Brought to you by The Plaidcast
In show jumping, every turn, line, distance, and fence can be used to ask a different question. At the highest levels, the goal is to test adjustability, carefulness, precision, scope, training, and the rider’s ability to make decisions in real time.
“We try to ask a lot of questions for the riders that they can make decisions during the course,” FEI Level 4 Course Designer Guilherme Jorge said on episode 480 of The Plaidcast. Understanding those questions can change the way riders look at a course at any level.
Can You Adjust the Stride?
One of the most basic tools available to a course designer is distance. Some lines invite riders to move forward. Others require them to shorten the horse’s stride. Still others may allow more than one solution, forcing riders to decide which option best suits their horse.
That variety tests rideability rather than simply jumping ability. Jorge explained that course designers deliberately incorporate both longer and shorter distances because adjusting the horse is part of the test.
The best solution may also differ from one combination to another. A naturally bigger-strided horse may require a different plan from a more compact horse. The rider’s job is to understand what the course is asking and determine how their own horse can answer it.
Can You Hold an Accurate Track?
Accuracy is another major part of the test. A course designer can use turns and narrower fences to require horse and rider to arrive at an obstacle with greater precision.
In the Rolex US Equestrian Open Grand Prix at Wellington International, Jorge used an eight-foot-front oxer following a turn where the rider needed to be especially accurate. “The rider needs to be, and the horse needs to be, very accurate to jump,” he said.
The fence itself did not need to be excessively wide to be influential. Its narrower front and placement made precision part of the question. That is one of the ways course designers can test accuracy without simply making a fence physically bigger.
Can You Lengthen and Shorten?
Jorge also designs courses that ask horses to change their stride throughout the round. “We try to ask a lot of questions for the riders that they can make decisions during the course if they’re going to add a stride or leave a stride out in between the lines,” he said.
Combinations can also ask horses to lengthen or shorten their stride. Those changes help test rideability. The horse must be able to respond to the rider, and the rider must decide how best to negotiate each line based on the horse underneath them. That means the same course may not produce exactly the same ride for every combination.
Can You Make the Right Decision?
Not every line has only one possible answer. Jorge explained that course designers can deliberately give riders decisions to make, including whether to add a stride or leave one out. Those choices put part of the responsibility on the rider. The course presents the question, but the rider still has to determine how to answer it with that particular horse.
At the highest levels, that ability to make good decisions is part of what separates combinations. Riders need to understand their horses well enough to know when to move forward, when to shorten, and how to approach each technical question.
Can You Trust the Training?
Some parts of a course reveal something that cannot be changed in the moment. “There are some times that there’s not much that they can do,” Jorge said. He pointed to a section of his Wellington Grand Prix where horses jumped the water, then had to collect for a delicate vertical before continuing to a double combination.
“There was not much that the riders could do there to help the horses jump the combination,” he explained. “It reflects more the training that they have and the quality of the horse.”
In those moments, the result reflects the work that happened before the horse ever entered the competition ring. The horse has to understand how to adjust, stay careful, and answer the question based on its preparation and ability.
A Course Is a Series of Questions
For Jorge, the goal is to create different tests throughout the track and give horse and rider a fair opportunity to answer them. Some questions require riders to make choices. Others ask horses to lengthen or shorten. Some demand accuracy. Others reveal the quality of the horse’s training.
For riders at every level, that can be a useful way to approach the next course walk. Instead of simply looking for the biggest fence or hardest line, consider what each part of the course is asking you and your horse to do.
To hear the full conversation with Guilherme Jorge, listen to episode 480 of The Plaidcast. Subscribe and follow The Plaidcast on your favorite podcast platform for more conversations from throughout our industry.
