Learning how to jump a horse was one of the most exciting memories I have as a child. I was so nervous when I found out that I would be jumping for the first time in my lesson. I was 10 years old and was riding a small pony. My horse instructor made it so easy for me. She broke it down into three simple steps:
Step One:
Confidence. I know a lot of people think that the connection between the horse and rider doesn't exist. This is not true. The connection of horse and rider is amongst one of the most important, especially when dealing with learning how to jump a horse for the first time. You must feel confident that you can jump and knowing that is the key in the horse feeling confident as well.
Step two:
Prepare by watching others. For those of you who are visual learners this is one of the most important steps. Being able to watch a peer or even your instructor jump before you do is very important. It puts the mind at ease much more if you watch someone perform a task before you must. After you watch someone perform the jump you will automatically have a positive image in your head, and therefore confidence will be restored.
Step Three:
Make sure you're ready. A lot of beginners are very eager when it comes to learning how to jump there horse. It is very important that you as a novice rider understand the simple jumpers or (two-point) position, and can maintain a balance while riding over poles on the ground. These are positions that you must be able to hold over a fence, so you should definitely have down on the flat.
