Adult Equitation in de HJEH Online Horse Show.
Gejureerd door Missy Roades.
Missy Roades
Missy Roades: USHJA ‘R’ gecertificeerde jury , trainer en coach in Hunters en Equitation, 53 jaar oud en woonachtig in Ravenel South Carolina.
1st place: Here we have a great photo of a horse and rider looking like they are having fun! The rider is mostly correct in her angles, but as is common on cross country courses, she is a little behind the motion. To improve her position she should push into her heels a bit more and put her hands more forward so give the horse more freedom to use his head and neck over the jump. Overall a very competent looking pair!
2nd place: In this photo we see a horse giving a great tidy effort over a trappy (spooky) vertical. The rider is balanced well, but it looks like her leg has turned away from the horse's sides a bit, which can result in unintentionally sending the horse a signal to speed up, yet her hands are restricting his neck. This is what we call “clashing of the aids” (legs says go, hands says stop), and it can be confusing to the horse. She should practice her two point position over poles and small jumps paying attention to not letting her leg roll out. Nice horse and competent rider for sure.
3rd place: Here we have a horse making a huge effort from a long distance to a spread fence (and demonstrating how belly girths protect the horse from his own hooves!) This rider has done a great job at staying with this horse, and is looking up and ahead, but is in a defensive position. Because of that her hip is behind her heel and her back is quite round, which in turn will make her seat come down in the saddle before the horse has completed the jump. This in turn can cause a fresh horse to scoot after a big effort like this. If she lengthened her leg and pushed into her heels more she could stay with this big bascule and still be in balance on the landing.
4th place: Here we have a rider that is trying to do the jumping for her horse. She has jumped up and ahead of the motion, and is at the same time looking down, all of which serve to unbalance the horse and actually make it harder for the horse to jump well. Her heel is actually up and digging into the horse's side which I noted in a previous photo, can actually give an unintentional "go" signal. Maybe this horse is very quiet and requires a lot of leg, but even then the rider should be using the part of her leg that is between the saddle and the spur rest (inside surface of her lower leg and inside surface of her heel, rather than the back point of the heel of her boot). One of the things I say as a teacher, is that if the horse magically were to disappear the rider should land on his or her feet. In this photo we see that the rider would definitely tip forward and land on her hands and head. Really cute horse giving a beautiful effort with a great expression.
