| |
Cross Country Horse Jumps
Cross country fences can vary from natural jumps such as a fallen tree trunk or hedge to examples such as a hay cart or water trough. Cross country jumps are solid in design and do not fall down unless they are fitted with a special collapsing pin. What will make a cross country fence more challenging is the height and width of the fence along with where it is sited and how many jumps there are in any one combination along with considerations such as ground conditions, the type of fence that it is and whether it is being jumped from light into dark off a turn, into space or on the side of a hill.
Tree Trunk
An inviting jump which horses seem to enjoy jumping. The height and width of the tree log along with the angle it is to be jumped at will add to the level of proficiency required.
Example
- Novice - Single Log
- Advanced - 2 to 3 Logs to be jumped on a angle, and/or a narrow log requiring accuracy.
Corner
This is a triangle in design and the horse is asked to jump the corner of it. This type of fence requires practice in order to hold the horse straight over it and prevent the horse from running out. The width of the corner will vary and the wider it is the more experienced you will need to be in holding your line. This fence becomes more of a challenge when two or three corners are to be jumped quite often on a curve for an added challenge.
Example
- Novice - A long fence with a small angle, allows the rider to jump slightly more centrally and reduces the amount of accuracy required.
- Advanced - Narrow fences with wide angles that require precision jumping to prevent the horse from running out. Two or three corners on a wiggly bend will need the concentration of both horse and rider.
Angled Rail
This is a post and rail fence which has to be jumped at an angle as opposed to straight on. The angle of the fence, the number of angle fences to be jumped and the number of strides in between each fence will determine the level of difficulty.
Examples
- Novice - A single angled rail.
- Novice - Two angled rails with a one or two stride distance in between.
- Advanced - The angle to be jumped is more acute and the addition of two or three angled rails in a combination adds to the challenge.
Bounce
This is where you have two fences, one closely followed by the other with a bounce distance in between each, this means that as soon as the horse lands it must immediately take off again. Safety now suggests that making the second fence look different helps the horse to realize that it must take off immediately on landing, therefore helping to prevent rotational falls.
Example
- Novice - Small bounce.
- Advanced - Bounce into water
Gate
A fixed wooden gate that is to be jumped over, The height and positioning will again determine the technical rating.
Examples
- Novice - Moderate in height in a well lit area.
- Advanced - Jumping the gate on an angle.
- Advanced - Jumping the gate into or out of a wood (jumping from light into dark is always a challenge).
- Advanced - A gate within a combination of fences.
Wall
A solid wall fence with a wooden top. The height, angle and position that it is to be jumped from will increase its difficulty rating.
- Novice - Moderate in size on flat ground.
- Advanced - Jumping a corner of a wall.
- Advanced - Jumping the wall on a angle.
- Advanced - jumping a combination of wall fences.
Coffin
This comprises of three elements a jump to start off with followed by a ditch and then another jump to finish. The height, width and depth of all three parts combined with the angle to be jumped at will determine the technicality of the fence.
Example
- Novice - Fences not too wide and ditch not too scary.
- Advanced - Fences up to height and the ditch deep and wide.
- Advanced - Coffin fences to be jumped on a angle.
Water
This can be a natural stream or a man made complex.The horse will be asked to either splash through or jump in/out and/or in the middle of.
- Novice - Splash through.
- Novice - Splash through followed by a jump out or on land.
- Advanced - Jumps into/on and out of water.
|
|
Palisade
This is a fence on a slight 45 degree angle, which leans into the direction you are jumping it. This fence can easily be made more technical by the addition of a ditch in front, so that both the ditch and palisade have to be jumped in one go.
Example
- Novice - Palisade on its own.
- Advanced - Jumping a palisade with the addition of a very large ditch in front. Jumping a palisade which has been positioned at the top of a steep slope or in front of water both of which require a bold leap of faith.
Parallel
This is a wide fence which has two separate poles marking out the length and width to be jumped, depending on the height of the parallel there are two or three further poles added to fill in the spaces between the ground and top pole.
Examples
- Novice - Not too wide on good ground.
- Advanced - Placing the parallel over a open ditch or stream .
- Advanced - Having to jump a parallel on a angle.
- Advanced - Jumping a parallel as part of a combination of fences.
Steps
These can be jumped going up hill or downhill. The height of the steps and the distance between each step will determine the difficulty, along with any other fences which may have been added either before and/or after the steps.
Examples
- Novice - one or two steps reasonably small in height with one to two strides in between.
- Advanced - A series of steps at maximum height with a bounce distance in between and a separate single fence (often a style fence) added before and /or after.
Brush Fence
These are made of thick brush
and often have thinner brush left sticking up for the horse to jump through.
Example
- Novice - A small brush fence on the flat.
- Advanced - A brush fence into water.
- Advanced - A double of brush fences on an angle.
Tyre fence
A group of tyres are linked together to form a jump. The height of the tyres, the position, type and number of fences will determine the difficulty of the fence.
- Novice - A single fence of tyres.
- Advanced - Row of angled tyre fences.
- Advanced - Style fence made up of tyres.
Roll top
This type of fence is often made of wood and has a gentle upward curve, making it very inviting to jump, where it is positioned and where in relation to other fences it is sited will determine the technicality of the fence.
Example
- Novice - Single roll top.
- Advanced - Bounce of roll top styles.
- Advanced - Roll top into water.
-
Table
Quite literally a flat top on four legs with the width, height and depth varying depending on the level it is designed for.
Examples
- Novice - Moderate in height and width.
- Advanced - The bigger the better.
Trakehner
This is a jump such as a log or rail placed over a ditch, the log or rail can either go straight across or at an angle and can both vary in size depending on the class of competition.
- Novice - Small trakehner.
- Advanced - Large ditch making up the trakehner.
- Advanced - Trakehner to be jumped on an angle.
- Advanced - Trakehner placed within a combination of other fences.
Arrow Head
This is a narrow fences in the shape of an upturned triangle with the point down at the bottom. This gives the horse no ground line to judge the fence and can therefore make it a quite a challenge.
- Novice - Small arrow head that is wide and inviting.
- Advanced - Up to height and often placed on undulating ground and/or within a complex of other fences.
Style
A narrow fence requiring concentration from both horse and rider. It is often designed to look like a style, but can also be the term used for any narrow fence.
- Novice - The style would be on its own and not too narrow.
- Advanced - Style into or out of woods.
- Advanced - Style into or out of water.
- Advanced - A style in combination with other fences.
|
|
