So, the quest for trainers at our new base in Oxfordshire has taken another step forward. I should explain.
During the winter JP Sheffield comes down from his base in Leicestershire every few weeks; he spends the day at the yard and runs through a programme of intense, one-to-one sessions with those who have booked.
Before this evening I had no prior knowledge of JP – apart from his track record as an Eventer. But that’s something I look for in any instructor; that they actually go out and do what they teach. People who do and who teach are worth their weight in gold. People who do and teach and who are bloody good teachers are as common as rocking horse poo. JP is in the rocking horse poo category – and I mean this in a really good way.
After a brief intro from me and an inspection from him while Vin and I worked in, JP sussed out why Vin’s been bolting at show jump fences this season; it’s a balance thing.
The best analogy I can offer is to compare Vin’s jumping with riding a bicycle at slow speed, it’s more difficult than riding one at high speed. Vin, being an ex-racehorse, is all about speed. So JP has given us homework, two exercises that we have to carry out every day for the next few weeks.
JP worked Vin and me through those exercises for 20 minutes. When he was happy that he’d slowed us down yet we still carried sufficient impulsion to jump accurately he put us through a small grid starting off with a simple pair of cross-poles. Then he introduced a second element which gave us the cross-poles then one stride to an upright. After a few passes through those JP added a third element which gave us the cross-poles then one stride to the upright then two strides to a spread.
And stone me, we didn’t have any of the problems that had accompanied our last few jumping efforts. We were slower, we were controlled, we had impulsion and we jumped accurately and large. And beautifully.
I look forward to our next session!
B.