What’s in Your Ring? is a new EN series in which riders share their favorite jumping exercises. It’s easy to get stuck in a training rut, and we hope this will inspire you with fresh ideas that you can take home and incorporate into your own programs.
Cantering a straight line through the zig zig as poles on the ground is one of several possible variations on this versatile exercise. Screenshot from video.
Molly Doan has had a big 2016 with her horse Northern Go. A sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, she and “Digger” moved up to Prelim together earlier this year — a first for them both.
“I’ve been incredibly lucky to grow up with my current horse, Digger,” she says. “We did our very first Starter event together almost six years ago and earlier this season, we did our first Preliminary. Producing my own upper level horse has been a challenge, but Digger has proved to be a gracious and forgiving partner. Of course, I couldn’t have made it here without the being a member of Team V Eventing, coached by Clare VanderWoude.”
Molly Doan and Northern Go. Photo by Rona Neri-Bergmann.
In addition to Digger, Molly owns an OTTB named Tiago whom she is excited to bring up the levels. She has big plans for both horses this winter.
“I’m counting down the days until the semester is over as I will pack up the boys and head to Florida to be a working student for Cathy Jones-Forsberg and compete in my first one-star,” she says.
Molly and Digger closed out their season with a 7th-place finish in an Open Prelim division at the Hagyard Midsouth Three-day Event & Team Challenge H.T. in October. Of 27 starters, only four pairs turned in a double-clear show jumping round — Molly and Digger being among them.
Seeing as they are clearly nailing the show jumping thing, we reached out to Molly to ask, “What’s in your ring?” Here’s what she had to say.
The exercise: “The zigzag”
How to ride it: “The zigzag can either be set up as four rails on the ground or four raised rails for a more advanced rider. Riders school the zigzag by circling and changing directions over the rails. I generally warm my horse’s trot and canter over the rails, decreasing the size of the turns as I go to make my horse stand up off my inside leg. Especially in the canter, I use this exercise to challenge my horse to a deep distance while maintaining a short, active gait. This collected canter makes the bigger competition canter better balanced and more powerful.”
Molly schooling Digger over a raised zigzag:
“One of the best parts about this exercise is how versatile it is. Whether you’ve just completed your first Beginner Novice or you’re an upper level rider, this exercise can be used to improve your horse’s footwork. For a more experienced pair, the zigzag can also be ridden in a straight line. This not only challenges a horse’s ability to hold a springy, collected canter, but also the straightness of the horse.”
“Once the horse is warmed up, I start to add in jumps. Ideally, the horse will sit and push at the zigzag rail and maintain a short canter to the fence. Towards the end of the school, I usually school some oxers that are unrelated to the zigzag. The oxers allow the rider to open up the horse’s canter and see if it maintains the same balance and power as the short canter did.”
“In this grid, the distances are purposefully short to school the gymnastic canter.”
Molly schooling her sister’s horse over the zigzag and jumps:
Many thanks to Molly for sharing and best of luck to her and her horses!
Do you have an exercise to share, or is there an eventer you would like to nominate for the “What’s in Your Ring?” series? Email us at [email protected].
Go Eventing.
