There is not a single rider who rides a perfect course time after time and week after week. Still, there are a number of riders who regularly manage to ride a neat course, whether a bar falls or not, the way of riding is always perfectly fine. The above is a quality that many riders are jealous of, but one thing of luck, riding a good course can be learned.
Preparation
Riding a good course starts long before you get on your horse. Make sure that poor preparation does not cause stress, in most cases stress and nerves play a big role in the mistakes made on the course. Therefore, check the following points before you leave:
- Be aware of the starting times, the time that the course may be run and whether there are any dropouts.
- Make sure your horse is washed and braided in time.
- Check that your harness is complete and that you have your competition clothing with you.
- Make sure you leave on time.
Walk course
As the saying goes ” Well begun is half done ”. Allow enough time to walk the course, but before you walk to obstacle 1, there are other things to consider first.
Take stock of the course beforehand, what seemingly difficult obstacles or lines are for you and your horse, where could he get distracted and where is the jury car. When it is your turn for the participant, you can often already enter the ring, so think in advance what you will do with your horse in the 1.5 minutes before you actually start.
Think in advance at which point you would like to greet and how you can drive from there in a nice smooth line to obstacle 1.
When you have determined this for yourself, it is time to actually start walking the course. Walk the lines devised by the course builder, do not try to take the shortest route to be ready quickly, when you do you will not see from where you actually have to drive and this can cause uncertain situations later in the course . Measure your distances between the obstacles in combinations and double jumps. This way you know how many canter jumps have to be ridden everywhere, this provides a bit of peace and can ensure that you become more confident.
Do not forget to check where the finish line is, you will not be the first to accidentally turn in front of the finish line, which will then result in 4 penalties for driving a circle.
Let go
Do not try to drive differently than you do at home during the release. Listen to your horse, if he is a bit fresh then you make some extra jumps, if he is relaxed don’t jump too much and try to keep him fresh for the course. Many outsiders argue that you should always jump a little higher during the jump than you have to jump in the course. This is different for every rider, but this is not necessary in principle, it is important that you enter the ring with confidence, if you accidentally ended up in a thick oxer just before you have to start, then the confidence of both rider and horse has been violated. .
When you are called to enter the ring, make sure you are at the entrance of the ring in time, so you can see the combination that is currently in the track, you can learn something from this.
Riding the trail
When the track is entered you have about 2 minutes to explore the track while your predecessor jumps his / her course. Give your horse time to take a look at an exciting obstacle (for example a ditch), if necessary, gallop a little round to release the tension, but above all make sure that you do not get in the way of your predecessor.
When the bell has sounded, greet neatly and ensure a good rhythm and basic pace before driving to obstacle 1; a good and constant rhythm largely ensures the constant course. Drive the lines that you have devised in advance and try not to get stressed by a lesser distance, an exciting obstacle or an outside event, here too: keep the rhythm. Even when hitting an exciting obstacle, you ensure the right rhythm, your horse has been able to view it in advance, so there is no reason to look up here. Finally, don’t forget to drive through the finish line!
As described above, the self-confidence and rhythm are of great value to complete the course well.