It's a Matter of Style

[Deleted]

Cora tucked a piece of blonde hair behind her ear and peered back down at her clipboard once more. Her Hunter/Jumper class for this year was smaller than it had been the year before, which was good, as far as she was concerned, as it allowed for her to spend more time focusing on each individual student. She’d set up a simple hunter course in the jumping ring where her class would be held. It consisted of two outside lines and two diagonals which would serve her purpose fine, since that was what a basic low level hunter course usually consisted of. None of the jumps exceeded 2’3”, and she didn’t think that any of her students would have an issue with it, even if they were on ponies.

She stood in the center of the ring as she waited for her class to arrive, and as each student arrived, she asked for them to please warm up their horse. After all of the students have arrived and sufficiently warmed up their horses, she called them into the center. ”Hello, and welcome to your Hunter/Jumper class. For those of you who do not know from class last year or from the show jumping class, my name is Ms. Addison, and I will be your instructor. I teach both this class and the show jumping class, and you will probably see me around campus. This year, I hope to improve your skills in the hunter ring and make you as prepared as possible for the show ring, as I know many of you are interested in showing. For those of you who are not, the skills you are taught will help you nonetheless. I expect you to come to this class prepared to put your best effort into everything you do here. Anything less is cheating not only me, but you and your horse as well. If you ever have any concerns, please come to me. Know that I am going to push you, but I’ll never have you do anything that is unsafe for you or your horse. I am also available to schedule private lessons if you are interested in doing so. Now that I’ve introduced myself, I’d like for all of you to do the same. Please share your name, your horse’s name, and your experience in the discipline.”


Once all of the students had introduced themselves, Cora spoke up again. ”Now I would like for you all to find a spot on the rail, tracking left, and pick up the trot. We are going to work on the flat for a little while before we begin jumping. I’d like for us to begin all of our classes this way, as your skills on the flat are just as important as your skills over fences. They come in handy not only in your flat classes, but also in your jumping classes. A hunter/jumper class is not only about getting over the jumps nicely, but also guiding your horse around the course in good form.” She watched her students work at the posting trot until Rose reached C for the second time, and then asked for them to pick up the canter. After they worked around the ring twice at the canter, she asked them again for the walk so they could begin jumping.


clothes

[Rose Hoff]

Rose arrived early to Vintage’s stall to prepare her mare for their Hunter/Jumper class. She’d rushed to get dressed for it, and now had a bit more time to get Vintage’s light coat as shiny as she could make it. She brushed the petite warmblood mare thoroughly, taking extra time with the soft brush to get out any dust that had collected. Once happy with the mare, Rose returned her brushes to her tack locker and retrieved all of her tack. She used Vintage’s light pink saddle pad and her jumping saddle, as well as the mare’s simple D-ring snaffle bridle.

Once tacked up, Rose led Vintage out to the jumping ring where their class was. She entered and greeted Ms. Addison with a smile before leading vintage to the center and mounting from the ground. She then began to warm Vintage up in both directions, working her at the walk, trot, and canter. Bringing her mare back to the walk when called in, Rose guided her over to Ms. Addison. Listening to the introduction, she decided that she may schedule a private lesson for her and Vintage soon, as it was always a good way to hone in on where they had difficulties. When it came time for them to introduce themselves, Rose spoke up first, wanting to get it over with. ”Hello, my name is Rose Hoff, and this is Vintage. I have been competing in the Hunter/Jumper discipline for about ten years, and I’ve been riding for even longer.” She listened to the rest of the students’ introductions and then walked Vintage back to the rail when asked.

Picking up the posting trot when she had found a good space on the rail, Rose worked on making Vintage supple and ahead of her leg, which wasn’t very difficult, since the mare was being very willing that day. When asked, she cued Vintage into the canter and rose into her hunt seat position, keeping her legs steady and body in good position. She held Vintage into a collected canter, though still kept the mare working, squeezing her constantly with her legs. She then down transitioned back to the walk when asked, trying not to let her body fall forward when doing so.

clothes

[Ben Hall]

Ram was ready and waiting for Ben when the boy found his gelding in his stall before their Hunter/Jumper class. It was their first mounted class together and Ben was very nervous. Even though he’d ridden the horse on his own, he didn’t know how the Anglo-Arab would act when surrounded by a bunch of other horses in the ring. He seemed as if he knew what he was doing as a hunter, so Ben wasn’t too worried about the horse’s skills, but it was certainly going to be a new situation, which weren’t always good with horses. He got Ram’s equipment and groomed the horse until his black coat was gleaming, before tacking him up in a white saddle pad with hunter green trim and his jumping saddle.

Ben led Ram out to the ring and entered, greeting Ms. Addison on the way in and mounting Ram after tightening his girth and pulling down his stirrups. He walked Ram to the rail and warmed him up as instructed. The gelding was feeling good and very willing, which he usually was as far as Ben could tell. He was an awesome mover, which would make him great in the hunter ring, and it would certainly catch the judge’s attention. After he’d warmed up, Ben walked Ram to the center when called. He listened to the introduction and when it was his turn to introduce himself he began. Hi, I’m Ben, and this is Ram. I’ve been riding in the Hunter/Jumper discipline since I was young, so probably eight, nine-ish years.”

After the other students introduced themselves, Ben found a spot at the rail and followed the rest of Ms. Addison’s instructions for the flat portion of their lesson. He was glad that they would be doing a good amount of flat work, as it was always good to be sharp with they, even if it could get a bit boring.

[Deleted]

Anna was very excited for her first Hunter/Jumper class with Essie. This was her time to show off, as she and Essie had always done very well in the hunter ring, and her mare was consistent, so she didn’t have to worry about her fussing about there being new horses in the ring for their first class. She found her pony in her stall and groomed her which didn’t take very long since Essie had been in her stall. She then tacked her up in their normal tack, using a navy saddle pad, and then bridled the mare. She led her out to the jumping ring where their class was and smiled at the instructor as she entered, wanting to make a good first impression. She then mounted and warmed Essie up, taking care to still look her best in the warm-up, as she was sure that the instructor was watching them. When asked, she brought Essie back to the walk and guided her to the center where the other students stood around the woman.

She listened to Ms. Addison’s introduction, nodding slightly as some of the woman’s words, and then listened to the other students introduce themselves, filing their names away in her mind. These riders would, no doubt, be her competition later on, and she wanted to know them and their horses well. When it came her turn, she spoke up. ”Hello, my name is Anna, and this is Caviar and Cigarettes, or Essie. I have been riding and competing in the Hunter/Jumper discipline for about six years.”

When the other introductions had been finished, Anna walked Essie to the rail and then picked up the trot and followed all of the instructions for the flat portion of their lesson. Essie was an angel of course, and Anna was feeling rather confident about how they were doing so far.

[Deleted]

Kate found Poet in his stall shortly before their Hunter/Jumper class, and knew that she would have to hurry a bit to get there in time. She was sure that Ms. Addison wouldn’t be too happy with her if she were late, so she rushed brushing Poet. Luckily the gelding was clean, so she didn’t have to skimp too much, and she was quick tacking him up. Pulling on her Charles Owen and gloves, she walked Poet to the ring where their class would be held and greeted Ms. Addison, trying to hide her breathlessness from all of the rushing she’d done. Luckily, the other riders were only beginning to warm up their horses, and she had enough time to do the same with Poet. The horse was feeling a bit lazy, so she had to push him a bit more to get him to lengthen his stride.

She brought Poet into the center when asked to, and listened to the introductions, trying to be patient when she really just wanted to ride. These first day formalities were not her cup of tea, and she just wanted for them to be done and over with. When it came her turn, she made her introduction short, wanting to get it done quickly. ”Hi, I’m Kate Holden and my gelding’s name is Poet. I have been riding in the Hunter/Jumper discipline for three or four years, and I rode primarily in dressage before that.”

Eager to begin when the introduction were finished with, Kate was among the first to the rail despite Poet’s hesitation to work very hard, and she managed to get her gelding to move rather nicely around the ring as instructed without stopping to get a crop.

[Deleted]

Olivia left the cafeteria a little bit before she normally would, wanting to spend some extra time to get Blue ready for their first hunter jumper class of the year. She had tried to keep the mare in training over the summer, although it was hard to do without someone critiquing what she had to work on.

After the mare was groomed and tacked up, Olivia buckled on her helmet and tucked her gloves into the waistband of her jodhpurs before she led the mare out towards the show jumping rings. Before she entered the ring, she pulled on her gloves and checked the mare's girth, then stepped in, moving the mare to the centre, where she greeted the instructor and pulled down the stirrups, then mounted, before she gathered her reins and found a place on the rail to warm up the pony.

When it came time to introduce themselves, Olivia listened to the rest of the students, some of whom she knew from the previous year, while others were new to the class, before she spoke, "My name is Olivia, this is Blue. I've been riding hunter jumpers for about four years now." Once everyone had had their turn, she found her place on the rail again and let the mare move out, listening to the instructor's words as she waited for the instructions, which weren't too long in coming.

[Thomas Oliver]

Tommy felt a little nervous as he got Dragan ready for the hunter/jumper class. He hadn't done and formal hunter/jumper training since Amber had reacted so negatively to it at a competition a year ago, and now that he once again owned a horse trained in that discipline he was getting the horse ready for class.

As soon as the appaloosa gelding was ready, he led the gelding toward the jumping ring that they had been told the class would be held. He tightened the girth and mounted up before entering the arena, so that he wouldn't be in the way of the riders already in there warming up, and began to warm the gelding up. He struggled a little to get the horse to relax as Dragan seemed to be trying to look everywhere at once, just waiting for a monster to jump out from behind a one of the posts around the arena.

When they were called into the centre, he sat easily on the gelding's back and listened as their teacher spoke and then the other students in the class introduced themselves. "Hi, I'm Tommy Oliver and this beast is Dragan. I've played around with hunter/jumping for about five years now, nothing too serious as my mare, Amber, decided she didn't like it after all and I retrained her for dressage and cross country." He shrugged his shoulders, really not too phased with what anyone thought of his answer.

When asked to find a space on the rail, he slotted Dragan in at the end of the ride and followed the instructions as they were given. He sat lightly in the saddle, his weight in his feet, and nodded as the gelding fell into a rhythm and settled into the work. He knew he should have done more riding work with the gelding before classes started, and was surprised as the gelding transitioned into a gentle rocking horse canter.

[Deleted]

    Cora listened carefully as each of her students introduced themselves. She knew most of them already from previous years, which made remembering names easier for her, and their horses' names would come to her even easier. The class had a wide range of different horses, ranging from the classic hunter warmbloods, to ponies, to an appaloosa, who would surely stand out in the hunter/jumper ring. She was glad that she had just set up smaller jumps today, as she had two ponies in the class. Later she would talk to these riders about how high they were comfortable jumping their ponies, so she would know for later in the year.

    Watching her students do their flat work, she was very pleased to see that they all seemed to have a good foundation on the flat. This would make jumping courses a lot easier for them, so long as they didn't drop all of these skills as soon as they set eyes on a fence. It was clear that Kate was having to work to get Poet moving nicely, but the girl managed well enough.

    When she was happy with how all of them were moving on the rail, she called out again, ready to move on. "Very good, all of you! Overall, I'm very impressed. We will continue to work on the flat throughout the year, so I'm very pleased to see that all of you seem to have a strong foundation. Now for the jumping. We are going to start with just a line before we get to a course today. Starting with Rose, I would like for all of you to trot your horses to the smaller line as you come to it, and jump into the canter. Please count your strides through the line and call out how many you get after you've jumped the second fence." She pointed to the line they would jump, which consisted of a cross rail at 1'9", and a vertical at 2'.

[Deleted]

Olivia smiled as she heard the instructor's praise. This was her favourite type of riding, for all that she might dabble in reining or mounted games. She had to work to keep Blue's head in the game as the other students started jumping, as the mare would have loved to rush head-long across the arena to throw herself over the jumps, and would most likely have made it, too. However, while the pony was the embodiment of pony stubbornness, Olivia was used to it, and proved more than a match for it, so they waited their turn at the line before Olivia finally did point the mare at the two jumps.

Blue made it easy to look good on jumps, despite the fact that she had been given quite some time to forget all of her previous training before Olivia had gotten to starting jumping when she was riding. Now, they were a good team, each anticipating what would have to happen, and they cleared the first jump easily, with the mare switching to a canter as soon as she hit the ground. The second jump was a bit higher, but not much, and again, it proved no difficulty, and as soon as she had Blue in check again, Olivia called out, "Five strides." It had taken her a bit more than a horse, but then, Blue's legs were shorter, obviously.

[Deleted]

Jason checked his watch for what was probably the fifth time in the past ten minutes. Finally, he decided that it was okay to begin preparing for his first riding class at Blue Ridge Academy. He had been hiding out in Tickle's stall since about half-way through lunch, afraid that if he would get lost and show up late. Tickle had been happy to see him, and even happier to listen to Jason play around on the guitar. More or less calmed down, he ran a hand through his brown-blond hair and led his gelding into the barn aisle so that he could stow his instrument in the corner without the chance that it would be damaged by a wayward hoof. He hummed as he went, running a brush over his horse's sleek black and white coat and fitting him with a newly washed orange saddle pad. After making sure that his helmet sat firmly on his head, Jason made his way to the showjumping ring.

Excited by his new surroundings, Tickle proved to be a bit unruly, purposely sticking his nose out and up. Faced with this now-familiar action, Jason took his horse through a multitude of actions, such as collecting and extending the trot, counterbending and drifting, circling, etc. Loosened up and feeling more confident, Jason introduced himself and his horse. He felt a little intimidated by the years of experiance his peers held under their belts, for truth be told, he hadn't really started jumping anything until 3 years ago. However, his former riding instructor had believed that he could handle this class, and it wasn't in Jason's nature to give up simply because it appeared that he was the underdog.

Re-focused by the brief schooling, Tickle moved to his place on the rail nicely. Only his pricked ears showed his excitement, both at the new area and the presence of jumps in the ring. Tickle dropped to a walk rather roughly, wanting to jump already.Jason couldn't help but smile at his horse's eagerness to jump; it had been a bit since they had flown together. He quieted his horse with a quick pat and watched the first girl go, already calculating how best to guide his horse through.