Thursday Video: Breaking Down a Cross Country School with Jon Holling

If you haven’t caught up with Jon Holling’s new YouTube show, The Long and Short of It, you’re missing out. There is a wealth of knowledge to be gleaned when professional riders take the time to break down their technique and training philosophies. In the newest episode, Jon breaks down a recent cross country school with Pioneer Archibald, a 9 year old British Sport Horse gelding owned by Jon and Rita Dann who has competed through the Preliminary level.

Setting a training session up so that the horse can properly understand a question is a recipe for success. Jon starts off this video by walking viewers through how he broke down a corner combination for “Archie” to better understand, then moving on to a coffin question.

Another concept Jon addresses is “early season rust”, which no doubt many of our readers can understand. Patience and a quiet ride go a long way with these moments. “One of the best things you can do with schooling anything is repetition,” Jon explained, showing Archie’s progression through repeating a question at which he had a couple of greener moments.

Don’t forget to subscribe to Jon’s channel here for more videos, both fun and informative. We appreciate these types of resources that are invaluable for riders of all levels to consume.