Rider 1

Overall: This is a nice photo of a good jumping horse with a very capable rider. My main criticism is that her stirrups are too short, causing her seat to go far back in the saddle.  Then she has to throw it high out of the saddle to stay with the horse.

Leg: I like the stirrup position on her foot. It’s on the ball of her foot, and the outside bar of the stirrup is farther forward than the inside bar. Her stirrups look a little too short because her knee is up high on the flap of the saddle. This is causing her seat to be too far back and out of the saddle. She’s slightly behind the motion with her seat, but she has good angles in her ankle and knee. That’s really my only criticism of the photo.

Release: I like her release. It’s an automatic release, although her hand should be a little lower for a perfect automatic release with a straight line from the horse’s mouth to her hand to her elbow. However, she’s keeping a light contact with the horse in the air while still giving him plenty of freedom to use his bascule, allowing him to round in his back.

Upper body: She has nice, flat back with her eyes—looking up to where she is going next.

Horse: The horse looks like quite a capable jumper. He is really using his back and shoulders well. His withers have come up high, which is what I like to see in in a horse’s jump. He is also very tight with his front legs, probably as tight as he can get them. He’s almost touching his elbow with his feet, and he’s making a generous jump over this fence.

Turnout: The horse is beautifully turned out with a shiny coat. The tack is clean, and the rider’s clothes are also impeccable. I like that the rider’s hair is up under her helmet. Her boots are shiny, and the coat and everything else fits well.

What you’ll see in the video

As you can tell in the photo, you can see in the video that the rider’s stirrups are too short, causing her seat to be in the back of the saddle. I’d like her seat farther forward and up toward the pommel, even if she needs to sit on the approach to the fence. Lengthening her stirrups should help with this adjustment in her seat and with her basics. Additionally, the horse drifts left over fences, so I’d like to see her trying to open the right rein in the air and keep him straighter. Overall, it looks like she has good timing and a good sense of how to ride around a course, but the adjustments will help her, especially when she’s jumping bigger fences.

Rider 2

Overall: In general, this looks like a capable, strong-positioned rider with good basics. This will make stepping up the ranks easier for her. It is another pleasant photo, and I like that they are out in a grass field with this natural fence.

Leg: The rider’s position is quite good, but the stirrup is too far back on her foot, limiting the mobility in her ankle. Also, if she were to fall, the stirrup could get caught on her foot. I’d like to see the stirrup more on the ball of her foot. However, I like her leg position in the air. It’s right behind the girth, and she has nice contact with her calf and knee, not just pinching with her knee like we see sometimes in the submitted photos.

Hip Angle: Her seat is too far out of the saddle, but the horse is also making quite a good jumping effort over this fence. The rider may have simply allowed the horse to push her out of the saddle with his jump. Her hip angle in the air is good.

Release: I like that she’s using a short crest release, which is perfectly acceptable.

Upper body: Her back is flat, and she’s looking up and ahead to the next fence.

Horse: I like the horse. He looks like quite a good jumper making a big effort over this rolltop. He’s using his bascule with his withers up high. He is also tight with his front end with an attentive, alert expression.

Turnout: The turnout is good, though I’d like to see the rider’s boots be a little cleaner. However, the horse’s coat looks shiny and excellent.

Rider 3

Overall: Here is another great photo of a beautifully turned-out equitation pair jumping on the grass. And I love this rider’s position.

Leg: The stirrup is on the ball of her foot. If anything, the stirrup’s a little too far out toward her toe, but I don’t have the best view of it from this angle. Her heel is down, and she has a good angle in it. The rider has beautiful contact in her calf and knee in the air.

Hip Angle: I love the angles in the rider’s ankle, knee and hip.

Release: Her long crest release is typical in hunter and equitation classes. All three releases in this column are excellent, showing good examples of the short crest release, long crest release and the automatic release. My one critique is it looks like her snaffle rein might be a lot longer than her curb rein, so that should be adjusted.

Upper body: Her back is flat but not too stiff.

Horse: The horse looks beautiful. He’s impressive-looking and has a beautiful jump to him. Though the fence isn’t big, he is giving a generous jump over it without being too expressive. I like that his withers are up high and he’s using his head and neck really well. He has a beautiful expression and front end. His forearms are high, and he’s very even with his lower leg as well. I think it’s a beautiful exhibition of what a hunter should do and how one should jump.

Turnout: The turnout is impeccable. The horse’s coat is beautiful. He’s braided and turned out to the tee. The rider’s clothes are impeccable as well. I don’t have a lot to criticize other than that it’s simply a lovely photo.

About Beezie Madden

Beezie Madden captured Olympic show-jumping team gold medals in 2004 as well as 2008, where she also earned the individual bronze medal, all riding Authentic. She won the FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in 2013 with Simon and in 2018 with Breitling LS. Other accolades include an Olympic team silver medal in 2016 riding Cortes ‘C’, with whom she also took 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games team and individual bronze medals. She won the prestigious 2019 CP ‘International’ at CSIO Spruce Meadows and was voted the 2019 USEF International Equestrian of the Year. She and her husband, John, are based out of John Madden Sales in Cazenovia, New York.

View more submissions to Jumping Clinic With Beezie Madden.

This article originally appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of Practical Horseman.