i'm a hunter jumper im 13 and im in short styrup,i lease a pony with one eye and my instructor told my dad she sees such great potential in me as a rider,(she is been instructing for over 20 years) that she is giving me hard horses to handle, (one eyed jumper) l did ok at my show did not place in my flats 6th jumping 2nd jumping out of 12 people...i dont know how comfortable l am about having such hard horses because its not me its deffinatley them l have shown enough and only have about 6 champions out of 2 years l just wanted to know how well this worked for you or your opinion im glad she thinks im good but l dont know if l wanna keep loosing, im loosing faith a little, l knew all week l wasnt going to do well..thanks any comments...and rock on to all of those one eyed ponys out theree..o l dont have any future goals for riding..olympics would be fun but idk about that its a ''challenge'' im really just school showing now hopefully il be in 2ft by next spring(thats the plan)

OMG everyone needs to stop saying that HUNTER/JUMPER. You would never use the same horse for both. Hunter is a horse who will gracefully & quietly bring itself over a fence & a Jumper is a horse trained for speed & power. Thats like saying a hockey player could figure skate.
U can mark me down but u know im right!
And A 1 eyed horse has no diffculties so stop saying its hard cuse they r the same as any other horse!!
My gelding, pirate has one eye & he is one of the best HUNTERS l have seen in years!!

Well l like that ur instructors thinks ur really good, but maybe u both need to slow down a little...if u feel that u can not handle a 'one eyed' pony then talk to ur instructor about it. If she thinks ur that good & have a lot of potential, then she should let u work how ur comfortable. l know that is what l would do at least. Also do not let losing,keep ur chin down, maybe just talking to ur instructor about the issue could help solve that 'losing' attitude. ;) Good luck!

Hold on there, Tiger. Let is get this straight. It is NEVER the horse is fault & ALWAYS the rider's. So, do not sit there & say ' it is definitely them' since u do not think u have won enough ribbons. There will always be someone at the show with a nicer, more expensive, better trained horse than you. That is part of the game. If u want to play the game, then u need to turn in a nicer round than they did on ur one eyed pony. You need to out think them. Since u 'knew all week that u were not going to do well,' u didn't. Whether u think u can, or think u can not, you're right.

just because you are not winning any shows does not mean you should ''lose faith''. If you do not like harder horses, talk to your riding instructor.

what l have to say is that u do sound like you're a good rider & that u have a great instructor. but l think that the fact that you're tired of losing. it is kind of cliche but u can not win everything/winning is not everything. l think that the fact that she is putting u on harder horses shows that she is confident in u as a rider & is trying to challenge you. part of riding harder horses is so u can learn how to ride with different types of horses that will put u in different situations. in able to learn & grow & be jumping 2ft, u might just have to stick with those harder horses to get to ur goals. the harder horses r the horses that will overall make u a better rider. but if u truely do not want the harder horses then go speak with ur instructor. l suggest to stick with it!

Listen to Greg B, child!

to be honest l think that u need to take some responsibility for ur own riding. if u r loosing faith then u need to speak to u instructor about being put on horses that u r more comfortable on & u cannot say that it is the horses fault because u r the one that is in charge & u should either be asking it or telling it to do what u want unless it is physically unable to do what u r asking of it.

i have a simalar problem with my instructor because she always put me on the stuborn, lazy, fat ones which were alright but l was not improving so l kept asking her to put me on something else, & eventually she did.

all u need to do is keep persisting with it & if u want it enough then u will ask for a change becuase things dont nececerally change unless u make them.

i think that she is giving u hard horses to ride because if she sees potential in u then she will want to test it to the limit to see how u cope in different situations even if u r out of ur comfort zone, if she has been instructing for over 20 years then l think she will know what she is talking about.

good luck for improving in the future & l hope any of this helps you

To Duchess: Yes, l did mark u down, because no where did she say that she road the same horse H/J. She called herself a H/J, & then when referring to the horse, she kept saying jumper. l read her post 3X to make sure. Sheesh.do not jump down somebody is throat!

To poster: Tell ur instructor. l do not see why a 6th & a 2nd, AND 6 champions would make u lose faith. Sounds like pretty good placings to me. No one, not even the kid with the $100K horse wins all the time. The purpose of showing is not to win, but to do ur best, & have ur best get better all the time. Sometimes ur best will be the best there, sometimes it won't. But if u did better today than yesterday, u have won. If u actually want to become an excellent rider, u have to ride harder horses.

We can not really tell how advanced u are. You have to tell us what u do - walk, trot, canter, how high u jump, etc. Do u know how to tack, untack, groom, wash, feed, muck, & check for injuries? How hard was the most difficult horse you've ridden? Do thet bolt, buck, or rear? And how did u do? Are ur hands & feet steady at all gaits? How long can u stay in a 2 point? Do u know what driving is & do u drive when riding (if u know what driving is, u will know how to answer the question)? How long have u been riding? We need to know these things in order to tell u what level rider u are. As for ur trainer, how long have u been riding with her? How good r some of her other students? Does she challenge you? How long does it take to learn something new? We need this info to tell u how good ur trainer is.

You sound pretty good. Maby work on ur Equation to help in the flat classes. It sounds like u r on harder horses. At most schooling shows a lot of the people in the lower classes have ''push button'' horses/ ponies. Always remember to go to shows with a positive attitude.
A couple of months ago l took a TB mare into the long stirrup classes at a local schooling show, mind u it was my first show in 11 months, & the mares first time off the farm in three years. Everyone was telling me not to get my hopes up for a good show. The mare was really hot & not the best Hunter. We did really well & got Champion.


To the first answer:
You can get horses that do both Hunter & Jumper. It is on how u ride them. The mare l ride is a Hunter/Jumper.

l think your instructor thinks that u can handle the horse eaisly. but l really do not think that a one eyed horse would be that hard to jump with. l knew a horse that was compleatly blind but could still jump just fine. u sound like a really good rider cause i'm 13 to and i've only ever been to one schooling show and in the novice 2ft class l totaly screwed up and l was riding the best horse at my barn.

If u do not want to keep loosing, u should stop showing.
There is NEVER a guarantee that u will win every show u enter, unless you're entering a class of one.
6 champions in 2 years at 13yrs is pretty good, especially if ur trainer is giving u harder horses.
But then of course it is NEVER the riders fault, it is ALWAYS the horse.. (sarcasm).
Do not compete just to win, compete because u have fun.
l go into shows expecting that l wo not do well, my horse does get caught up in the excitement & everything that is going on around him, l take it in my stride & just have fun.