If you look up the old beginner adult rider sections in Practical Horseman when Jeff Cook was running them, there'd be a wealth of information that might help you. Granted, most of the jumps are VERY small, but since you're getting your foundation back, it can be important
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I'd actually disagree with the above, in part. I wouldn't go to town without my pedals, I I were you.
It sounds like your trainer thinks you have a bit of weakness in your base. Riding without stirrups without first correcting your general position would only serve to encourage it. Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.
I would start out doing a lot of work on 2 point at the trot. Switch between two point and posting, but I wouldn't worry about the sit trot for a while.
When you can comfortably hold the two point for a while, without feeling like your position changes dramatically to get there, then I would introduce the no stirrup work. Do it only as long as you can maintain position. It's not an endurance race, going he longest won't make you the winner. Again, I wouldn't worry about the sitting trot without.
The flat saddles make it glaringly apparent where any foundational weaknesses are- that is why everyone showing these days rides in thigh blocks/ knee blocks/ knee rolls stuff. I do too. Can't
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I love you for "perfect practice makes perfect" though I will politely disagree about the no stirrups since I think fairly automatically that can help a lot and that it can't hurt. :) But that's all right. And you have a very valid point about two point and halfseat work! Definitely important. But I don't think removing stirrups will hurt at all, and can only help.
I just mean that unless done correcty, it can hurt a lot- you can strengthen the thigh to pinch with the knee even more. Before I was "fixed" I had a picture of me in the AA jumpers where you could see the outline of my flexed thigh, with a pinched knee and my heels trying to kick themselves behind me. Ick.
Thanks for the advice guys. Sadly, I don't think I'm going to have any opportunities to ride on my own because I don't own a horse. No one is for lease either. So I only ride during lessons on school horses. I mean, if someone wants to lend me a horse and pay the crazy board I'll take it! lol
My coach had be post without stirrups on like my second lesson to get my legs tight on the flat. My legs are pretty decent on the flat now. My only issue is trying to cue the canter on the flat. I am still fighting an old habit of pulling my leg back to give aids instead of pushing in. Most of my issues with my legs are over fences.
Here's two photos of me back in June. Zooming in, I can see in the one that my knee is totally off the saddle. That wasn't a constant thing though, least not to my awareness. The mare was very excited to be jumping and was jumping big and trying to really book it around the course. You can see what I mean about my slightly roached back, but my legs were under me and I wasn't pinching my knees.
I didn't do eventing before picking up jumping. More like saddle seat. Lower leg as far off the horse as you can, more or less. The first thing my new h/j coach did was lecture me on putting my lower leg ON the horse and gripping - not pinching - with my knee. You do it right, and suddenly there's contact through your thigh, knee, and lower leg all over the fence, and you keep the leg under you
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I'm realizing now that H/J is really just amplifying problems that seemed relatively small previously. The half seat makes an stabilitiy issues with your lower leg super obvious. My legs are getting more consistant on the flat. While I am still struggling to figure stuff out over fences I'm atleast becoming aware of what I'm doing wrong. I've realized that I don't keep my pelvis over the center of the saddle while I jump. I tend to get it over the pommel. I'm also getting some real bootcamp on getting my hands forward over a fence (the precursor to a real auto release) because I tended to get them underneath me before. It's hard to feel like you don't know anything or be unable to do things correctly that you thought you were doing correctly before, but I figure as long as I am aware of what needs correcting and what the right thing is, I'll get through it.
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I'd actually disagree with the above, in part. I wouldn't go to town without my pedals, I I were you.
It sounds like your trainer thinks you have a bit of weakness in your base. Riding without stirrups without first correcting your general position would only serve to encourage it. Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.
I would start out doing a lot of work on 2 point at the trot. Switch between two point and posting, but I wouldn't worry about the sit trot for a while.
When you can comfortably hold the two point for a while, without feeling like your position changes dramatically to get there, then I would introduce the no stirrup work. Do it only as long as you can maintain position. It's not an endurance race, going he longest won't make you the winner. Again, I wouldn't worry about the sitting trot without.
The flat saddles make it glaringly apparent where any foundational weaknesses are- that is why everyone showing these days rides in thigh blocks/ knee blocks/ knee rolls stuff. I do too. Can't ( ... )
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I just mean that unless done correcty, it can hurt a lot- you can strengthen the thigh to pinch with the knee even more. Before I was "fixed" I had a picture of me in the AA jumpers where you could see the outline of my flexed thigh, with a pinched knee and my heels trying to kick themselves behind me. Ick.
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My coach had be post without stirrups on like my second lesson to get my legs tight on the flat. My legs are pretty decent on the flat now. My only issue is trying to cue the canter on the flat. I am still fighting an old habit of pulling my leg back to give aids instead of pushing in. Most of my issues with my legs are over fences.
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v116/katie816/Other%20Stuff/photo1.jpg
Here's two photos of me back in June. Zooming in, I can see in the one that my knee is totally off the saddle. That wasn't a constant thing though, least not to my awareness. The mare was very excited to be jumping and was jumping big and trying to really book it around the course. You can see what I mean about my slightly roached back, but my legs were under me and I wasn't pinching my knees.
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