How to Design a Simple Jumping Course

Designing a simple jumping course will enable you and your horse to practice jumping over obstacles set at predetermined distances. A course is a set of jumps that are meant to be navigated in a definite pattern, rather than jumped at random. Courses can be constructed using simple ground poles, cavaletti or poles and standards. A ground pole is a heavy wood pole set on the ground or in jump cups. A cavaletti is a pole set between two X-shaped pieces of wood that can be raised and lowered to accommodate different heights. A standard holds jump cups and pins that allow poles to create a jump.

Things You'll Need

  • Pen
  • Paper
  • Jumping arena
  • Wooden poles
  • Cavaletti
  • Standards
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Instructions

    • 1

      Design your course on paper. This will enable you to visualize the layout and determine if it works within the confines of your arena. Figure out how many jumps you would like to use. You can design a simple figure-eight course with six to eight obstacles.

      For a figure-eight design, place one or two jumps on both outside lines of your arena and on both diagonal lines. A simple course can ride in the following manner: outside line in four strides, inside diagonal line in five strides, outside line in five strides, inside diagonal line in four strides.

    • 2

      Mark off where the jumps will be placed in the arena. You can do this by drawing a line in the dirt in the area where you would like the jump to be placed. This gives you a visual perspective on your course design. Ask yourself if the design works in the arena and if it is appropriate for your riding goals.

    • 3
      Colorful ground poles

      Lay the ground poles or cavaletti. Using your marks in the dirt as guides, place the poles, cavaletti or jumps in the arena.

    • 4

      Determine the height of the fences. The height of the fence will determine the proper spacing between jumps. A beginner can start with ground poles and work up to a small course of verticals when horse and rider are ready.

    • 5

      Set the strides between fences. Most courses are designed for a 12-foot horse canter stride and a human stride of 3 feet. This means that four human strides are equal to one horse stride. When working with ground poles, walk off the distance using this calculation. If you want four horse canter strides between the poles, place one pole on the ground, walk off a distance of 48 feet or 16 human walking strides, and place the other pole on the ground.

    • 6
      As the fences become higher, the distance between them must be adjusted.

      Adjust the distance according to the height of the fences. As the jumps are raised, the horse must exert extra effort. Accordingly, the spacing between fences must be adjusted to reflect this effort. When you are ready to graduate from ground poles, use the calculation mentioned in Step 5, but add 3 feet to accommodate for landing and 3 feet to accommodate for take-off. If you want four canter strides between two fences, the distance between the jumps should be 3 feet, or one human stride, plus 48 feet or 16 human strides, plus another human stride of 3 feet. Down the road, when the jumps are even higher, you need to add 6 feet for landing and 6 feet for take-off.