Ride Your Hunter Round Like A Pro

Wow the judge with this top hunter rider and judge’s show-ring tips. Part 2: Practice track-riding skills and finish each round on a good note.

- Tom Brennan

Last month, I taught you how to ride forward on course, jump fences “out of stride” and use focal points to make smooth, accurate turns. This month, you’re going to build on those skills by practicing turning around a jump as you approach your next fence. This will help you stay focused and on track in the show ring when you have to ride around other jumps, decorations or obstacles.

In this month’s second exercise, I will ask you to turn your head while jumping a small grid. This will improve your balance, timing and muscle memory over fences—it’s pretty fun, too! After that, I’ll share some tips for maximizing one aspect of hunter performances that often receives too little attention: the jump recovery. Then, to add a final polish to your round, we’ll discuss how to end it on a note that will impress the judge and leave you with a satisfied feeling of a job well done.

Homework: Turning Around Another Jump

Set up a single fence on the diagonal in such a way that you have to go around one of the jumps of an outside line to get to it. Place a cone, jump standard or other visual target at the far end of the diagonal where your straight track should take you after the jump.

Pick up the same forward, confident canter we practiced last month. When you reach the end of the ring before the turn to the jump, squeeze your legs to maintain your horse’s impulsion. Turn your head to look for the cone. Pretend the outside line jump isn’t even there. As you approach and pass it, look through it toward your jump and, specifically, the cone beyond it. Ignore the outside line jump as it passes through your peripheral vision. You and your horse will be inherently aware of the obstacle you are going around. Keep your focus on the cone as you make a nice smooth turn onto the diagonal and canter over the jump.