Groovy gridwork

Looking for a super-fun jumping exercise that will improve your course-riding skills? We’ve got just the thing for you! Our epic Y-grid will boost your ability to ride between fences and help you achieve a dreamy clear round – so why not give it a go?

Set it up

For this exercise you’ll need four pairs of wings and eight poles as a minimum – if you want to make one of the fences into an oxer that’s totally fine, or you can use fillers instead of poles!

TOP TIP

This exercise is set up to have four strides in between the end of the double and each of the single fences, but you can tweak it to suit the amount of space you have available in your arena.

TOP TIP

Try to set up the fences so you can jump them in both directions without moving the poles – this will make life sooo much easier and your session much more efficient!

Get started!

Getting your pony’s muscles ready for action will help make your session super-successful so be sure to warm him up thoroughly. After you’ve worked him long and low to start with, encourage him to bend his body in both directions by riding lots of circles and turns. You could ride circles around the fences you’ve set up to get him familiar with the task ahead, as well as square and smooth turns to help prepare and refine your aids for the exercise.

Up, up and away

When you set up the fences, keep them as cross-poles until you’ve completed all the levels. Not only will this build you and your pony’s confidence slowly, jumping over cross-poles can also help you to stay straight and improve his technique over fences. Then, when you’ve nailed the cross-poles, you can turn the fences into uprights.

Find out more about how to progress through the levels of this Y-grid exercise in November PONY – out now!