Richard Spooner is coming in hot for the finalé of the Longines FEI World Cup™ North American West Sub-League, at HITS Coachella February 10. With a win in Las Vegas and top finishes in Sacramento, Calgary and Del Mar, he’s all set, points-wise, for springtime in Paris at the Finals. He doesn’t plan to ride his newest star, Chatinus, whose “can’t touch this” attitude has led to remarkable rounds in their six-month partnership. He’s not sure yet who he’ll ride in the Saturday showdown, but whichever horse he chooses will be familiar with a favorite gymnastic exercises: the cartwheel triple bounce.
It’s a fixture in Richard and Kaylen Spooner’s home arena in the Los Angeles area’s Agua Dulce. For their Grand Prix horses and prospects, its main purpose is teaching or reminding them to stay bent slightly to the inside throughout their jumping effort. The curving track requires the horse to use their hindquarters and produces snappy shoulder action.
The exercise has a lot to teach riders, too, as Richard demonstrated as the head coach in the USHJA’s Emerging Jumper Rider Gold Star clinic in January. It teaches riders to “participate” in the jump by using the leg correctly and maintaining some inside rein while jumping through. Inside bend is a tenet of Richard’s system for suppleness and control, on the flat and on course, and the cartwheel requires it. “Horses have a tendency to creep their ribcages to the inside, so you have to use your leg to keep pushing them to the outside, maintaining the inside bend,” Richard explains. It also underscores his emphasis on leg over hand. “There’s a tendency for riders to just use the hand to find the jump, then during the jump, work very hard with the leg to hold down the stirrup. They should be using it to push the horse to the outside.”
To set a cartwheel triple bounce, use three verticals with the inside standards set six feet apart. The outside standards should be between 12 and 14 feet apart. Plenty was accomplished by riders at a height of two feet during the Gold Star clinic. That’s a good height to start, and the exercise can be raised depending on the horse’s experience and athletic ability, and your goals for it. #FEIWorldCup
