04/26/2024
The Jumping Strap - A More Effective Way to Teach Jumping than the Crest Release - The US Cavalry taught the Automatic Release from the beginning of recruit training. Troopers removed their cotton military web belt with its metal slide buckle and placed it around their horse's neck. The riders were told to grab the strap about 2 inches/50 mm to 3 inches/75 mm down from the crest of their horse's neck on both sides when in a 2 point and jumping. At the walk, then at a trot and eventually cantering in a straight line, while up out of the, the recruits began trotting ground poles.
When the students were comfortable rising from the saddle into a 2 point, not leaning on the horse's neck, and balancing on their feet while holding the jumping strap, they began jumping while holding the strap, with knees flexible, shoulders open and eyes up.
The primary advantage of the Jumping Strap training over the Crest Release is that the loose strap moves slightly up and down the neck, as well as side to side. This movement of the strap forces the rider to balance primarily in their stirrups, not on the horse's neck. By discouraging the rider from leaning on the neck to maintain balance, a student immediately gains the ability to learn following hands, which is impossible when using the Crest Release.
Eventually, Troopers were instructed using jumping lanes for gymnastic training using the Jumping Strap. When my students are comfortable with low jumping lanes or grids, I would mix the jump heights and striding in a creative way in order to gently rock the student in their 2 point while holding the Jumping Strap. This got the students comfortable with the changing movements of their horse while they rode up in the irons.
When a student is ready, the jumping strap is removed, and the student is instructed using the same exercises as before without the strap. I told my students to rise into their 2 point and grab an imaginary Jumping Strap for the ground rails and cross rails in a low jumping lane. The final step is to refine the student's hands into light rein contact and to follow their horse's head and neck movement with their hands firmly holding the reins and to let the movement of the reins move their hands so as to maintain light contact with the horse's mouth.
This method allows the rider to quickly understand where their hands need to be for optimum balance while riding in a 2 point or jumping. Because they first learned to ride and jump with their hands holding the moving Jumping Strap, following hands with light contact was relatively easy to learn much sooner than a rider who was taught the static Crest Release could ever learn.
The instructor adjusts the strap's location such that it causes the rider to comfortably get into a centered balanced position. In the picture of the two girls with very low cross rails in the background, you see the Jumping Straps more towards the middle distance between the horse's ears and the pommel. As student's progress, the Jumping Strap is moved in steps more or less to the halfway point on the neck, from the initial position close to the pommel. Eventually, when the Jumping Strap is removed, a student increases the height of the jumps they attempt. If a student struggles with higher jumps, I will bring back the Jumping Strap to help them become comfortable with more challenging jumps.
The cotton military web belt is better than leather or synthetic straps due to their strength and the reliability of the military slide buckles. Cotton is preferable because they do not get as slippery from horse's neck sweat. A typical military web belt is approximately 1 1/4 inch or 32mm wide. Purchase the longest available length which allows you to fit more horse's necks.
I promote this traditional jumping training method for beginner students because I have seen too many riders who as children learned to jump with the Crest Release for shows. Later in life, when they return to riding in a hunt or for eventing, the crest release is dangerous, and they must unlearn it. The Crest Release shortcut from George Morris has many significant disadvantages, with only one advantage, getting students who should not yet be jumping, jumping. The crest release is a waste of parent's money and it does not prepare students for a lifetime of safe enjoyable riding.
