top of our game, and it’s great for keeping his fitness levels up. Here’s a sneak peak into one of our schooling sessions!

Winning warm-up

Whether you’re doing flatwork or jumping, it’s important to warm up your pony properly. It’ll get his muscles ready for exercise, which helps prevent injuries, and it’ll prepare his mind for work, too. I spend at least 15 minutes on Casper’s warm-up, and start by walking him round on a long, but not loose, rein. I’ll encourage him to walk out with long, active strides, then we’ll do a few straight lines in trot, before adding in some large circles and a serpentine or two.

Finally, we’ll up the pace to canter, and I’ll ask him to open up his stride down the long side, then bring him back to working canter on the You don’t have to go over short sides. This helps to really loosen him up, big fences to work on your and it gets his canter nice and adjustable for jumping skills. I do a lot of jumping, too. polework, which helps me practise a lot of the things we need for showjumping, like rhythm and balance!

Top tip

6

PONY magazine

A confident start

I keep the first few fences we jump super-easy, to boost Casper’s confidence. A low cross-pole’s great to start with because it helps us both think about straightness. I’ll pop over it a couple of times, then raise it to a small upright. By now, Casper should be fully in working mode, and ready to concentrate on something a bit more challenging.

In focus

As you know, I love being organised, and this goes for my schooling sessions, too! I always have a plan and, before I head into the arena, I know what I want to work on and which exercises I’m going to practise. I’ll have the fences set up, too. so I don’t waste any time. It makes sure every sesh is useful, and it helps Casper and I progress towards our goals.

Top tip

If you’re not lucky enough to have a few fillers at home, think about hiring an arena that does, so your pony can get used to bright, colourful jumps before a competition.

Keep the power

Today I’ve decided to spend a bit of time working on our turns into fences. Casper’s got quite a short stride, and I have to make sure I keep him moving forward in canter so he has enough power to jump the fences. However, he sometimes loses energy around a turn, which means we don’t get the perfect approach to the next fence.

To keep the impulsion through a turn, I need to remember to sit up with my shoulders back, while hugging Casper’s sides with my legs. It’s also important for me to keep my eyes up so I don’t tip forward and put him off balance.

I try this out a few times, and Casper’s really on form today! He stays forward around the turns and gets a perfect jump every time. I give him a pat and move on to the next exercise.

PONY magazine

7

Power How to improve your pony’s impulsion

C

an your pony be a bit on the lazy side? Does he ignore you and try to do as little work as possible? Fear not! We’ve got some great exercises for you to try that’ll help add some energy to his paces and encourage him to be more responsive to your aids. Plus, they’re super-fun to ride as well!

Impulsion – what is it?

Impulsion is energy that gives your pony enough oomph to do what you’re asking of him. It’s important for any pony to have it, whether they hack, school or jump. A pony with lots of impulsion will: • • • •

be more responsive to your leg aids feel like he’s really taking you somewhere have an energetic, bouncy stride push himself forward with his hindlegs

16

PONY magazine

Top tip

It’s tricky to encourage a pony who’s tense to have better impulsion. Spend time helping him relax first by riding simple shapes like circles and serpentines. When he feels calmer, start adding some energy.

Exercise 1: on and back

Impulsion isn’t about speed. Instead, you want to create energy by encouraging your pony to power himself along with his hindquarters. A great way to do this is to vary the length of his steps.

How to ride it 1. Go large around the arena in trot or canter.

2. Down each long side, squeeze your pony’s sides with your legs to ask him to lengthen his stride.

If you’re trotting, try to make your rises higher and longer to encourage him to take bigger strides. If you’re cantering, follow his movement with your hips. Keep a C steady, even contact on his mouth to help you contain all the H energy you’re creating.

3. On the short sides, keep your legs shorter strides wrapped round your pony’s sides, and sit longer strides E a little deeper in your saddle to shorten his stride. Imagine you’re harnessing his energy like a he’s a coiled K spring!

4. Repeat three times, then change the rein.

A

Up the challenge

Once your pony be comes really responsive to you asking him to take longer then sh orter steps, try making the ex ercise more of a challenge. Enco urage him to lengthen and shor ten his stride more often, such as at every other letter in the arena.

M

B

F

Top Tip

Top tip

A lazy pony will respond better to one clear aid rather than continual nagging. If you nudge him on every stride, he’ll just ignore you! Instead, only use your legs when you feel him lose energy, then keep them still.

You’ll soon find you need to ask less.

Keep your legs gently wrapped around your pony’s sides when you’re asking him to slow his pace or shorten his stride. If you don’t, he could try to break into a walk or trot.

It’s important every pony has impulsion, whether he hacks, schools or jumps

PONY magazine

17