In this feature, top British showjumper Jessica Mendoza shares her three essential tips for success in the ring. Riding the talented bay mare ‘Zizi’ NP Zelah, Jessica demonstrates her advice over a 1.35m–1.40m course.
Top Tip No.1: For horses that rush
Build a small cavaletti size fence, with a six-meter distance to another fence, and include a pole five strides behind this (as below).
This fence set up is really good for slowing down your horse’s pace after a fence and encouraging him or her to sit back on his/her haunches. It also makes the horse think and also encourages them to listen to your aids, which is great for horses that are overly keen and tend to rush.
Top Tip No.2 For horses that aren’t straight
You can see from the images below, that Zizi first rides towards the single jump with a lot of enthusiasm, which affects his straightness, the approach and take-off.
However, once we start to incorporate another fence with the same set-up as for tip no.1, you can really see the difference before, during and after the fence.
The beauty of this exercise is that you can change between doing five and six strides between the two fences, which gives you further control on the speed at which your horse approaches the fence and also gives the horse something more to think about.
The landing poles (images below) serve well in keeping the horse straight, and you can see how well these are working with Zizi.
Top Tip No.3 – Suppleness
Once you have ridden the two fence combination a few times, working on your speed and straightness, your horse should be listening to you and performing better. When you jump your other fences, as seen here with Zizi [images below] you can see she is much more uphill on her take-off, this will help take the power forward onto the next jump through her hind legs, as opposed to being on her forehand.
Changing the pace within the pace (collected to working canter) and direct transitions also help supple the horse but as with all good work, make sure you give your horse walk breaks on a long rein in between.
About Jessica Mendoza
Jessica Mendoza (born 9 April 1996, Cheltenham) is one of Great Britain’s leading showjumpers, currently competing at Grand Prix and international levels. A riding prodigy from a young age, she dominated the pony and junior circuits—twice earning team gold and individual honours at European Pony Championships, then progressing to juniors and young riders, collecting numerous team medals through 2014..
By 2014, she was making waves on senior circuits across Europe, winning her debut World‑Class 4* Grand Prix in Antwerp and, in London at Horseguards Parade, becoming the youngest ever winner on the Longines Global Champions Tour’s CSI5*. Since then, she’s amassed multiple international Grand Prix wins, Nations Cup medals (including team golds in Rotterdam and Rome), and also shone at major US shows such as Wellington’s WEF, Washington International, and Hudson Valley CSI4*/CSI5*.
A regular on the senior British team—including at European Championships (2015 Aachen) and as travelling reserve for Team GBR at Rio 2016—Jessica is currently ranked within the top 100 in the FEI Longines standings, with over 2,500 FEI starts and more than 110 international wins to her name.
Travelling internationally from her base in Eindhoven (NL) during the European summer and Wellington, Florida, in winter, Jessica continues to compete at the highest level, riding horses such as In The Air, I‑Cap CL Z and NP Zelah. Off the track, she also shares her expertise through coaching and clinics in the UK, Europe and the USA.
Photography Credit: Peter Van den Bulck
