Showjumping grid work with Geoff Billington

Any horse can be moulded into a more proficient jumper, whether he’s a steady cob, an unfocused warmblood or a fizzy Thoroughbred. The secret to getting him there? Refining your controls as well as producing and maintaining a winning canter rhythm. It all starts with a few poles and an all-important warm-up.

Keep it low

You don’t have to jump big fences all the time at home – in fact, you shouldn’t. Home sessions are for testing control and asking questions that keep you and your horse sharp to the challenges you’ll face in competition. Working over cavaletti, or raised poles, helps you get it right before you add height into the equation. Riders are often concerned about hitting the right stride to a jump every time. Using cavaletti helps take away this pressure but, as long as you have a quality, rhythmical canter, it doesn’t matter if you meet the fence perfectly. With a consistent pace that’s powered by his hindquarters, he’ll be able to jump clear regardless.

Warm up exercise: Poles apart

This simple, effective pole exercise involves walking, trotting and cantering down the line and leg-yielding between each pole. It’ll help supple up your horse, as well as making him more responsive to the aids. All you need is four poles in a line down the length of your arena…

1. Try the exercise in walk first, turning down the arena to meet the line of poles.
2. Prepare for the leg-yield steps as you meet the first pole. Half-halt to balance your horse and ask for slight bend away from the direction you want him to move.
3. As you reach the gap, put your outside leg behind the girth to push your horse through it. Aim for just two to five leg-yield strides.
4. As you reach the other side, apply your inside leg to stop him drifting too far. Then, you’ll need to react quickly to prepare him for leg-yield in the other direction through the next gap.

I’m not looking for a leg-yield worthy of a Grand Prix horse – it’s more about forwardness, refining your aids and achieving a higher degree of suppleness. Exercises like this also highlight stiff ness, allowing you to spend the remainder of your warm-up freeing him up with flexion and bending.

For more of Geoff Billington’s top showjumping techniques, pick up a copy of October Horse&Rider, on sale 19 August 2021