You may have heard about “seeing” and “looking for” distances at the jumps. The problem with this approach is that it only deals with what occurs in the immediate vicinity of the jump. Much more important than the takeoff stride at the jump are all the strides that come before it, through the corner, and from the landing of the previous jump. After all, jumping is just fl atwork with sticks in the way.
The takeoff spot for a jump is often a cause of anxiety for riders, but the easiest way to defeat nervousness is to focus on something that can be controlled. In this case, the “track,” or path taken to the jump, and the quality of the canter are both things that can be controlled by you as the rider.