Skybreaker living up to his name last fall
‘When riders get nervous, often times they will either chase or choke their eye.’ I can’t tell you how many times I have heard Denny say this during a jump lesson. I never really noticed until I started riding with Denny that lots of riders have a tendency to do this. No finger pointing here. In fact I will be the first to admit I have a tendency to chase my eye when I get nervous. If I am worried about a certain jump and I start to feel the nerves building I will more often than not feel the need to charge at the fence which obviously doesn’t get me anywhere. Some riders “pick” as they come to a fence, and others will flat out run.
So, if we feel confident about our ability to see a distance to a fence and we believe we have a fairly reliable three stride eye, then how can we trust our training and not allow fear or anxiety to overpower us? How can we stay cool, calm and relaxed when the bar begins to raise? How do we trust our instincts and ride each jump to the best of our ability without allowing fear and anxiety to creep in?
Practice! The only way we are even going to get better at something is if we practice. Some riders are more gifted than others. I have definitely struggled for years and years. Oh crap, there’s an enormous roll top out there…I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to do….I am not seeing any sort of distance…UMMMM….I’ll just blindly gallop towards it and hope for the best. These are literally thoughts that use to go through my head. I was very inexperienced and did NOT have a reliable three stride eye. I couldn’t see a distance to save my life and never really practiced getting that perfect uphill, balanced and adjustable canter that is required for jumping.
One of the best pieces of advice that Denny ever gave me was to do the “footprint game.” Meaning, find a footprint in the sand, or dirt far enough away that you have time to get to it, but close enough so you can actually see it. Now, canter towards that footprint and get in right. This can also be done over poles on the ground. This helped my eye tremendously. I was so tired of randomly getting in right to a fence that I had to take matters into my own hands and force myself to have a better eye.
Pressure. I have noticed that I am much more likely to chase my eye when I am nervous. The only way for me to get over nerves is by putting myself under pressure. I am under pressure when I go to a jumper show, or a competition, or if I am riding in front of a group of other riders. The more times I can put myself in these types of sitautions the more comfortable I will become.
Valonia over the last fence at Huntington Farm 2012
The CANTER! Denny always talks about the canter and how so many horses don’t have jumping problems, they have cantering problems. What does this mean? A lot of horses that come here for a lesson, or a lot of horses that we have all ridden with Denny over the years struggle with their canters. Some want to run on their forehand and jump flat over a fence, while others lack impulsion and can barely make it over a jump because they are like a log stuck in the mud. Creating a canter that has impulsion and balance can take years, but can be accomplished.
So how exactly do we avoid those moments where we either chase or choke our eye? The only thing I am certain about is that IT TAKES TIME. Learning to ride, or learning how to jump, or learning how to see your distance to a jump repeatedly does not happen overnight. Learning to ride and become a good rider takes time. I think you have the ability to speed up the process if you are eager to get better and you are a dedicated rider. We can have lessons every single day, but at the end of the day, it’s the homework that really needs to be done. It’s not up to our trainers or coaches to make “it” happen…it’s up to us as riders.
