05/17/2025
The quality of the show jumping canter will rise or fall on whether impulsion overwhelms balance, balance snuffs out impulsion, or the two are rather perfectly meshed by the feel from the rider.
That was one of Jack LeGoff’s many mini-lectures and I will try to amplify what it means---
Impulsion is basically forward energy. To get a horse to move forward with drive and activity, you need impulsion in the canter. Balance is the feeling that the horse is up and light, not plunging onto its forehand.
Jack used to say that in order to go up to a distance you needed impulsion, but in order to shorten to a distance, you needed balance, so if you didn’t have those two sort of contradictory qualities kept in harmony, you were not riding the ideal canter.
And, sure, this is a fairly “sophisticated” concept that greener riders may not yet grasp, but being able to constantly create a better canter throughout a show jumping round can be the difference between clear and rails on the ground. After EVERY fence the better riders will instantly feel whether the canter needs more zing, more balance, or is just right to go with toward the next fence.
If you struggle with this, get good eyes on the ground to help you learn it.
