Great jumping instructor recommendations please

[XelaM]

My teenager dreams of a career as a rider. As unrealistic (and expensive) as it may be, I want to help her give it her best shot. She's doing fairly well placing at various BSJA shows and is currently at a kids-focused jumping yard that has definitely improved her riding, but she wants to get to the "next level" and I don't think anyone at her yard wants to go beyond recreational riding/low level competing (at least her friends don't and the yard doesn't really have anyone competing at international or even high national level).

She wants to do a clinic or a camp (if that even exists) to be seen by a fresh pair of eyes and for a high-level instructor to really assess her/her pony. Not being from the horse world, I have absolutely no clue what I'm talking about and I can only guess that top instructors have enormous waiting lists and don't take on kids off the street. But how to get to even be seen by one?

Could anyone recommend a clinic that we could sign up for? We're in London but could travel of course (ideally not too far).

I'm also concerned that her current instructor is very well-connected in the BSJA world and would take offence at us trying to be seen by someone else. I'm not sure how to navigate this without burning bridges, as they are a very good (old-school) instructor. A fall-out would also mean we would have to move yards (jumping yards recommendations would also be welcome 😂).

Any advice on how to go about this and recommendations much appreciated.

If they are funny about turning your pony out honestly I’d just leave asap.
Lack of turnout is just an out and out welfare issue. I think in Sweden it’s actually illegal to have horses living in due to how detrimental lack of turnout is.

It is SO much more important that the pony has a good standard of living and welfare than your DD has on tap access to a good coach.

Just typed out a long reply and it disappeared .. short version is that’s bonkers and if your daughter wants to progress she needs to move. It does seem to be more of a SJ thing - one of my friends has her daughter’s horse on a SJ yard and they record everything she does with her own horse and tell her which competitions she can do etc

That's exactly like this here and my dressage rider friend also said it's a SJ thing for instructors to be this difficult.

Completely agree about lack of turnout! It's another ongoing battle

@XelaM you need to change yards , a normal livery yard where you can get out and about , go to clinics , go to PC events / clinics and use whatever instructors you want . Your YO sounds like a complete nut job .

Yep, agree with this. A normal, not jumping focused yard would be a much better shout and mean your daughter could get out and about with PC/BS academy and do much more without pissing off a mad yard owner

I doubt they are that good a jumping coach if they won't even let your DD go competing without them! I suspect they are very good at all the talk.
How good are they exactly?!? What level have they jumped too themselves?! What level are the riders they coach at?! What instructor's qualifications do they have!? Have they brought on notable horses?
Or are they big fish in a small pond and think they are it because once upon a time they jumped at grade B?! (Showing my age there!) 😂

It's simple really, you DD has to decide. If she wants a nice time with her mates on a yard then stay. If she wants to progress and seriously be competitive she needs to move.

Thank you All for the great advice! Really appreciate it and will be taking it.

Can any of you knowledgeable competition riders tell me if it's normal not to turn horses out before competitions? So for a bigger show like Blue Chip last year our pony was not allowed turn out at all for weeks and weeks before the show because it would apparently make her faster. For smaller shows on a weekend the pony is not allowed turn out for the whole week before the show. Is this normal? It seems so cruel to me!

I think this thread is outing enough 😂

That’s not normal (or ethical) - where my daughter works the advanced eventers live out 24/7 - they’ll come in the night before an event to get plaited up etc but otherwise the only time they’d be kept in is if they’re on box rest for a medical reason. The yard you’re on is sounding more and more bonkers by the minute..

No it’s normal and frankly a welfare issue, if someone said they were keeping their dog in a crate for 3 weeks before crufts and only taking them out for half an hour/an hour a day you’d be horrified.

Not normal that should say!

Not turning out before competition is very old fashioned these days. I can understand a night before to keep them in so they aren't stuffed with grass, but horses that are allowed turnout are fitter, with better conditioned tendons and ligaments and less likely to be stiff. Horses kept in 24/7 are more likely to have things like pulled tendons etc.

I worked primarily with hunters and it's really unusual these days to stable 24/7. The eventers definitely got turnout, it keeps them saner. If you have a fit, buzzy horse you want it to actually listen to you. Sounds like your instructor is banking on it jumping out of its skin for a good round, rather than proper skill and horsemanship.

And bollocks to this 'not allowed too' - this is YOUR PONY. You own it. You are in charge of decisions like this. Next time tell the instructor it is going out and will be out or it won't be jumping on her team.

Thank you. That's what I thought. But we have zero control over anything because if we go against their wishes they will be giving my daughter hell in the lessons about how their way is the only way they do things there. Given that they're the expert and everyone is terrified of them and/or worships them, it's very difficult to disobey. I have spoken to my daughter and she's also tired of this bonkers behaviour and said she can make friends anywhere. We will be looking for another option for sure.

Oh I can well believe what it is like, the jumping world is bonkers, that's why I never wanted to do it. I jumped the eventers a bit at relevant classes for experience but I far preferred my hunting and team chasing.

Hope you find somewhere. Maybe look into getting your own transport then you have a lot more freedom.

That's the exact analogy I used!!

We have a dog who has never seen the inside of a crate. I was telling my daughter to imagine how it would feel for him to be caged 23 hours per day. 😢

Regarding transport, I recently lost a deposit on a horsebox I hired (from a very well-known firm) because the instructor didn't allow us to go to a show without her.

I meant to say that even if we had our own lorry, we still wouldn't be "allowed" to go.

What about Katie Waldock-Smith? Based Herts/North London border, runs various clinics and coaching sessions

www.facebook.com/katiewaldocksmithsj/?locale=en_GB

Honestly the quicker you can get out of there the better

Find a normal yard. A friend of mine has a little place which she rents. Then she sub lets a couple of boxes. They have grazing and a floodlit school. She uses the sublets to help fund her own horses, and everyone does their own thing. Her daughter pony clubs and they have an instructor who comes from time to time, and she and her daughter both go to clinics/camp. I imagine it's more difficult to find this sort of set up in London though, but there's got to be something more suitable.
For your daughter's career, I'd fund as best I could in the immediate ( talent spotters keep an eye on the juniors, and definitely get more involved with the Pony Club)
In the long term, a working pupil position on a show jumping yard would be a good start - one that offers the chance to ride, though it's standard to start at the bottom and work up.

Also worth advertising for rides if she has talent.

Good luck!

What level is she jumping at OP? Your yard owner / trainer sounds completely bonkers.

PS Judi is excellent