What I found most interesting this weekend though wasn't really about me. It was a casual observation really... But I noticed that jump height really didn't correlate with experience and rider level... not exactly anyway. Here's what I mean:
The group I rode in was comprised of four pretty experienced and competent riders. And we were in the 2'6" group. Which, generally in the hunter/jumper world, is a height for lower levels. I chose that group. Eros and I have been putting in good work, and things are coming together. But we both need to get stronger. I wanted to work more on concepts and not be overcome by fear of height. One of the other riders has a young horse who lacks confidence, so she was in a similar boat as me, but for a different reason. My other friend who rode with us was on a lesson horse who maxes out at around 2'6" so obviously that's where they needed to be. And the last one in the group just started college so hasn't jumped in a couple months.
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| unrelated screenshot from a different weekend to break up text. |
My observation lead me to thinking about how things change in us as we get older. And I think this applies mainly to amateurs as pros sort of have to stay at the top since it's their job and all. When I was a junior I was always striving for the move up. I showed in the 3'6" junior hunters from my 13 year old show year all the way through high school. Back then there wasn't a 3'3" division, or I imagine I would have started there. 3'6" was kind of the pinnacle for a junior in the hunters then, unless I wanted to compete with the pros in the working hunters at 4'. So I switched to the jumpers to work towards bigger jumps.
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| My junior hunter and I circa 1997 |
But where does that leave us working amateurs? I've reached an age where I am not striving to reach new levels anymore. I have zero interest in showing in the high a/o jumpers. ZERO. Do I want to do the low a/o's again? Maybe. On the right horse. But it's not something I feel like I HAVE to do. I'd love to get back in the jumper ring. Hopefully doing the high adults. But I might be just as happy in the lows. Or maybe I'll stay in the hunter ring. If that's the case, I really would like to get back to the 3'6" a/o height. But if I didn't, I'd probably feel just as fulfilled doing the adult hunters at 3'.
I think for some trainers that mentality in us amateurs is frustrating. They don't understand why we don't want to jump higher and higher. For me, I'd much prefer to be really, truly competent at whatever level I find myself in. I want to get good at the concepts and the exercises. And if I find myself jumping big jumps once that happens, all the more exciting I guess?
What do you think? Are you still chasing that Olympic dream or would you rather feel truly comfortable and capable at a certain height? Do you think it's an age thing? Do you think my ramblings here are on track, or are my observations just mirroring my personal feelings back at me?
It's been a loooooong time since I chased any kind of Olympic dream, lol. The reality is, I don't have the guts to jump a grand prix course. I never really did. But now in my "old" adult ammy age, I'd MUCH rather be comfortable, confident, and capable. I think that is fully evidenced in my last year of lessons, where I have jumped 1x and been focused on fixing my position and confidence so that I actually AM comfortable jumping a 2'6" course. :-D
ReplyDeleteI feel like a lot of juniors feel like if they aren't jumping the big stuff, it isn't worth it to them. IMO, you can work on all of the same things over ground poles that you can at 3' or better course, and save wear and tear on your horse. Plus, if you can't get your distances, striding, turns, etc over a small course (whether poles or 2'6") should you be jumping bigger stuff? For me, the answer is no.
I don't have the guts for Olympic dreams either, you're not alone!
DeleteI agree, solidify the basics before moving on!
I'm a well established wuss when it comes to jump height. However, when I was a teenager, I did a lot of riding at the 3'6"-4' level. I didn't have the $ to show, but I rode at an AA show barn and I was usually riding client/training horses that showed at that level. From my - admittedly limited - understanding, a lot of the reason trainers (especially old school trainers) want you to move up is that they don't really think the lower levels should even exist. Back in the day, rated divisions didn't start below 3'. You even mentioned starting at 3'6" because 3'3" Juniors wasn't a thing. Obviously we now have lots of lower level H/J classes being offered. Again, I personally ride in/enjoy/support the existence of these <3' classes. I am not saying they're bad. But I think trainers are still stuck in that mind set. I think to a lot of pros these <3' divisions aren't "real" levels. If you read old H/J books, trainers would start even little kids over 3' jumps because below 3' the horse doesn't use their body/bask/bascule correctly and there was no point in teaching a new rider how to jump lower jumps when the feel of the horse would then be totally different when the jump got big, so they just started big. (I love reading old horse training/riding books and will scour used books stores for them because I find them fascinating.) Anyway, I think the times are obviously changing since these lower level divisions are becoming more and more common. But I'm not a H/J (and haven't been since HS), so my knowledge is limited to what I learn through reading nowadays.
ReplyDeleteYes, I fully agree about the old school ideology! My trainer growing up was very much of that school of thought. She only taught the kids that were already doing the 3' or bigger. She left all the beginners to other instructors.
DeleteOh I know a lot of Pros who cater to the 2'9" and under clientele so they themselves do not have to jump any higher haha. I dunno I still strive to get to the next level and I still have those olympic dreams while sitting in the hunter ring so I'm obviously not dabbling in the right area to get there.
ReplyDeleteBut wow Nona Garson <3 I am jealous.
Lol, that IS true! There are lots of those around here too...
DeleteI for sure want to make sure I'm always moving forward. It just doesn't necessarily mean I'll be moving UP. If that makes sense. But I agree, I think a lot of why we keep at it is to continue to strive to be better. Maybe it doesn't mean bigger jumps, maybe it's a switch from the ammy division to the derby ring.
Nona is great to clinic with. Very calm and reassuring with good advice.
Interesting. I can see lots of reasons. My goals have certainly changed as I have aged.
ReplyDeleteYep, lots of reasons both directions, right?
DeleteI think there are a lot of factors to consider. I've never shown in the English world, so I don't know how things work...
ReplyDeleteI've been a wuss since I was a child and never jumped more than a small log. If I could learn to ride an 18" course, that would be something! LOL I can see wanting to move up and I can see wanting to be competent at a lower level - mastering position, striding, etc.
I guess it depends on you ($, time, nerves), your horse, what shows are available, your trainer, etc. I would not want to show 18" at a show where I was always 1st and beating kids, for example. I would want to move up. At a bigger show though, with a bigger pool of riders, maybe that height would be ok. Lots to consider!
Exactly! All those things contribute. If Eros and I got to a point where cantering around 2'9" was boring, and we won alll the time, I certainly don't want to stagnate there. But I imagine it will be a long while before that happens! lol!
DeleteI’m with ya about 100% here. It’s been a long time since I realized that I didn’t actually want to “go all the way.” The highest levels of my sport look quite a bit beyond what I ever see myself doing. And that is A-OK by me haha. But I’m still hungry in the now. While I rode as a kid and thru high school, it was a very isolated quiet barn with an owner getting into her twilight years. So it wasn’t until college that I started actually jumping courses and doing local hunter shows. And I only actually just jumped my first 3’ fence in the last five years. So like.... I feel like I’ve been able to learn and grow a lot in my sport relatively quickly, and want to see where that takes me. Plus I have some long term goals that require qualifications. Although even those just changed and now include even higher levels so I don’t even know about that any more haha.... but yea. Overall I agree that the adult ammy perspective on moving up and fulfillment in riding is a very different perspective from the junior or pro. And I’m extremely ok with that haha.
ReplyDeleteI think maybe we just to learn to be more accepting of where we are. Like if we progress and do more all the better! But if not, well where we are now is plenty challenging too.
DeleteI always notice this when I lesson with ammies vs the juniors at my barn! I think part of it is the lack of any time pressure for us ammies. We're choosing to do it because we enjoy horses, and we get to choose what that looks like. The juniors have different pressures - hitting goals before they age out, trying to get college scholarships, pressure to please parents or other role models, or just internal pressure that they place on themselves. Good, bad, or indifferent, it's a very different atmosphere for them. I'm really glad that we have a trainer who is big on personalized goals for everyone instead of trying to move everyone up, it makes for a much happier and more relaxed barn!
ReplyDeleteOh good points! Riding scholarships weren't a thing when I was growing up, and I hadn't really thought about that. For me, as a junior, I was just really hungry to do all the exciting things. Go to Indoors and Devon. Now as a grown up, I just think how expensive all that is!
DeleteRiding the last several years has been really interesting for me. I rode on my own a lot and developed some serious fear issues. I went from being brave enough to ride a barely broke horse, to being too afraid to get on him after a bad fall, then once I started riding again, I ended up afraid to canter.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to get to jumping around 3 foot again, but my more short term goal is start lessoning again, improve my canter transitions (one thing that became a major issue with all the canter issues) and hopefully show in 1 to 2 local shows on our local circuit. I'm borrowing a horse though, so it really depends a lot on if he ends up being leased again next year.
As a junior, I wanted to do the 3 foot hunters and 3'3" equitation. Two things that I never accomplished. Do I feel bad about that? No. My goals just changed. If I were still a junior, I'd probably still feel pressure to keep moving up, but since I'm a 30 something adult amateur, I'd rather hone my skills at a level I'm comfortable at than move up just to move up and shatter the confidence I do have. I can't ride a lot, so trying to move up just because I can isn't a worthwhile goal for me.
Agree, riding on your own can lead to a lot of questions. I lost a lot of momentum as a result of that too, especially with having to take winters off. I hope to be more proactive in getting lessons and more help moving forward so I can try and keep my brave (or find it... whichever).
DeleteThis is a really interesting topic, and very thoughtful post. I frequently wish I could meld my ballsy ass teenager self with my much wiser and smarter older self. Buuut the wiser and older me realizes that this is dangerous so maybe those two megans can't live in the same time.
ReplyDeleteI know, it's like all this grown up reason really gets in the way! I was never particularly brave though. It just really depended on what I was riding.
DeleteI agree with everyone above me! I'll add that some of it is facing my own mortality as I get older, footing the bill myself (far easier to have big national ambitions when parents are paying) and switching disciplines. A huge reason I left the QH circuit was feeling like I couldn't afford to show at the level I did previously but I wasn't going to be happy at the local/regional level. So instead I switched entirely to something that makes me happy in general, but also has this much more affordable lower level that I can still feel accomplishments and progress at. My biggest goal is to run a Novice 3 Day so I wouldn't say my dreams are Olympic level or anything, but I like having a tangible goal to work towards.
ReplyDeleteUgh, yes, the bills. It was all so much easier to achieve on someone else's credit card! And when getting hurt didn't mean not paying for the roof over your head. Adulting is annoying.
DeleteI think we all have our own "Olympic Level" dreams. Be it a 3 day Novice event or just getting back to jumping 3'6" in the hunters.
I think it's interesting to hear about different experiences. It's funny, because I showed all-around as kid, so I'm actually already jumping higher now (2'6"+) than I did even as a teenager. My goal is compete at 3' and do a National Derby with high options (3'3")... so for me, I still have that drive to get better and go bigger, but I'm also a lot slower about it than many juniors. I've spent quite a few years at 2'6" now, and that's okay with me. I have lots of time to get to the next step!!
ReplyDeleteI think if I switched disciplines I would also be striving to reach a goal like that too. And the more I think about it, the more I realize that it's not so much that I don't aim to do bigger and better things, but rather I want to take the time to make that transition comfortably. I don't want to stagnate, but I want to feel really ready should a move up seem to be in the cards.
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