By Kathy Baar (5* Master Parelli Professional & Horse Development Specialist)
contact@jkbaar.com
Many years ago, in a dusty and dry arena, after a HOT week of summer horse camp at the local stable, the moment came that would shape my life going forward.
I was riding a beautiful (to me) flea bitten grey mare as I had outgrown my beloved horse camp pony “Midnight” and was moved up to a full sized horse!! She covered the ground easily with each stunning stride as I prepared for the end of camp “horse show”.
After a week of riding the trails we had the chance to go in the arena and perform for our hot and now sunburning parents. One of the classes offered included a jump! I had only dreamed of riding a horse who jumped, and I could not wait to experience it for the first time!
Parents were seated in the unshaded bleachers, waiting to see their dirty, sweat stained “future Olympic champions” circle the ring, as we all waited for the action to start.
I remember very little of the people or the conversations that day. But, what I do remember vividly is turning to the jump, getting as straight (as straight as my lifetime total of 10 days of riding skills allowed) and FLYING. It was the most wonderful feeling, I felt as if we were airborne for minutes, soaring through the clouds, together. Untouchable, and unstoppable partnership. I had the beautiful feeling that my horse and I had become one, one thought, one action, one being. I was HOOKED! From that moment on I knew I just wanted to jump horses. I dreamt about jumping them over EVERYTHING I saw, there was no limit to the height and distance we could achieve. It was pure magic.
That one moment steered my next 32 years of studying horsemanship and the sport of jumping. In fact, it is still the driving force for my desire to jump all the things, today and every day! My dream is to jump horses through a partnership that brings them the satisfaction and joy that it brings me. The knowledge that the bond between a horse and human is beyond anything else we get to experience on earth is a feeling like no other. It's a partnership that is greater than the sum of its parts.
This is where I believe many great athletes in the sport of jumping start – from inspiration and awe for the magic partnership between horse and rider. The first step to becoming a jumping rider is often love. Love for the horse, love for the partnership and love for the athleticism that comes from an unlikely team of horse and human.
For me, this inspiration led to buying the first beautiful horse I found (that was in my price range). Now I was on track! Or so I thought. I quickly learned that not every horse will jump everything (or anything for that matter) that you point them at. Having this reality hit, I realized I was out of skills. I had completely run out of tools learned from summer camp. But my desire to jump and do it well had not waned in the slightest; in fact I was even more determined and I “jumped” in with both feet!
So between then and now what have I learned about “learning about jumping”?
I would say, it boils down to 2 very important elements.
Learning about the horse.
Learning about the sport.
My journey of learning about the horse began with Parelli Natural Horse-man-ship. I learned how the horse feels, thinks, acts and plays. I began to understand how the world looks to a 1000-pound prey animal being asked to jump things they have never seen, by a predator with an agenda often different to their own. Taking the time to study the horse, to become fascinated by their perception versus frustrated by the reactions, reactions that often make no sense to humans, has opened doors I didn’t realize existed. Horse psychology is often overlooked as athletes move forward, but in reality tremendous value lies in understanding the psychology of the horse. By starting at this point, the foundation of knowledge built is stronger. Afterall, the horse is 50% of the partnership (and some would argue they do all the “heavy lifting” in the relationship); the least we can do is learn about them.
The second piece of the puzzle is to learn about the sport of jumping. There are many experts in this area, with generations of knowledge and skill. When defining the process of learning about the sport, I believe David O’Conner has one of the clearest descriptions that I have come across. He says the first two things you need to learn are the Technique and the Theory. The technique teaches you what to do, and the theory helps you understand when to do it and why you need to.
Spending the time working on the technique and truly understanding the theory is the only way you can move onto the next two elements: Instinct and Intuition. These come from practicing the technique and theory until they become second nature – you don’t have to think about them anymore, you are doing the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason. This practice is where you develop the instinct so that you can have intuition. Finally, the masters in the sport have Imagination, David says this is where the art comes into the sport.
In short, if you are interested in learning about jumping the biggest tip I can give you is start with passion and love for the horse. From there learn about the horse. They will be carrying you towards your dreams. Out of respect and love, learn about the horse first before you begin studying the sport. Then, educate yourself in the sport. Both are equally important and vital. But, in my opinion, the bonds and relationship you will create by understanding your partner will deepen your experience of the sport you do together. The horse is a unique animal; by understanding them, they can unlock a world beyond your imagination, at least they have for me.
* Added info for those who are safety conscious: I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about the safety of summer camp so I am going to take a moment to mention that in reality my first experience of “flying through the clouds” was not over a 6’ oxer, in fact is was over an 8-inch cross rail. I’m not sure my trusted steed had more than one foot off the ground at a time. But, the important part of the story is that I left feeling inspired, that moment ignited a passion that has led me forward with horses.
