Booli Selmayr and Urania. Photo by Abby Powell.
We love a good educational video here at EN, and thanks to our friends at Millbrook Horse Trials, we’ve got a fresh new grid exercise for you to integrate into your practice at home. 5* rider Booli Selmayr is the instructor du jour for these exercises, which focus on improving a horse’s jump form and canter quality, while also giving the rider a chance to hone their own position.
From Booli, here are some instructions for these exercises:
Grid I: Encourage the horse to bascule & reach across the fence
What you need: Two cavalettis and a pole
How: Place the two cavalettis right next to each other and lay the pole over diagonally on top. This will help the horse understand as you widen the cavalettis they are not to touch down between the two.
Cantering on a large circle, get your horse quite round, and jump the cavaletti on a curving line. Gradually widen the cavalettis. You can also adjust the size of the canter circle depending on the level of training of your horse.
Grid II: Improve the quality of your canter to and from the fence
What you need: 3-4 poles & blocks, or cavalettis, 4x standards and poles to make an oxer.
How: Place 3-4 canter bounces on a curved line on one end of the circle. The middle to middle of the poles should measure 12' and the inside should measure 10'. Place the oxer directly across from the canter rails on the circle. Depending on you and your horse's experience will determine how large your circle & strides are in between the oxer to canter rails. The smaller the circle, the more advanced the exercise becomes. Do this in both directions, you can start with rails or oxer, there are lots of ways to play around with this exercise.
Take a look in the video below (or click here to watch it directly on Facebook):
Winter is usually a good time for eventers to practice on fine tuning the small details in preparation for the 2023 season. Our very own Booli Selmayr- Fox Valley Sport Horses shares two of her favorite grid exercises that you can easily do in an indoor, outdoor or field. Have Fun! Thanks Booli!
From Booli:
Grid I: Encourage the horse to bascule & reach across the fence
What you need: Two cavalettis and a pole
How: Place the two cavalettis right next to each other and lay the pole over diagonally on top. This will help the horse understand as you widen the cavalettis they are not to touch down between the two.
Cantering on a large circle, get your horse quite round, and jump the cavaletti on a curving line. Gradually widen the cavalettis. You can also adjust the size of the canter circle depending on the level of training of your horse.Grid II: Improve the quality of your canter to and from the fence
What you need: 3-4 poles & blocks, or cavalettis, 4x standards and poles to make an oxer.
How: Place 3-4 canter bounces on a curved line on one end of the circle. The middle to middle of the poles should measure 12' and the inside should measure 10'. Place the oxer directly across from the canter rails on the circle. Depending on you and your horse's experience will determine how large your circle & strides are in between the oxer to canter rails. The smaller the circle, the more advanced the exercise becomes. Do this in both directions, you can start with rails or oxer, there are lots of ways to play around with this exercise.
Posted by Millbrook Horse Trials on Tuesday, January 24, 2023
