POINT OF VIEW “When I watched the horse without a bridle, his whole
topline was different. He was comfortable. Unencum- bered, they have more agility,” she continues. “If you can ride a horse in a frame that’s most natural to them, you’ll get the most out of a horse.” The horse Hillary was schooling free found a lower
frame without her in the saddle and riding on contact. “When they are relaxed and trust the rider on their back, you’re likely to get more out of them. Know what their natural tendency is, without you on their back, and meet them in the middle.” Like Robin, she lunges horses over jumps. She can see
Ziezo-DG (Judgement x Carthago) is judged over fences after free jumping, with Willy Arts riding, at the 2009 KWPN North America annual meeting. The 2004 gelding was bred by DG Bar Ranch, Hanford, California.
Connecting under Saddle Jumping form ideally remains the same under saddle, adding the element of rideability. When free, the horse is making the decisions. Now he must learn to accept the rider’s direction. Watching the KWPN gelding Ziezo-DG (Judgement x
Carthago) jump under saddle after free jumping, Janko van de Legeweg of VDL Stud in The Netherlands says, “His reflexes are very good. He’s a lot better under saddle than free jumping. That’s a very good sign. It’s hard to get a horse under saddle, and then back to free jumping. It’s a different kind of jump.” Coaching the rider (in this case, Willy Arts) over low
fences, Cor says, “Ride at a normal distance, the normal strides in the canter. Not too quick.” Cor scored the five year old 7.5 for free jumping, and a range of 7.5 to 7.8 un- der saddle. “Some horses learn quickly. Train the horse as an indi-
vidual. Some are more able to do the work,” he continues. “In the takeoff, the horse comes to you. You don’t come to the horse.” “There are horses that are better in free jumping. This
one is better with the rider than in free jumping,” he notes. Hillary Ridland, trainer at Equi Sports International, Irvine,
California, says, “I think there’s an informational aspect to it for the trainer, and it’s educational for the horse. I believe it [free jumping] is really important.” “It’s good for me to watch their balance, what they
do, their self-preservation,” she says of her work with a group of six-year-olds, riding them in the morning and then free jumping in the afternoon. “There is so much you can learn free jumping, and even running, what they do on their own.”
60 July/August 2015
The scopey jumper VDL Zirocco Blue (Mr. Blue x Voltaire) was fourth at the 2015 World Cup. In the 2006 KWPN Stallion Show he scored 8 overall in jumping and was 1 of 9 to qualify for the KWPN Performance Test, He is an approved KWPN stallion and he has sired approved stallions.
a horse’s mistakes, and teach a correct approach to fences. Christian Heineking, a Pferdewirtschaftsmeister (the highest level of German horse trainer), trains jumpers at October Hill Farm in Hudson Oaks, Texas. “It is a good thing for horses to get used to the jumping without a rider,” he says. “We can see the horse’s natural instincts, if they’re careful, and how they can judge fences. It’s defi- nitely part of the training for young horses.” In his training program, most horses free jump be- fore they jump under saddle. About the change to a rider,
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