Ignoring the FTF drama...yeah, I'm young, but I've been training and competing in the jumpers for over 10 years, riding and jumping for 15+, and I've ridden under and trained with Debi Conner, whose trained and ridden some top grand prix and A hunter horses (including Touch of Class, who won 2 golds in the 1984 Olympics). Yeah I'm in my 20's (technically late 20's as of this year since I'm turning 26...ick), but I do have extensive experience working with and trying to "fix" a jump...if the horse doesn't naturally straight out of the box have a good jump, its just that much harder.

Pendragon, I did not realize this was your horse, so I'm sorry if I have offended you. Just because he is still figuring out his legs, and still learning to jump is not a good excuse for a poor jumping style. And the fact the picture is taken slightly from the front just means that his knees will look better, if you look exactly from the side that would present a much better picture for seeing exactly how much he is jumping over his shoulder (which he is). And also, I personally find it much easier to judge a jump from a still, or picture vs. a video. In a video or watching in person, its much easier to not see a fault because you get carried away by the whole picture. And if I remember correctly, George Morris agrees with me there.

Again I will reiterate, just because he had a inherent fault over fences, does NOT mean he's not a quality horse, horses that are primarily dressage bred will often times have a less then stellar jump. Because of that, I personally would not breed him since my main concern is the jump since thats what I do. Another person who is looking for a dressage horse wouldn't necessarily say the same thing.

Oh, and just an example of a young stallion that is jumping bred (out of an Argentinus mare and by Balou Du Rouet), his 1st time through the chute as a 3 year old

See the difference and how he's got a "natural" jump?
Bliss/Bliss-3-6-jump-chute-72.jpg
Bliss MF's 3rd time? As a four year old
Bliss/Lefty_huge_jump.jpg


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Last Edited By: nicolemorgans Feb 7 11 7:57 AM. Edited 1 times.