I'm a professional showjumper - AMA

[showjumper]

As the title says

Feel free to ask me anything!

Hi, I'm a 14yr old girl struggling to keep my 5yr mare straight and bent to the inside and things. Any tips? Also what height were you jumping at 14?

*from dd!

Really interesting thread op!

So I used to work for an equine charity and what I often noticed was that at the grassroots level in the UK, women make up the vast majority of riders. But when you get to the top level of many of the disciplines and especially when you look at the senior officials, there are a lot of men! (Obviously that's a sweeping generalisation for the sake of brevity and I do know there are senior female officials and riders, but I hope you see what I mean?). Is that something you notice, and if so, why do you think that is? And is that something you see changing in the future?

@SavageBeauty73 thank you! Enjoy 😁

@babyface and her lovely DD 😁

Hi, I'm a 14yr old girl struggling to keep my 5yr mare straight and bent to the inside and things. Any tips?

Lots and lots of circles! Keep her bending round your leg, constantly. Three looped serpentines are great too. I often use poles to help keep babies a little more interesting. Leg yielding is also a great way to help her bend. Even out hacking practise pushing her over and back again.

How big is she? The bigger they are, the longer they take to mature.

Keep persevering - horses learn by repetition and consistency is key!

Also what height were you jumping at 14?

I was competing at around 1.20-1.25m level at 14 😀

Thank you! She's a 14.2. I'm only jumping 90s at the minute as I'm taking things slow with her being a baby and all. Any leg strengthening exercises I could use? As my inside leg sometimes isn't strong enough sometimes to stop her drifting in.

Oooo, with horses like that you've got to be a 'name'!! I'm going to go n work out who you are!! I used to idolise Caroline Bradley and got her autograph once. I was devastated when she died and it still makes me sad to this day. I'm more dressage these days though and trot round thinking I'm Charlotte 😆 It's nice to read that you treat your horses well and not like machines, as I know plenty who do sadly.

I’m now not sure you are who I thought you are. Unless you had a pony with name initials OM?

Thanks OP yes, he was incredible, an anglo-arab/connemara cross who thought he was Desert Orchid

What do you think of clipping whiskers? I have heard that show jumpers tend to do it but dressage people not.

Thank you @Truckingonandon - I'd like to think that the happier they are, they better they perform!

Absolutely nothing wrong with trotting around pretending you are Charlotte, I think we are all guilty of that sometimes

@Spudlet

Really interesting thread op!

So I used to work for an equine charity and what I often noticed was that at the grassroots level in the UK, women make up the vast majority of riders. But when you get to the top level of many of the disciplines and especially when you look at the senior officials, there are a lot of men! (Obviously that's a sweeping generalisation for the sake of brevity and I do know there are senior female officials and riders, but I hope you see what I mean?). Is that something you notice, and if so, why do you think that is? And is that something you see changing in the future?

Yes, definitely however saying that there are a lot of very, very talented ladies coming through. Although not true for everyone, many women will marry, have children and end up schooling youngsters at home for example, take more of a behind the scenes role.
In terms of an official capacity, I can't speak for BE, BHS, BE etc as I know nothing about how those organisations work but for BS our chef d'equipe is female and there are lots of women in senior places - probably not enough but we are getting there!
As I said before, our sport is one of if not the most equal sports on the planet so yes we are getting there! Hopefully more women will continue to move up the ranks.

@Paddingtonthebear I didn't unfortunately 🙈

@Polestar50

What do you think of clipping whiskers? I have heard that show jumpers tend to do it but dressage people not.

My horses whiskers are always clipped (as well as fluffy ears, can't stand it 🙈) but I genuinely believe that most competitive riders, even at a lower level would do.

They are not completely shaved but are kept short and neat 😁

Are you female? Why is riding seen as girly? DS is interested but D
P is worried he will be bullied.

@cheminotte

Are you female? Why is riding seen as girly? DS is interested but D
P is worried he will be bullied.

Yes I am.
I genuinely have no idea - DH and I have this conversation regularly - however as @Spudlet said, at the top level, I'd say around 75% of the riders are men. As anyone who is involved in horses knows, it's bloody hard work very physical... there is nothing glam about poo stained britches, broken mani's and big bruises.
I personally think it's a great sport to involve any child in, especially boys, as it teaches them kindness, empathy and compassion in addition to the more standard sporting values.
I'd like to hope your DS wouldn't be bullied! That's really sad. Best of luck to him x

Don't clip whiskers

I know that you said that you’d like to compete in the Olympics already, but do you have any other ambitions?

And I love this AMA!

@cheminotte I will be so jealous if your lad takes up riding. Both of my boys sneer at my obsession with horses and deliberately wouldn’t go near a horse as soon as they had the choice.

What are your go to exercises for improving canter as you mentioned up-thread to focus more on quality of canter than calculating the stride.

As a novice, I tend to get a better canter when I'm jumping as I don't overthink it. When I am doing canter flatwork, am more likely to override it as I fuss too much!

Thanks showjumper and weaselwords . I’m not horsey myself, it wasn’t something my parents could have afforded growing up. But DS has tried it at holiday club and totally loved it. I have booked him in for a beginners lesson next week so we’ll see how gets on.

I’ve got another one. Have you got any “golden rules” that help keep your horses sound? My sister has had some awful experiences with hock problems and kissing spines and now chooses her horses on how robust they are, not their talent. She competes mid-level dressage, so nothing like the strain on bodies that show jumpers experience. She loves her horses dearly, so isn’t doing anything “wrong” like over working on hard ground but I wondered if there was anything she was missing. Or is dressage actually harder on horses’ bodies?

This is a fab thread. I am suffering from not having the time to even watch show jumping most of the time and sadly won't be riding again after too many injuries and too old and too fat.

I have met quite a few of the big name show jumpers in my time when I was spectating at shows. At one point in the 80s, I ended up holding one of John Whitaker's horses at the Royal Highland show when he needed his groom to change a jump. Likewise, at the end of the Royal International (when it was held at the White City in the 1980s) I'm old! I held David Broome's Royale, who had just won the final class, as he was about to be boxed. Those were the days when you could get into the stabling area and chat to the horses, grooms and riders.

@cheminotte

I wouldn't think your DS would be bullied - men and boys have always been totally welcome at all the places I've ridden at. Despite my previous post, I did also work with a lot of horsey men in my last job - mostly ex mounted policemen or forces, including some from the cavalry, or former RSPCA inspectors. All good male role models for a young lad. I would expect it also to give your DS a good experience of treating girls as his equals and competitors as it is a sport where men and women compete on totally equal terms, as the op says.

It's a great sport and I miss it awfully. Get your DS on a pony!

I’d love to know if you have any superstitions or rituals before big events.