Читать книгу Geoff Teall on Riding Hunters, Jumpers and Equitation - Geoff Teall - Страница 69

Before show season starts, decide what type of course you want to do by season’s end. Analyze what kinds of questions are going to be asked of you and your horse as the year progresses. Identify what sorts of reactions and skills you will need in order to do well. Then, break that “end-of-season” course into pieces, and get to work on them.

For example, in a typical hunter course, you need to be able to jump straight lines, forward lines, and slow lines. You need to jump at least one fence off a turn. You need to be able to navigate diagonal lines. You may need to be able to do broken lines or in-and-outs. For handy hunter classes, you may be asked to trot a jump or make tight turns.

You do not do yourself any favors if you start the season without ever determining what sorts of challenges you can expect to see in the ring.

Once you know what the pieces are, you can set about learning the skills and devising exercises to help you master them. Don’t practice courses over and over again. Instead, practice skills that will help you put the perfect round together when you need to.

Use a single part of a course as an individual exercise and practice learning to do that part well. (See chapter 11, Course Work, to discover how to break a course down into its various parts. You will also find specific exercises to improve your understanding of those parts.)

Practice at home until you have mastered the skills you need. Then, when you are at the show and you see a particular type of line or fence, you and your horse will be able to excel, and all your hard work will pay off.