TRACK ATTACK

Learn two ways to ride a bending line of jumps or poles with confidence.

- SAMANTHA TURNER

When you are learning to jump and first starting to put courses together, often those courses are quite simple. They might include some single jumps plus lines set on the diagonal and the outside or quarter line.

As you become better at setting your horse up straight and in the center of each jump, carrying a good rhythm in your canter, and counting strides, then your instructor will start to introduce new elements to your courses, one of which may be a bending line.

WHAT'S A BENDING LINE?

A bending line is when one jump is set as if it's part of an outside line, and another is set as if it is part of a diagonal line. It is also possible to have a bending line in which both jumps seem to be part of two different diagonal lines (see pg. 26).

One of the most common exercises done with bending lines is practicing taking both the indirect track and the direct track. The indirect track means you are approaching each jump straight, negotiating the space in between the jumps by riding straight after the first jump in the line until you see the straight approach for the second jump start to appear. This is the track most often used when riding a hunter-style course, or in the first round of a jumper class when the focus is just to go clear.