Showjumping today

[tab_xo]

Quickly write this before i go to sleep hahaha

Kyros and I went to our third showjumping competition today!

We did 30cm and 40cm (Kyros can step over these)

We got 4th in the 40cm, kept him slow for warming up!


And then we went out into the big arena, and did the 60-70cm, 70-80cm and the 80-90cm courses!!!


In the 60-70cm round, we had a completely clear round, no knocked rails, except for one refusal.. It was a scary jump hahaha

But we got 5th!!! Out of about 20 people.. I was surprised! All the other people were actual showjumpers..

and this is the third time in my life i have ever been to a jumping competition haha


Was very proud of him!!


and we had never done any higher heights on a course, we jump single jumps at home up to 1.15m... But just taking it easy on the big courses


So he was near perfect on those courses as well, just had 2 refusals on the scary fence.. But it was because they had these new stands. We have never jumped them before, so it is all new for Kyros, so no worries!


Pictures!! Kyros looking gorgeous as usual..

I had SO many people comment on him yet again hahah

'That is a beautiful looking animal you have there'
'Wow, he is so huge and black, how stunning'
'What a beautiful big boy'
'He would look incredible in dressage'

At one point i had about 6 woman standing around asking questions and patting him..

and then there was a young girl who asked 'How did you make him so big?' HAHAHA
























and the video.. I pull on his head at about jump 5, he was ready to pull away, so i had to quickly pull his head to the jump :[ I don't like being mean...

I am the only one who laughs and talks to their horse during the course... and my lovely WOOHOO at the end haha

We are both learning to jump, i have had two jumping lessons my whole life, so it is isn't brilliant riding haha

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl6NIm-Vqes&feature=youtu.be"]kyros showjumping 65cm round - YouTube[/ame]


It was such a fun day.. and i got a ribbon for coming 4th.. My first jumping ribbon.. Naww <3

 

[mtdoramike]

WOW, what beautiful actions shots. We are all proud of how well you and Kyros did. Also, what a beautiful horse and rider

 

[labell]

Magnificent!!!

 

[strudel]

Really good. Nice rhythm, you make it look easy. He's such a good boy. Was that one he refused just a bit too close/soon after the one in front of it?

 

[BACON]

Kyros is STUNNING!! Nice piccies

 

[JerseyWendy]

MANY congrats on placing today, sweetie! By looking at those photos and the video, it's truly hard to believe that you haven't had any professional training. You and Kyros are doing fantastic together!!!

You are a GREAT team!! So proud of you!!! :smile015:

 

[Betrisher]

OH YESSSSS!!! That was brilliant, Tab! I love the calm and measured way you attack the course: that's so good for Kyros, because he knows exactly how to approach each fence and needn't worry about any nasty little surprises. The refusal was just one of those things and you handled it beautifully as well. Slow and calm is the way to go and Kyros will benefit from every outing. Oooooo! So PROUD of you guys! Please tell A-J her videoing skills are improving in leaps and bounds (no pun intended).

 

[antoinette]

All I can say is "Champions in the making"
Stunning pic's Tab

 

[getwozzy]

Kyros is SO GORGEOUS!! He looks so silky smooth!

And congrats on 4th place for only your 3rd jumping competition! Can we sayyyyy CHAMPIONS????

 

[tab_xo]

Really good. Nice rhythm, you make it look easy. He's such a good boy. Was that one he refused just a bit too close/soon after the one in front of it?

Thank you!


Well that kind of jumping stride is the one we ALWAYS have the problem with...

He is fine with the doubles, because there isn't much time to think in between, its just jump, stride stride jump..

and the single jumps he is fine with..



But when he gets to the jumps where you jump, then have to take about 4 strides, he kinda thinks too much, should i go over it, should i go around

It was the same for that 4 and 5 jump, he wanted to turn so i had to pull his head in..

I needed to do the same for that jump, i knew he was going to turn, i didn't react quickly enough!!




Because at home, we only ever do single jumps? Hence he is fine with them!

But never had practice to get the striding right and getting him focused in between!


Plus that yellow jump (and the pink one) had these stand fills.. and most horses refused them!!
Most stop straight at the fence, i am very lucky Kyros only dodges around them, not does a sharp stop!

It will just take time, more courses, more tries in between jumps and he will be good as gold!!!


We have a jumping course practice night this thurday No comps this weekend, but another the weekend after!

 

[tab_xo]

OH YESSSSS!!! That was brilliant, Tab! I love the calm and measured way you attack the course: that's so good for Kyros, because he knows exactly how to approach each fence and needn't worry about any nasty little surprises. The refusal was just one of those things and you handled it beautifully as well. Slow and calm is the way to go and Kyros will benefit from every outing. Oooooo! So PROUD of you guys! Please tell A-J her videoing skills are improving in leaps and bounds (no pun intended).

Hehe thank you Trish


I am very much into taking it calm and getting him used to things...


There were 3 teenage girls, and their horses refused at the ones with the stand fills...

and they were whipping their horses NON STOP... Whilst at this jump..

The horses were rearing, wide eyed, completely freaking out


It took them about 5-10 tries to get their horses over this jump...



The instructor guy told me to whip kyros when he got to that jump he refused.. Because 'He was being naughty.. He doesn't respect you'


I carry a crop, but i have never used it.. I would never whip Kyros for dodging a jump.. I only carry it to get a bit of movement, and he seems to be a bit better with turning



Those horses were then afraid of the jump, cause every time they got to it, they thought they would be whipped again..



That is why it only took the one attempt to get him over it.. I circled him, lined him up, and let him do it himself..


I didn't stand him infront of the jump and whip him and say HOW DARE YOU NOT JUMP IT



Did you like my lovely Woo hoo at the end I was the happiest rider hahaha


There were 2 ladies standing with mum talking over the video

But yes, mum is getting much better hahaha

 

[tab_xo]

Thank you everyone!!!



Kyros's last owners friend found me on facebook last night, and added me.. She used to ride him for the previous owner.. (Last owner was a bit scared)


and she messaged me and said:
You guys are doing so well together, he has come such a long way with you


and then she said they only ever got him to jump 1m, once... The only time they could

Kyros jumps a meter every jumping session we have at home!!! hahaha


Nice to see that even his last rider can see how much he has improved!!!

 

[strudel]

But when he gets to the jumps where you jump, then have to take about 4 strides, he kinda thinks too much, should i go over it, should i go around

Aah. Yes, practice will get him (and you) over that. He still does it like he was trained from birth, it's hard to believe he's new at it.

I reckon practising different approaches on the same course would be useful. At the Olympics, they have the set jumps, but the course changes. The horses need to learn that they'll just be going wherever they are directed and not just one way (or the obvious way). I found that when I started agility, my dog was trying to learn "how it was done" but what he really needed to be learning was to look at me and follow what I was telling him (we gave up before we got there, I reckon he could have done well at it).

When I was doing some jumps, the teacher was trying to show me how everything got messed up when you didn't approach the jump properly, but the school horse was so familiar with how it should be done, he kept correcting the (deliberate) mistakes. Some things are the same, but other things like the angle of approach or the strides in the middle, they really need to learn to listen. That's why it's so impressive when you know what's really going on. It just looks like the horse is running about, but it's all controlled.

I don't like watching when people are all bossy, and I don't like it when they speed up and then rein in. I like watching people like you, as Betrisher said calm and measured.... smooth. And no force or anger if they do it "wrong" (it probably wasn't them, or just them, dear rider, put your whip away and go back to training)

 

[tab_xo]

Well his breeding lines are showjumpers, so i guess it is in his blood to have the potential to jump, he was just never give the opportunity

He is very laid back, he was asleep most of the day, but he is also very clever when it comes to learning, he picks up on things quickly!


Yes!! That is a good idea, they changed our course around after the 60-70cm round, they swapped the courses every two levels


This place where we went, we can hire out the big course, so might be able to go their again soon and just practice through all the jumps..

It's a pity they live 2 hours away.. There isn't an equestrian place near us


Yes!!!! Their strides and take off points need to all be right to be able to get a good jump, which is why some of kyros's jumps were a bit off, he might of taken off too soon or too late!

I have never ridden a schoolmaster with showjumping before, would be interesting. They already know what to do basically!!

He is fairly good at getting his angles right on his turns, so we usually always had a nice straight line up!

Just all about learning about the strides in between jumps!


I think if you have a steady pace, the whole course, you are going to have a clear calm round, rather than speeding up and trying to rein the horse in..


and these people blame the horse, not themselves! It is a team sport, you can't blame the horse for doing everything wrong

 

[strudel]

They already know what to do basically!!

That one did, but she was special. You get all sorts at a place where the horses are ridden by everybody.... She actually wasn't that good to try to learn on, because she made you feel like you could ride when you weren't doing anything. She would go around the arena and when the teacher would say "trot" she'd just do it. Half the time she didn't even wait for the instruction, she knew it was coming and she'd get going. You did get to learn a bit as to how to keep her in a a walk until you were ready..... She was too clever by half and did all the work....

It'd be good to have your own horse so you'd learn how to read them and they'd learn how to read you. I used to ride a particular horse (a friend had 2 and I'd ride her "other" one). I liked having that "security" of knowing who you were dealing with, and what he might do/was likely to do.

I wonder whether those people getting all frustrated were riding their own horses, or just school horses or somebody else's horse?

 

[Terry57]

Wow, Congratulations! The two of you do not even seem to be separate beings, you are so in sync with each other! Kyros must be feeling much better!

Loved the pics and video