do you hooves?know *UK ONLY WITH THIS ESMEBOOST PONYMAG.COM 2022Nov £4.25 896Issue21 September – 18 October 2022 D J M u r p h y bundle£750 from Derby House WIN WIN compete! GET SET TO Meet McEwen!Tomwith This Esme your confidence TRY OUR exercise!spiderjumpjumpexercise! spider jump exercise!
SSUPERUPER SUPER straightnessstraightness straightness
6 PONY magazine Set it up
these poles two
Nina Gill is a BHS Stage 4 SeniorCoach
to make
part two
(2–2.4m)stridesoutfromthehexagon. 2–2.4m 2–2.4m
OUR EXPERT
is sooo important in all aspects of riding, from strutting down the centre line in your dressage test to nailing a skinny on the cross-country course, and everything in between. But if you want to achieve perfect straight lines, you need to ride accurately. Here’s a fun polework layout that’ll put your pony’s straightness to the test.
Keep your pony’s straightness in check with this epic polework layout
My hexagon layout uses 14 3m poles. Start by placing four poles in the centre of your riding area to create an X, then add six more poles around the X hexagon. Finally, place four poles around the hexagon an open square – place of trot
each
traightness
to make a
S
Whenever you introduce your pony to a polework layout, and even when you ride a new line through a layout you’ve worked on loads of times before, always start in walk. This will help your pony to understand where you’re asking him to go without forcing him to think really quickly – which is when mistakes and slip-ups canWalkinghappen.over poles is hard work for your pony, so it helps build up his muscles. Plus, ponies find trotting through polework layouts much easier because they have more momentum, so by slowing down he has to work harder to lift each leg and clear the poles.
In the first part of this series, I highlighted what you need to do in your warm-up to get your pony in the zone – check out last issue for full details! But the most important thing to remember is getting your pony responsive to your aids. Ride plenty of transitions and think about encouraging him to work forwards in your warm-up – when he’s in trot, you want him to be ready to canter at any moment when given the aids. This means he needs plenty of impulsion and power!
Get ready
Walk the walk
PONY magazine 7
TOP TIP
If you have soft plastic cones, like the ones your PE teacher probably uses, place them at the ends of the poles where you’ve measured distances so if your pony knocks a pole, you can pop it back into place quickly and easily remeasuring.without
W
TOP TIP
Make sure you allow plenty of time to warm up your pony, especially in winter when might be chilly. It’ll take longer for his muscles to get working and you don’t want to cause him injury by rushing things.
ho doesn’t love getting kitted out in their show gear and strutting their stuff at a comp? But if you want to show off your pony, he’s got to look mega-smart. So, here’s my quick guide to getting him looking top notch on show day, and some handy tips to help you prepare for the winter comp season.
