Bounce Baby Bounce
I really wanted to title this post “Baby’s First Bounce” but since no one will believe me when I call my eight year old pretty damn broke horse a “baby”, let’s just simply say we did our first bounce in our Sunday lesson.
First, we did trot poles. Simon started out very tense and a bit worked up about them. He wanted to be very forward and rushing going into the gymnastic. With his shorter stride we had a hard time balancing length of stride with proper speed.
And we had some some, dare I say – special moments.
Also included in the specialness was “don’t canter the trot poles” (aka me yelling ‘We’re going to die!’ as I go down the line).
After a while he started to relax, and overall things got better.
Once we were through the trot poles, there was the bounce. Two little cross rails.
I had never done a bounce before (neither had Simon) and didn’t know what to expect. Honestly? Easy peasy. I mean at this height with my horse, I shouldn’t have expected any problems.
As with any gymnastic, we had to hit the entrance right or there’d be problems. If we botched up the trot poles or left too early for the first cross rail, he’d have to go a bit long for the bounce.
Next to build on the poles + bounce, my trainer added a one stride.
We ended the lesson with the last two jumps set up for small verticals. In true Simon fashion, he likes to “celebrate” a little after a gymnastic line with a head shake. It looks like he’s pissed off… but he certainly doesn’t feel that way. I call it his happy dance.
So basically these are a lot of pictures of my horse getting over poles 😀 However gymnastics used to be a cause of anxiety for us, and now they’re more fun than anything! What about y’all, do you have a love or hate relationship with bounces?
32 thoughts on “Bounce Baby Bounce”
hehehe at the happy dance pic. I love bounces! Especially a bunch in a row.
Bounces are awesome but they feel WEIRD.
Love how your trainer built up the exercise and how confident Simon is at the end. Nicely done!
Yes, it always makes it very approachable!
I always love doing bounces with Q. So fun.
You and Simon look great! I love how the pictures show him relaxing and figuring out the exercise as he goes along, and the happy dance is adorable. Bounces are fun, and great for the booty!
I love bounces! They really help me stay up in the saddle, as opposed to sitting too much right after a jump. They help Moe not go a million miles an hour, too. 🙂
Simon’s happy dance is adorable. What a dork!!
Once I get going I typically enjoy gymnastics but when I haven’t done them in awhile I have some mild anxiety over it when the jumps go up. Luckily Huer knows his job and typically saves my but even if we get funny spots in. Definitely a useful exercise!
love bounces! Don’t do them too often but they’re great for getting the horse to a) slow down and b) rock back and actually have to use their butts. I just love grids and gymnastics in general. My mare used to rock them- she was so easy to ride through them because she had a monster stride so you just had to keep leg on and let her go. I always said if a jumper course were just grids, we could be great! LOL
Haha I’m just the opposite… love me a ton of singles!
I like gymnastic exercises in general – always a very helpful reminder to me to set things up and then stay out of the way. I love it when they have a little celebration after – it’smy little reminder of how much they enjoy their jobs 🙂
Haha, I love his happy dance!! Red does the same thing when I let him go after the goats at the farm. 🙂 He herds them wherever I tell him and then gets excited. “Look maaammmm! I did it!!!”
Wheee – Love his rebellious head-shake/happy-dance 🙂
I love bounces! Helps me to learn to sit quiet and just support….rather than micromanaging every step like I’d prefer. And I agree-his happy dance is adorable! What a goob.
Gym-nasties are my favorite! I get major anxiety about single fences, but when there are a bunch of jumps in a row and all you have to do is sit chilly, I’m golden.
They used to give me a lot of anxiety, but it’s getting better.
Yay for first times.
My first time going through a bounce exercise I usually think “I hope my horse doesn’t see this as a really wide oxer.”
They never do. 🙂
Love the Simon happy dance!
Haha someone shared a meme on my FB page with a horse jumping a bounce like it was a water jump!
Miles and I are not good at bounces… or gymnastics of any kind. He’s going to go to Gymnastic Boot Camp with a more talented rider later this summer LOL
Y’all are looking so good! Bounces are so great for me and my poneh! I really have to work hard to stay with the motion. They are good for my eq and his knees. But I hate trotting in! We suck at trot poles! It gets interesting when my trainer asks me to drop my reins, yeesh never mind it gets embarrassing!
We suck at trot poles too. You are not alone 🙂
I do bounces in every lesson – my coach is a big user of them, we do a tonne of gymnastics!
I don’t have an opinion, since I’ve never done bounces, and now my horse’s jumping capabilities are limited, but they look like so much fun!! Love Simon’s happy dance 😀
I love doing gymnastics just because it is so good for the horses (made or green). The first time I did a bounce with Poppy she jumped the entire bounce. It took ten years off my life 😉
I remember loving bounces. Someday I’ll be there again. Looks like fun!
i love bounces! especially if you have a few set up. i found that i was able to notice improper posture of the 2-point.
Depends on the ears I’m looking through but they can certainly be useful!
I love your original title for this blog post. Bounces are fun. I am wondering how you get so many great photos of yourself riding. I know you shoot pics, but surely you can’t multi-task and take your own while bouncing. . . or can you?
My husband took these for me. He has good timing, and I usually set the exposure for him and just hand him the camera. I also am really lucky to have another rider at the barn who is a good photographer, so sometimes we take turns taking pictures of each other.
Looks like FUN!
You’re turning into a little eventer! Just kidding but seriously love this!
Bounces are intimidating! Luckily Hemie is fine with them.
Hehe, and he’s certainly your baby even if he isn’t a baby, so either title is perfect =)