Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Helmet Cam Jumping Video

During spring break, I wanted to do something fun and exciting with Harley.  A change of pace required a change of tack and some arena prep-work.  I brought out the jumping saddle and set up four small jumps, making a cross in the center of the riding ring.  I had already done my homework.  I thought it might be more fun to try a pattern then to just casually hop over a couple jumps.

Enter the cloverleaf.

I am not promising amazing success or tremendous obstacles, but I think that you will still find the video entertaining.  Harley certainly was game, even if his pilot was feeling a little rusty in raised stirrups.

Enjoy!


Just in case there is any confusion, we are normally "dressagers" not jumpers (I am sure that was obvious!).  Except for a couple inviting cross-rails left in the ring this winter, this was the first time that we have jumped since last summer.  I like to jump once in a while to mix things up a bit.  Harley seems to like jumping and can get pretty excited.  You may have noticed the wind pick up as he approached the jumps a couple times.  That was all Harley and his exuberance.  He is really fun to point at a little fence, because, win or lose, you know he is going to go for it.  Unfortunately, rushing at the fence does not do very much for our form and this is when he tends to knock things down.  I do my best to keep him in a steady pace and stay with him.

The cloverleaf turned out to be a very challenging exercise for us.  I am not sure if it qualified as a "fun" alternative, because it required so much focus and concentration.  The turns come up really quickly.  There were a couple times where I got stuck circling the jumps just trying to figure out how to get into the exercise.  Where do I begin?

We sort of completed a cloverleaf going to the right.  We tried it going to the left after this video clip, but we were not very successful.  Harley also seemed to be getting a little stressed out.  I think that we were over-faced.  The cloverleaf looks simple (just loop around to the next jump and keep the direction the same the whole time), but in practice, simple it is not!

If you happen to be a rider who goes in jump tack on a regular basis, I have major respect for what you do.  I am used to long stirrups and relaxed leg muscles.  I rode with shorter stirrups in my jumping saddle, but, in hindsight, I realized they needed to be a hole or two shorter.  I felt like I had to keep pushing my foot forward and my seat back.  The cut of the saddle is completely opposite to a dressage saddle, so my body was totally confused!  In fact, I think that I had an easier time hopping over those cross-rails this winter, because I was in my dressage saddle.  How are you supposed to use your leg when riding in jumping position?  I kept wanting to move my legs around to steer or rebalance Harley, but this just unbalanced me!  To be honest, I felt handicapped.  Any tips from the jumping folks are welcome.

No worries, though.  We still had a blast!

12 comments:

  1. I've never actually done a clover leaf over jumps--it's hard enough with poles, lol. Good for you.

    Really, the only way to learn to ride in a jump saddle is to ride in a jump saddle. Make sure it puts you in a relatively ok position and just go with it.

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    1. *laughing*
      After we attempted this, it dawned on me that we probably should have tried it over poles first!

      I was afraid of that! I was trying to decide which would be the lesser evil: jumping in the dressage saddle or enduring the aches of spending quality time with the jumping saddle. ;)

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  2. I admire what you do i'm like you and much prefer dressage to jumping after a few accidents that left me with an almost broken ring jumpings just not my thing but i used to love it! :) I found the only way i could improve was to keep using the jumping saddle while it made me ache 100x more I found that after keeping at it, it made me feel more confident and I did a lot better, it made me more confident and while i still dont like jumping that much I found that my balance improved so yeah just keep at it with the jumping saddle it might take a while but in the end it will be worth it :) hope this helps you :) xx

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    1. I started out jumping as a kid taking lessons, so jumping position used to be all I knew. Now that I love dressage and spend most of my time with long legs and my shoulders over my hips, the two-point is very foreign. I can stand in my stirrups forever in the dressage saddle, but I did not enjoy the tension in my body which was required to sit or stand in the jumping saddle. I have spent a lot of time releasing muscular braces, so I did not like how the jumping saddle seemed to invite them. I have no aspirations to jump great jumps, so I am just going to have to deal with it once in a while when we take a break from dressaging. ;)

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  3. You and Harley are awesome!

    I admire you for making the tack switch. It took a long time not to have a hunt seat anymore - I reckon it would be just as hard to go back.

    I can see in the video what you mean about the cloverleaf being a deceptively simple school figure. Seems like you have to be thinking your turns and approach way further ahead than you'd think at first.

    Thanks for sharing - that was fun to watch. :)

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    1. Yeah. I thought I was looking and turning enough, but it still felt like the turns were sneaking up on me!

      Glad you liked it!

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  4. Fun! How did you do the helmet cam? Do you actually have a helmet cam, or did you attach a camera to your helmet? I want to try!

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    1. My husband got me a helmet camera for my birthday. I have a mount attached to the side of my helmet.

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  5. I've never been very good at jumping so I really can't add much to this conversation. You definitely use your calves differently and you need to look at the jump a lot sooner than you were (not to criticize, I have the same problem). Steering at 2-point takes practice!

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    1. The camera is fixed to the left side of my helmet, so I can see the jumps when the camera can't. ;)

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  6. If you used to jump as a kid then you probably have some idea of what you're supposed to do. It's hard to try and explain the jumping position but two point is a big part of it. Normally, I have my stirrups shorter - somewhere from the fist to under the armpit measurement. The clover leaf is a good jumping exercise but it takes a lot of pre-thought as to how to approach it, maybe something more in a hunter course might be easier to start with and then advance to the clover leaf pattern. The main thing is your having fun with Harley and he seems to enjoy jumping.

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    1. My body pretty much remembers. It is kind of like riding a bike, just not with the bike muscles in condition!

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