Galop 7In the saddle
Contents
- 01WelcomeOverview
- 02Limb conformationKnowledge
- 03Identification, the passportKnowledge
- 04Travelling horsesKnowledge
- 05RationingKnowledge
- 06Feed labelsKnowledge
- 07Lunging training aidsOn foot
- 08Long-reining, flexionOn foot
- 09Polo bandagesCaring for the horse
- 10The double bridleCaring for the horse
- 11Shoulder-inKnowledge
- 12StraightnessKnowledge
- 13FlatworkIn the saddle
- 14Dressage optionIn the saddle
- 15Show-jumping optionIn the saddle
- 16Cross-country optionIn the saddle
- 17RevisionRevision
Cross-country option: towards the Club 1 course
In the cross-country option, you ride fluently over cross-country fences of every kind, at about 90 cm, over varied ground, with combinations. It all comes down to three words: balance, speed, accuracy.
In the exam programme
- Be steady and adapt your balance over related fences and fences on varied ground.Cross-country
- Control, vary and adapt your speed to the profile of the fences and the ground.Cross-country
- Steer over narrow or angled fences, combinations and sequences of fences that call for accurate riding.Cross-country
- Ride 90 cm cross-country fences of every kind over varied ground, with combinations.Cross-country
Cross-country is ridden in a hat and a body protector to current standards, both compulsory. You learned the names of the cross-country fences at Galop 6; now you must adapt your riding to the profile of each one.
A balance that adapts
Between fences, you gallop in a light seat, your weight in the stirrups, your upper body slightly forward. On the approach, you sit up more or less according to the profile: you do not ride at a drop the way you ride at a hedge. Through related fences and combinations, stay close to the saddle with still legs: it is your steadiness that leaves the horse free to judge its distance.
Adapting speed to the profile
| Profile | Speed and balance | Rider |
|---|---|---|
| Upright and solid fences: log, hedge, table | A rhythmic, sustained canter; lengthen a little if needed, without rushing. | Forward, hands following the neck. |
| Ditch, trakehner | An active canter, a positive approach. | Eyes well ahead, never down in the ditch; legs on. |
| Step up | A short, energetic canter. | Upper body slightly forward, hands going forward to free the neck. |
| Step down, drop | A slow pace: trot or a short canter. | Upper body upright, legs closed and slightly forward, reins slipping through the fingers to let the neck stretch. |
| Water entry | Slow down clearly, trot or a short canter. | Upper body upright, legs closed, eyes on the way out. |
| Uphill, downhill | Uphill, keep the impulsion; downhill, slow down, the horse straight down the slope. | Uphill, upper body forward and hands going forward; downhill, upper body upright and legs in contact. |
Cross-country is ridden against an optimum time, worked out from the length of the course and a speed set by the rules: it is the average that counts. You save time by galloping evenly between fences and choosing good lines, never by rushing at a technical fence.
Steering accurately
The corner
Near the point, on a line at right angles to the line that halves the angle.
The fence on an angle
Jumped at an angle: the line stays straight before and after.
The narrow fence
The line chosen early, a marker fixed beyond, the horse framed between hands and legs.
- Narrow fences, or skinnies — corner, narrow brush, barrel: choose your line early, fix a marker beyond the fence, and channel the horse between your two hands and your two legs. No line corrections in the last few strides.
- A corner is jumped close to its point, at right angles to its bisector, the line that divides the angle into two equal halves.
- Angled fences are jumped on a slant, on a straight line held before and after; the sharper the angle, the more the horse is tempted to run out to the side.
- Combinations and related fences are planned when you walk the course: a line and a number of strides for each element.
Safety
Never jump cross-country alone: always work supervised, on ground you have walked, and give a fence a miss if the going is too hard, too slippery or waterlogged.
Walking the course
- Walk every fenceOn foot, in the direction of the competition, fence by fence, noting the numbers and the flags: red on the right, white on the left.
- Choose your linesFor each fence, an approach point and a marker in the distance; for each combination, a number of strides.
- Read the groundUphill, downhill, hard or slippery going, stretches where you can gallop and stretches where you must slow down.
- MemoriseRide the course again in your head, eyes closed, before you tack up.
A word from the instructor
The ideal cross-country horse has the heart of a lion and the memory of a goldfish: it forgets the ditch that surprised it. The rider has to remember it for both of them.