Tips and advice for memorising a showjumping course?

Question

I am having trouble remembering the order of jumps please help! Personal experience would be great.
Thanks

Also, what is the best time to post questions so that you would get the most responses?

Answer 1

I also do showjumping and the nerves really get to me and I also feel like I forget the course. I always warm-up my horse before my class starts so that I have time to see the others ride the course. I firstly walk the course and then watch the others riding the course and go over it a few times in my head. Oh and when I'm on my horse it helps to ignore all the other ppl and juz concentrate on the couse and jumping correctly. Hope I helped and good luck with your next show! :-D

Answer 2

Yahoo Answers is world wide, so there's no 'best time' to post and receive the most responses.

As for your jumping question, it really helps to have others go before you so you can watch and memorize. Also, what type of 'thinker' are you? If you're very visual and remember patterns, head to the in gate with pad and pencil and mark down the course, numbering the jumps in order and direction. Then, as you memorize, focus on the pattern you create as you ride. Outside, diagonal, outside, bending line?

Or, if colors really stick in your head, try remembering the jumps in order of color.. Black & white vertical to in-and-out, long approach to green rolltop, roll back to yellow plank, white gate. In your mind think "black&white, in/out, green, yellow, white..."

In any case, it helps to close your eyes and visualize your course before you get out there. Have someone hold your horse, go to a quiet spot and imagine your ride... trot in gate, canter your opening circle, see the first jump come closer, feel the lift and count the strides to the next, the turn, and the next, etc. Open your eyes to confirm you're still 'on course' (with that paper in your hand~ no fair blocking the course posting for others). Practice visualizing 'till you've got it right.

Of course all this takes time, so showing up 20 minutes before your class starts won't help.. give yourself plenty of time to memorize and you'll do fine.

Answer 3

I've been there!!! Show jitters don't help!

The poster's suggestion of putting items on the ground and going over them yourself was EXCELLENT. This imprints the course in your brain.

Also watching others in your class go over the jumps helps. Try to visualize yourself in their place as they traverse the course.

Practice and experience will help you improve in this area. If you mess up, forgive yourself, and try again next time!

Good luck! Jumping is loads of fun.

Answer 4

this is going to sound like a ludicrous answer. yet at my barn you will possibly desire to coach classes to little riders for a pretend coach and after going over 2-3 different classes back and back you get them mixed up genuinely. i discovered that making a splash sentence helped plenty. as an occasion I had one like "Over the orange county parkway, go the crimson bridge and around city." genuinely it meant to me flow leap the orange line then next flow to the crimson leap and then circle the excellent area... etc. that's a complicated occasion, yet i hit upon it somewhat helps me because of fact that's plenty extra handy to combine up classes than the sentence I made up. good success with memorizing your classes! Sorry its a ludicrous answer, yet i assumed i might purely share what works with me.

Answer 5

i know this may sound stupid, but it really helps!;
set up bits of paper, brushes, etc. on the ground in the way the jumps are. look at the sheet and step over them like your horse would jump over them and repeat until you don't have to look at the sheet anymore. good luck!