JM> I knew that his style of jumping was going to get him in trouble
JM>sooner or later because he'd bring something down behind,
JM>and sure enough, he proved me right by taking out the train-
JM>trestle bridge fence, which was a light center piece on
JM>absolutely flat cups which came down if you so much as
JM>breathed on it.
That jump was very deceptive, because it looked more sturdy than it was.
JM> > Show jumping isn't something I know much about.  It appears
JM> > as if they really haul on those horses mouths.  Is that true or does
JM> > it just look like that?
JM>That I couldn't tell you, except to say that it varies from rider to 
ider,
JM>and it's not fair to criticize all for the faults of just a
JM>few.  For every ham-handed brute you catch at it, I could
JM>probably name two or three who are as as quiet and tactful
JM>as anybody could wish.  I did note that Melanie Smith
JM>criticized several of the riders for riding with reins that
JM>were too long, and losing control of their horses -- that
JM>might lead some riders to jerk their horses' mouths around
JM>when they were attempting to regain control.
I saw the riders that lost their reins.  I think that the Saudi had just
about thrown them away after the first jump or so.  What I was noticing was
that most (not all) of the riders had this sawing effect they used to slow
the horse down in order to "carefully" approach a jump.  I really remember
seeing Leslie Burr-Howard's horse's head almost slinging from side to side.
I asked Stephanie Mosley, the woman who is training Phoenix, about the
seemingly heavy handedness of many of the riders.  She has shown a lot of
show jumpers in the A circuit before she started with TTEAM and centered
riding.  Anyway, she explained to me that most of the horses that are at
that level are very excitable and high.  They are also a little scared of
the jumps, because if they weren't they would be lackadaisical about it and
carelessly knock rails.  They are so excited in the ring that quiet half
halts are completely ignored.  However, I did notice that the German riders
seemed to have more control and finesse than many of the others.  So,
somehow they were communicating without having to "shout" with their hands
so much.
Melanie Smith talked a lot about everything during every second of every
ride.  I caught myself screaming "Shut Up, Already!" at the TV several
times. 
Laura
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