When I was a working student in my late teens and early 20s, I thought I was pretty good at judging the right distance to a fence—the horse’s takeoff spot. But as I progressed through the levels, I realized my eye wasn’t as good as it needed to be. Sometimes I saw a distance. Other days I didn’t. I couldn’t put my finger on how to be more consistent.
In the course of training with and observing various coaches, I realized I could achieve better accuracy by practicing a variety of exercises. Using these exercises combined with mental strategies, I developed my own approach to help myself as well as amateurs and young riders tackle this challenge. I’ll share this approach with you so that you can develop your skills for finding a distance.
Understand Your Relation to the Fence
Typically, when you misjudge a distance, it feels uncomfortable. You might get left behind as your horse leaves long (too far away from the fence) and launches over the fence. In other cases, you may fall forward or become unseated as your horse chips in an extra stride (leaves too close to the fence) and pops over it. Either scenario is unnerving for you and your horse.
The first step to developing a better eye is knowing when you are going to leave the ground. After you jump a fence, ask yourself, did you take off too long or too deep? The more you are aware of when you are going to leave the ground, the more power you have to change the distance to the next fence. If you don’t ask yourself these questions, the road to seeing a better distance will be harder.
The more you understand your relation to the fence, the more accurate you will be. Accuracy means a more comfortable and confident ride for you and your horse. Asking your horse to get you out of a sticky situation on a regular basis can damage his confidence and yours. The more he trusts you, the more likely he is to bail you out of trouble because you’ve gotten it right so many times before.
Reframe the Way You See Distances
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a rider say, “I just didn’t see a distance.” But that’s not the problem. Instead, it’s because you saw you were on a half-stride and you couldn’t decide which distance to go for—the long or the short. In that moment, you freeze, not committing to either one. A stride or two goes by, and it’s too late to make a change, resulting in an awkward fence.
Distance issues are mental. Seeing a distance is about making a choice and committing. I can see the moment a student realizes she is on a perfect stride (where the horse will leave the ground comfortably) or a half-stride (where the horse will leave too far away or too close). The student’s body language gives it away. On a perfect stride, she is relaxed. On a half-stride, she is tense and looks like a deer in headlights.
Reframe the way you see distances. Let’s assume you’re consistent at seeing a distance three strides out. When you don’t see anything, consider that you’re coming in on a half-stride. You can still make an adjustment within three strides, but it’s really hard to make an adjustment at one. Empower yourself to make a choice to go deep or go long and commit to that choice fully. Use more leg to get the longer distance or half-halt to get in one more stride. Remember that no matter whether you go long or go deep, keep your leg on to give your horse the confidence he needs to jump the fence.
Retraining your thought process is a very difficult mental exercise but one that will be worth it in the long run. Once you empower yourself to make a choice, work on making decisions farther out so that you can make the proper adjustments early and ride quietly to the fence.
Furthermore, don’t let one bad distance impact your next fence. You can’t simply say that you’re going to add a stride before the next fence just because you went too long the fence prior. Treat each fence individually. Assess the canter you have and the canter you need for the next fence, then adjust the stride based on the distance you see.
We’ll get to the exercises I mentioned earlier in a moment, but first—a word about the canter. There is always a lot of discussion about riding the “right canter.” If you ride a balanced and rhythmical canter, the distance will follow. That’s true. The canter is important because it needs to be adjustable. You need to be able to send your horse forward equally as you need to be able to collect. I call this the “middle canter.” It’s in the middle of going forward and of collecting. This middle canter helps you be accurate. If you’re riding a canter that doesn’t allow you to move forward or collect easily, you likely won’t be able to change your distance before a fence. So when practicing the following exercises, work out of this middle canter.
Exercise 1: Canter a Ground Pole on a Circle
One way to strengthen your eye is by cantering a ground pole on a circle. This gives you more opportunities to adjust your horse than if you simply ride over a pole on a straight line. You can do this every week whether you’re jumping or riding dressage, and it’s very easy on your horse’s legs.
Establish the middle canter and go over the pole. Notice at least three strides out when you’re going to leave the ground. If you see the right distance, don’t change anything. If you see a half-stride, decide between three choices to get the right distance:
• Collect the length of your horse’s canter to add an extra stride by giving a half-halt. Squeeze with both leg and hand in your half-halt so the canter stays powerful as the stride shortens.
• Increase the length of his canter by squeezing with your leg and asking your horse for a longer step. Hold your upper-body position so the horse stays uphill and in balance as you lengthen the stride.
• Spiral slightly in or out by using your inside or outside leg to yield the horse onto a different track of the circle depending on what you need to get a comfortable approach. If the distance looks like it will be tight, spiral out slightly to increase the space between you and the pole to give your horse more room. If it looks like it will be long, spiral in to decrease the space between you and the pole. Often you will find it’s easier for your horse to yield one way or the other. Work on yielding the hard way in your warm-up. For example, if yielding to the left would help your distance, but it’s the harder yield for your horse, you still want to practice it.
Each time you go over the pole, assess your distance. Ask whether you left the ground when you thought you were going to. If you didn’t, ask yourself whether you made the adjustment early enough for a quiet approach or long distance or whether you hesitated and waited too long. Avoid making too many changes that take away your horse’s impulsion and freedom to jump effectively.
If you keep having issues getting the right distance, count out loud three strides in front of the pole so that you are honest with yourself about when you really thought you were on your last stride. Sometimes counting out loud encourages you to ride one distance or another until you achieve comfortable distances consistently.
You can take this same exercise and apply it anywhere that you’re riding. If you’re riding on a trail, look for a tuft of grass or a branch and practice counting strides to that point. When you watch other riders, count their distances in your head. See if you can consistently count four, five and six strides in front of the fence. The more you practice and challenge yourself, the better your eye will be.
Exercise 2: Canter a Cavalletti on a Circle
After you can consistently canter a pole on the ground at the right distance in both directions, canter a low cavalletti on a circle. By keeping the jump low, the exercise is still one you can do on your own or on a dressage training day and maintain a safe environment.
As you did in the pole exercise, find your middle canter and approach the cavalletti. Pay close attention to when you leave the ground. Can you see the distance at least three strides before the jump? If you don’t see a distance, can you retrain your mind to notice that you’re on a half-stride and collect for an extra stride or increase the length of your horse’s canter to get the right distance? Or can you adjust your circle to get a quiet, comfortable approach?
If you’re confident seeing three strides out, challenge yourself to see four, five and six strides out so that you can make your adjustments sooner. If you do that successfully, try to see the distance at seven or eight strides out so that you make any changes well in advance of the jump. Remember if you are struggling, the chances are that you are worried about making the wrong decision and, as a result, you are doing nothing on the way to the cavalletti.
Exercise 3: Canter a Vertical
Next, canter over a vertical on a circle. Set the fence to a height that is comfortable for you. You want this exercise to be low stakes so that you can still make a mistake without it being unsafe or unsettling for you and your horse. Pick up a middle canter and ride over the vertical.
For this exercise, it’s not about whether you clear the fence; it’s about whether you knew when you were going to leave the ground and whether you made an adjustment to your horse’s canter early. Use critical thinking to assess each jump. If you keep seeing the same spot (long or deep), ask yourself why and aim to make an adjustment earlier.
Sometimes you might tell yourself that you’re going to go long but you don’t use enough leg to tell your horse when to leave the ground. Was it because you were scared that your horse wouldn’t make it? Notice how your body language changes when you get an awkward distance. Are you tensing up? Are you picking at your horse’s mouth? Riders go back to what’s comfortable for them when they get nervous. Know your weakness and recognize when it’s happening so that you can stop it the next time around.
Exercise 4: Canter a Line
Set up two small verticals set 69 feet apart. Pick up your middle canter and ride the line in an even five strides. In the middle of the line, assess if you are on track to get the five strides. If you think you are going to get to the second fence too soon, ask your horse to collect his stride. If you think you are going to get there too late, add your leg and ask your horse to lengthen his stride.
Repeat this exercise, this time riding the line in six strides by collecting your horse’s stride the moment you land from the first fence so that you put in six even strides and don’t squeeze in the sixth stride at the last second. In the middle of the line, check how you’re doing and adjust as needed.
Next, repeat the line in four strides. To do this, you will have to ask for more impulsion going into the first fence. Midway down the line, check to see where you are in relation to the fence and make a decision, if needed, to lengthen or collect your horse’s stride.
The goal of this exercise isn’t simply to get the number of strides you set out to ride. It’s to get the second vertical at a comfortable distance. To achieve a comfortable distance to the second vertical, you have to know where you are in the middle of the line.
When you take a moment in the middle of the line to check how you are doing on accomplishing your set number of trides, and you make a decision to either push more, stay the same, or whoa, you are basically “seeing your distance” to the second vertical.
Exercise 5: Practice Your Stressors
The ability to make quick decisions is much harder under stress. At home, practice the questions that stress you out at shows. You must develop mental toughness to be more accurate so that you can be in charge every step of your course. No matter who you are or what level you’re competing, you’re going to be a little less accurate at the show. Practice, conquer your fears and strengthen your mental stamina.
With the help of a coach, set up a combination of fences that put you in your stress zone. If jumps over 3 feet make you nervous, set up three fences, including one at 3-foot-3. Or if oxers make you nervous, set up two verticals with one oxer. If a particular kind of turn paralyzes your decision-making skills, set up the turn with two or three fences at a low height.
Test yourself in a scenario that threatens your decision-making skills, but do it in a manageable way so that you are comfortable enough to make decisions and be effective. Ride the combination and assess your ride. If you got a good distance, try to mimic the same pace and approach. If you got an awkward distance, trust yourself to make the right decision. Trusting yourself is half the battle!
Developing an accurate eye is a skill you will work on for the rest of your riding career. Whether you are jumping, hacking or riding dressage at home, make these exercises a part of your regular routine, and practice every week. Next time your coach sets up a course, test yourself by identifying how many strides are in each line without her telling you. With a lot of practice, you can absolutely do it.
Always Long or Short
When you consistently find one type of distance, it’s usually because you don’t trust you or your horse to take the opposite kind of distance. You simply default to what you know you can make happen, even if it is not the best choice for the situation. Horses need to practice going deep just as they need to practice going long. Work with your trainer on getting both kinds of distances to a fence so that you have the confidence to ask for and achieve a long or deep spot when the situation calls for it.
Show Jumping vs. Cross Country
In the stadium phase, the fences come up one after another after another, forcing you to make several decisions in a compressed amount of time. Whereas on cross country, you have more time in between the fences to do a mental reset or to get the pace you need. There are usually more people watching stadium, and that can impact nerves! Anxiety is a big detractor to success. The more you practice your stressors at home, the better equipped you’ll be in the show ring to settle your nerves, make a decision and fully commit to a distance.
About Lillian Heard Wood
Lillian Heard Wood runs her training business out of Lanefield Farm in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. She’s an international competitor with 16 CCI5* completions, including top-20 finishes at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event and Land Rover Burghley CCI5*. Originally from Poolesville, Maryland, she developed a passion for eventing while competing in the U.S. Pony Clubs. She spent 10 years as a working student for Boyd Martin and five-star competitor Jan Byyny. Also, she worked in Ireland and in England in multiple international yards, most notably for Carol Gee of Fernhill Sport Horse Center.
Thanks to Mane ‘n Tail for our coverage of the 2024 Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, including rider interviews, competition reports, horse spotlights, photos, videos and more!
