Overall how does it look? l actually think this is one of my best pictures of me jumping, so if there is a small flaw here it is probably worse normally xD

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa4/Buckaroo32/mejumpingatseward.jpg
Yeah, l ahve shortened my sturrips since this was taken...and l have a hard time figureing out where my arms should be because l have really long arms and as you can see my horse has a short neck that he typically does not bother streching out much over the jumps lol. But, is there anyway l can fix my back being ''un straight'' l have always noticed that, but if l stretch it out l feel l am in my horses space to much and l do not wanna make him unbalanced. Plus, again he has a short neck and l am rather tall (l was around 5'7 in thsi picture, but know 5'9 and he is 15.2hh) So, yeah...maybe someone can give me a few pointers to help me with that?

ur helmet is too big & should not be falling over ur eyes.

Shorten ur stirrups about a hole so u can have a better position. You r sitting low in the saddle & ur back is not straight & you're leaning too far forward, l think again because of ur stirrups being too long. Your toes should be pointed forward to increase ur contact with ur horse. l can not tell because of ur jacket but ur arms r not in the right position so u probably hit the horse in the mouth when u landed.

l think it is the timing of the picture that makes his legs look dangly but ur horse is a cute jumper with a nice expression. His back legs r even & he has his knees up in front & even.

you need to push your heels down

Like the last post, ur stirrups r two long & ur helmet is a bit large, but l understand how that is><
Try to keep ur whole hand off the horses neck,just rest ur pinkie knuckles,this way when u land u can roll back easier & sit up better afterwords. when u jump do not stick u but out,try to tuck it in under u a bit,think of rounding ur back a little,bend forward right at the vertebrae below ur st a little though or u will look to round. also always be sure to look for ur next jump while ur in the air,this helps ur horse know where to go!

1. Shorten those sturrips! (1-2 holes)
2. You need a bit more 2-point (jumping position).. as in you need to get off the saddle a bit more. It looks as if right before the horse lands, you will hit the saddle.. which is not good.
3. Fix the arms.

VERY cute horse.. and good balance. Good job!

well ur body is over a bit to mucjh only ur hands should be on the neck wiht ur embows down beside

u dont need to be lenaed over that much speacily jumping a jump that small genarly bigger jumps or wider jump u will tend to

The only thing l can see that isnt covered by everyone else is that your feet seem to want to turn out like ''open car doors but it doesnt seem to be a very severe case, so it should be easy to fix. Just remember not to turn them out when you go into the 2 point position.

Well your kinda leaning on his neck ,Point your toes in ..and try a smaller helmet ;)

give him a bit more crest release and bring your toes in look up
But apart from that u look fab!!!!

After reading the other comments l have to say u do not look disproportionally big & in fact u two make a good pair. My friend & l who r both about 5'4 (she is a little taller) ride this 13.2hh pony & he is very stocky but TINY we look ridiculous compared to u & ur horse so do not stress about that.

Ok, l would say the only problem with ur position is that you've made a small ''balance'' error that Grand Prix riders make & is not as air dynamically sound, or graceful as a correct position but is so common that it is not a big deal. What l like to think of correct position as is having a sort of center of gravity & then bending from that with everything in line & ur hands going out on ur horses neck - & being the only free moving body part. The toe, kneecap, elbow, shoulder, & head should all create a vertical line with the ball of ur foot being in line with the girth. If u look at ur picture, l can tell that u already r moving ur body as a unit, it is not like ur upper body is correct & ur leg just swung back a little. You just got a little ahead of ur horse because u were anticipating the jump & itching to get out of the saddle so u kind of overshot the angle. l want to just spin u 15º around that center of gravity l talked about so that ur leg is at the girth & ur body is a little further back off his neck.

And last but not least u r doing what l did for a long time when trying a new jump & that is trying harder to do a good job by thrusting yourself into the jump this results in u folding over ur hands instead of ''sitting back & waiting for the jump to come to u & then folding quietly at takeoff'' This comes with practice as u become more familiar with the movements of ur horse & he with yours, & also as u become more accustomed with jumping in general.

It is all an art in my eyes & very complicated & should really be considered a science not a sport lol!! But u really r almost there just practice keeping ur foot at the girth sometimes this requires what l like to think of as ''isolating'' where u take a few small jumps & forget about all ur position & focus on one thing - like keeping ur heel farrrr down this will naturally push ur foot forward, or it will move ur knee backward to be in line with ur foot. which is ok.

Practice ur heels, practice waiting for the jump & not flinging yourself into it or trying to help ur horse over it because what really helps is if u r quiet on his back while he jumps. l know it seems ridiculous but the first time l jumped a coop which is a solid triangular prism about 2'8 & 2' wide l felt like we were not going to get over it!! So l would thrust myself into it preparing for a much bigger jump than usual when in fact all that ever did was throw my horse off & make him pick up the wrong lead. In time, as l became more relaxed about taking new jumps could l work on just remaining quiet which l find is the hardest thing to do but once u strip away everything else what u have left is all u need.

Anywayyyysssss.. keep practicing & try isolating ur heels, & hands to make sure they go more forward than ur upper body.

Sorry about rambling l just love this question because l had the same questions for the longest time!!
l hope l helped!!

Yeah, good think you shortened those stirrups since!

I'd just push your heels down more. You should be careful that you never go flying over his head if he stops suddenly, seeing as you're tall and he has a short neck.

:)

your to tall for your horse,
you need like a 16 hand horse.

dont you love the facial expressions we all do when jumping XD

just shorten sirrups

stablilise yourself off your horses neck and more on the heels, but by shortening your stirrups this should come naturally.

your horse looks happy to be doing his job and you've got your head up which is great.

pretty good :D

Push your bottom back over the saddle and arch your back a little. Slide your arms up his neck. However, you can not slide your arms up his neck unless you have your bottom back over your saddle. Also, by not jumping up his neck, your making his job easier!