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Jumping Basics with Brook Dobbin

This article is from the August 2020 Horse Deals magazine.

Brook Dobbin

Experience is a great teacher, we all know that. But how do we avoid making mistakes on our way to gaining that experience? For 12-year-old successful junior showjumping rider, Charlee Dobbin, the answer is easy; listen to Mum and Dad. Brook and Angela Dobbin are professional coaches and elite showjumping riders and Charlee benefits from their more than 50 years of combined experience in the sport. Charlee is already a successful competition rider, but what a great start she is having to her riding career. She is being trained in the correct basics that take many a lifetime to work out and her default setting will always be the correct setting. Add to that the advantage of being put on good horses and Charlee is set for a happy and successful career.

Horse Deals sat in on a training session with Brook helping his daughter and Angela keeping a mother’s eyes on proceedings. Charlee was well mounted on the seven-year-old, Narrado MVNZ by Carrado MVNZ (imp) out of a Cento Matterhorn mare that has been jumping 1.35m with Brook.

“We have poles set on the arena all the time,” says Brook. “They are really good for teaching both the rider and the horse to develop an eye for a distance. Doing poles is jumping and you can practice distances, turns, riding out of corners etc every day and it doesn’t wear the horse out. Riding poles does not create the same anxiety as riding fences, but it is harder to see a good distance to a pole than it is to a fence. As a rider and trainer, it is important that we train and establish a 12 foot (3.65m) stride and a good canter. The whole sport of showjumping is based on a 12 foot stride, and as riders we need to know that. If a horse has a big stride, like Narrado, we know we have to steady to get the stride and if we have a smaller horse we have to encourage it to lengthen its stride. An adjustable canter stride is an essential part of successful showjumping.

“Work with the poles set at distances that are a combination of the 12 foot stride, help the rider to understand and gauge whether or not they have established that stride and what they need to know and do to maintain that. It is confidence building because if you make a mistake it is no big drama, because they are just poles on the ground. But if you can get them right, you will get riding from fence to fence right. A good distance to a fence is dependent on the quality of your canter and the line you ride and both are improved with work over poles. If you are cantering successfully down a line of poles, you can when both horse and rider are confident with the distance between the two and starting with a cross rail, introduce a fence at the end of the line. Poles are a really good jumping training for both horse and rider.”

Phots: Julie Wilson. Article: Anna Sharpley

Charlee begins by trotting Narrado over the poles to gain his confidence.

“Keep your outside rein and keep your outside leg on him to control the turn and don’t just pull with the inside rein.”

“Remember, he has a big canter stride, you may have to steady to get the distance.”

The pole to pole gradually becomes pole to fence. The jump standards have been in place from the beginning and both Charlee and Narrado are confident down the line. “These pole exercises really help the rider to establish an eye for distance.”

“Don’t kick him, feel his sides and don’t chase to get the distance, keep it smooth and maintain the 12 foot stride.”

When Charlee finds the ideal distance, Narrado creates a lovely bascule over the fence.

“Keep your body tall before the fence; keep a feel of his mouth, feel the connection.” Charlee looks to be doing this well in this photo.

After the pole work Charlee and Narrado jumped a few individual fences working on maintaining the 12 foot stride. “Keep him in front of your leg, don’t let him drop behind your leg. With a long run to a fence it is difficult to maintain the 12 foot stride. Wait, let the jump come to you, don’t feel you have to do something.”

“A good jump is the result of a good canter and a good line. Soften your hand and follow the contact over the fence and keep it smooth away from the fence.”

“The landing over the first fence is the beginning of the approach to the second fence and so on. Organise on landing, keep it smooth and look to your next fence.”

“Be organised and think about your turns. Keep your leg on to maintain the 12 foot canter; keep an even contact and don’t shut him down in front or cut your corner, because you will be too deep.”

A reward for a job well done.

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Jumping Basics with Brook Dobbin

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