07/30/2026
Couldn’t agree more!
I get it, a majority of kids love to jump. I do too. I look forward to my weekly jump schooling session and competitions. Jumping is part of the motivation, for me, that goes into flat-work.
What I struggle with is the kids who who jump everyday, any-day. Whats more infuriating is the parents that encourage it.
A pony or a horse only has so many jumps in its life. A pony is not built or bred to be jumped everyday. Especially now that we are in the middle of summer, the ground is rock hard.
I just have to go on social media and witness the daily array of photos and videos of kids jumping their ponies. Day after day.
There are three reasons why as a general rule, my horses are limited to jump schooling one to two times a week.
-The basics. Limiting my jump schooling sessions encourages me to focus on the flatwork. anyone who had me as a coach will have heard me say, 'jumping is just flatwork over sticks'. One wise coach taught me this years ago. 99% of the issues I have jumping can be corrected by going back to the flatwork.
-Injury prevention. Horses are not designed to jump and jump and jump everyday. You risk lameness and the potential of a pony 'breaking down'. The impact of daily jumping is increased when the ground gets rock hard, like right now.
-Boredom. My horses love to jump. Just like humans horses get bored of doing the same thing again and again and again. Every week my horses routine is a mixture of hacking, flat-work, fitness work (especially Hippo), and jump schooling.
To the parents, this is your job to educate your kid. And its starts right at the beginning when they are learning to jump. Its saying 'No, the pony has jumped enough', when they plead to keep on going. Its your job to listen to the coaches when they say enough jumping. Its your job to teach your kid about the idea of quality jumping over quantity jumping.
A horse/pony only has a limited number of jumps. If for nothing else then the sake of the horse think quality of quantity, less jumping better jumping.
P.C Jane Thompson, throwback to Taupo 3DE 2018, Hippo's most recent eventing start.
