POINT OF VIEW By Charlene Strickland
The Intrinsic Value of Free Jumping
Through the lane and over the rails riderless, the equine athlete free jumps and demonstrates natural talent over fences. Many breed societies incorporate this exercise at studbook inspections.
incorporate this schooling for young horses if they have the facility to set up the lane of two or three fences. Some Euro- pean barns exercise all horses in the jumping lane weekly. With a variety of opinions on and approaches to the art
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of free jumping, we’ve consulted leading judges, trainers and riders on how to best use the jumping lane and how those skills relate to schooling with a rider. The KWPN selection model detailed below—and that of
other registries that use extensive free jumping—strongly suggests that jumping loose is indeed an accurate predic- tor of jumping success under saddle, as demonstrated by generations of young jumpers.
Evaluating Horses Jumping at Liberty At breed inspections, experts give young horses scores ranging from 1 to 10 over jumps. Horses always canter and jump to the left, counterclockwise. Judges are observing technique: how the horse takes off and forms a bascule (rounds the back) with withers the highest point and a downward rounded neck. The horse folds his forelegs and raises the hind legs so all four hooves clear the top rail. Judges also score ability. They look for the talent and
willingness the horse demonstrates in a bold, clever ap- proach and jump. He shows he’s thinking as he approach- es the jump. He springs from the canter and “explodes” in takeoff. He is quick with lifting the legs. A scopey jumper is tight in the front end and careful in
clearing high and wide fences. As he starts to land, his hips are up with hocks bent. Jumping the oxer shows the horse’s scope, as he opens his body to reach over front and back rails.
58 July/August 2015
ike any other equine activity, free jumping can be a source of debate. But increasingly, riders and trainer see its value. Trainers in jumping and eventing might
A stallion candidate from VDL Stud, Amigo (Indoctro x Carthago) showed extreme scope over a big, wide oxer. Shown at the 2007 KWPN Stallion Show in The Netherlands.
The KWPN (Royal Dutch Sport Horse registry) started
scoring free jumping in 1979. The KWPN annual Stallion Show is a showcase of the best three-year-old stallion can- didates. Jumpers are selected by a jury through multiple rounds of free jumping. The selection process has resulted in the KWPN often
ranking first in the jumping studbooks of the World Breed- ing Federation of Sport Horses. Currently (April 2015) the KWPN ranks second in jumping behind Holsteiners. The KWPN grades young horses using a linear scoring
evaluation, separated by dressage and jumping. The score sheet for jumpers includes 19 conformation traits, nine movement traits and eight jumping traits. At the 2009 KWPN North America annual meeting, Cor
Loeffen, an inspector for the KWPN studbook, explained the scoring. Considerations when evaluating a horse’s jumping traits include: takeoff direction, takeoff quickness, technique of the foreleg, technique of the back, technique of the haunches, scope, elasticity and care. The judge rates each element when the horse jumps through the lane up to 10 times and at different heights. “Make a photo picture with your eyes and look at the six phases of the horse’s canter, takeoff, jump, flight, landing, and next canter stride,” Cor advises. “We want to see free use of the shoulders.” “In the takeoff,” he continues, “the hind legs are straight under the body. The withers come up from the shoulder. The neck rounds forward and down.”
All photos by Charlene Strickland Warmbloods Today 58
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