3 Easy Tips for Showjumping with Jessica Mendoza
Feature courtesy of Renwick & Sons, Purveyors of the finest grooming tools.
Here Jessica Mendoza gives her top three tips for showjumping. In this feature, Jessica is riding ‘Zizi’ NP Zelah, a 10-year-old bay mare, and is jumping 1m35/1m40.
Top Tip No.1 For horses that rush
Build a small cavaletti size fence, with a six meter distance to another fence, 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
Jessica is an ambassador for British heritage brand, Renwick & Sons, purveyors of the finest grooming tools. In the summer of 2015, riding Spirit T, Jess joined the British senior team for Nations Cups and helped secure Rio Olympics qualification for the British team at the Europeans in Aachen in 2015. At the age of 19, that made her the youngest British team member to ride in a senior international championships for 40 years.
From her current base in Eindhoven (Holland), where she has a string of around 12 horses, Jess is now in the Top 15 British riders in the World Rankings and competes regularly across the globe at the highest level. In 2016, she was selected for the British Olympic Squad and attended the Rio Olympics as the travelling reserve. She now has her sights firmly set on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
About Renwick & Sons
Since 1798, the Renwick & Sons family has been producing brushware in the heart of the Northumbrian countryside. Over the years, each generation has passed down this knowledge, passion, and craftsmanship all of which are now embodied in this stunning collection of equine brushes. The Renwick & Sons Grooming Kit combines traditional British craftsmanship, ergonomic design and advanced bristle technology to bring you and your horse a grooming experience like no other. Official partners with the British Grooms Association and proud to support British equestrian talent including Jessica and top show rider and producer, Katie Jerram.
Photography Credit: Peter Van den Bulck
Find out more on Renwick & Sons by visiting www.renwickandsons.co.uk
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