Cross Country Warmup

SUGGESTION: I have a suggestion about the warm-up area for the Fleur de Leap. If it is on incline, can the jumping be uphill instead of downhill. I found this to be unnecessary pressure on horses’ legs. I did not warm-up much because of this. My horses’ physical health is a priority to me. None of the course jumps were on incline going downhill.

RESPONSE: Thank you for your comment. Fleur de Leap organizers will look into reversing the jumps for warm up for future competitions. Just so you know, they were set on the slight downhill since jumping on an marginal downward incline forces the rider to balance their horse and they are less likely to let them run at the fences. Additionally, jumping on a downhill shifts the rider into a safer cross country seat, as the rider moves more to the back seat in order to not jump ahead of their horse. Creating this type of warm up environment was an effort to ultimately create a safer warm up area for all riders and, ideally, a safe cross country round.