THE SQUARE

With show jumping results depending, not just on one-tenth but one-hundredth of a second, it is imperative that turns are the best they can be! There can be a difference of just two hundredths of a second between 1st and 3rd place.

The Square is a very important exercise for making turns better. When practicing good circles it is very easy to allow the horse to drift a little out, but when riding a perfect square with corners, the rider can improve turns and make them more precise.

First the horse should be well warmed up and have done some circles and changes of rein in trot and canter. Then ride a small square in walk in order to teach the horse the aids, especially the weight aid before the turn (weight more down on inside seat bone). The shoulders of the horse should be turned with two reins evenly (there is no need for bend in the neck in this work) and the rider should use more outside leg if the horse is not turning quickly enough. At first, the square should be large but not ridden on the fence or wall of the arena, always turning a little in from the fence or wall. It is the rider's aids that should be turning the horse, not because the horse reaches the fence or wall. In walk, the corners of the square can be quite small and sharp, increasing outside leg pressure to make the horse react more quickly. Later, when the horse follows well the weight aids of the rider, the leg pressure can be less.

This exercise is obviously carried out on both reins in walk, and then done in trot. In trot the corners can be a little easier than in walk, but they must be corners, not a curved line resembling a quarter of a circle.

When the horse carries out this exercise well in trot, then the same can be done in canter. Ultimately it is the canter square which is the most important exercise for the show jumper. When the large square is easy to ride in canter, then the horse can be ridden on a smaller square. When that is good, the following exercise to train is the Triangle, which adds even more ability to turn sharply, as needed in a jump-off against the clock.