We already put some photos on Facebook, but thought we would give a more detailed review of the Sam Lyle clinic last weekend. Sam Lyle from Fox Hill Farm came and coached over 20 horse and rider combinations over our brilliant XC course.
Saturday was showjumping.  Firstly Sam reminded us all that the rider controls the canter, the line and the rhythm (I hope I have this right as he asks this in every lesson and we always forget!). The horse’s job is to jump the jump. He makes all of this sound very easy 🙂
Next, Sam emphasised the importance of recognising how your ride over one jump will affect the next. We jumped challenging combinations with non-standard striding. One combination consisted of an oxer, 4 long strides to another oxer, and then 5 short strides to a vertical.
How do you make those 5 short strides a little easier? It turns out that if you aim to jump bigger over the first oxer, you will get a little deeper into the second. The horse’s stride will already be partly condensed from having jumped slightly deeper, and you will have landed closer to the second oxer, giving you slightly more room for the 5 short strides – genius! Certainly beats jumping enormously over that middle oxer off a long spot, then flying down the 5 strides in 4, only to crash through the vertical!
Sunday was WINDY! We gathered on the XC course with the wind in the horse’s tails. Sam did an amazing job at instructing via hand signals and charades.  We were all cutting our corners a bit on cross country, so again Sam emphasised the importance of a straight approach. This became even more important when jumping several apexes and a ditch to narrow roll-top combination. The 1* group even jumped some fences on challenging angles on the other side of the creek.
Overall the weekend was a great opportunity for schooling. Everyone is very thankful for the tune-up and now has their sights on Wagga Horse Trials this weekend. Thanks Sam!
Photos taken by John Fitzgerald
National Capital Horse Trials Association 