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Always remember that your horse might be quite different to ride in the show jumping phase when it follows the cross country. You may need to adapt both your warm up strategy and the way you ride on course.
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Secure your reins by keeping your thumbs pinched on top, but keep the rest of your fingers more relaxed. Gripping the reins too firmly with all of your fingers will tend to tighten your forearms.
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For those of you who know you ride in stirrups that are too long over fences (which is quite common), spend some time practicing with your stirrups 3 or 4 holes shorter. Then when you put them down a few holes (leaving them a few holes shorter than your initial
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If your horse struggles to maintain a consistent rhythm, think of using your breathing to help him stay regular. This is one reason why counting is so useful, as when you count, you will breathe in that rhythm.
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If you are able to do a good walk to halt transition, you have a good basis for all downward transitions.
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"On the whole, there are only few mouths that cannot be taught a good rein contact by giving the horse the appropriate degree of balance, provided it is otherwise well conformed." ~ Borries v.Oeynhausen
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Always be aware of the amount of tension you carry when riding, and whether you are breathing softly and evenly, or holding your breath. Talking or humming quietly is a good way to ensure you keep breathing throughout your ride.
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Imagine the rider's body as a tree… the rider's seat and core need to be engaged and strong like the tree trunk, their long draped legs are the roots, and their arms are supple, movable branches.
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You must train your horse to understand that he should stay at whatever speed you put him in until told otherwise. Remember that every time you allow your horse to make a decision about his speed or energy level (or don't realize that he has done so), you
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If you attempt to teach your horse to jump, to go through water, or to jump over a ditch when the horse is not first trained to go instantly forward from the leg, you are not setting yourself up for success.
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Imagine an open ditch as a triple bar, so that you come close to the edge on the takeoff, and ride forward across the back edge. Doing so will make the jumping effort easier for the horse, and give him confidence.
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Dropping and picking up your stirrups at all three gaits is a good exercise to test the security of your seat. And you will be glad you practiced this regularly if you ever lose a stirrup at an important moment!
