The clinic riders continue the four-stride line exercise, focusing on correct pace. Geoff Teall also says the riders need to work more by feel so that they know what adjustments to make. Additionally, the more the riders can allow the horses forward, the easier it will be to keep them straight an...

Get to know hunter trainer and judge Geoff Teall, including his teaching philosophy with flatwork and jumping, his teaching style, and all of the wonderful people he has met throughout his career.

On the first day of the clinic, Geoff Teall wants the horses in the 3-foot group to stay up and out and maintain a steady pace without the riders pushing or holding. He leaves it up to the riders to determine if they need to stop and back the horse between the jumps. The rider’s job is to get the...

All the riders in the Geoff Teall clinic repeat the course and exercise that they did in Part 1. Geoff talks about how all of this training is a slow progression, and that they keep preparing the horse for the next day of training. The horses and riders both show improvement as they all better un...

Geoff Teall has the group of riders start with a rising trot to warm up. He then has a discussion about the correct rein length and hand position that is the most effective contact for cantering and jumping a course. Often riders have reins that are too long and hands that are too wide and low. T...

Geoff says that “The most important part of your position has to start with legs.” He goes to each rider and adjusts their leg position to the way he feels is most secure for cantering and jumping. He stresses that the toes should be turned out slightly so that the ankles and knees can relaxed. T...

The next area Geoff discusses is the rider’s upper body position. He goes over the four different body angles – at the ankles, knee, hip and elbow. He discusses how to correctly close the hip angle and not lean forward by bending at the waist. Then the riders practice how to bend at the hip and b...

Geoff goes over the different gaits and how the rider’s body should be positioned in the canter to be balanced and to go with their horses. He wants the horses to keep the same speed so that everything looks smooth and even.

Geoff starts the horses over “half” a crossrail with one pole at an angle. This allows the rider to do what’s best for the horse by choosing what part of the jump to ride towards. He says the horse should trot in a steady rhythm on a straight line and then stop after the jump, which teaches the h...

The group does multiple fences with circles and stops in between to help the horses come back and then keep a steady rhythm. Geoff wants the riders to set a slow speed, maintain that speed and then bring the horse back after the jump. He stresses thinking ahead so that the riders are able to plan...

The riders repeat the exercise, but Geoff says that the riders need to think ahead more quickly. Once they establish their pace, they should keep it and leave it alone. Before the jump they should be thinking about what they need to do after the landing. Then they need to promptly bring the horse...

To build on the canter leads, Geoff talks about working with the inside leg and outside rein. The inside leg should tell the horse to go diagonally forward and out towards the outside rein, which are diagonal aids. Geoff prefers the outside rein to be an opening rein because it takes the horse fo...

Geoff has the group warm up on the flat. He stresses the importance of the walk and how it can be used to set the standard before going to a higher gait. They work on establishing a good pace at all gaits, which is slightly faster than most of the riders are comfortable doing. At the same time, t...

Geoff has a discussion about how to pick up the correct canter lead and then has the riders work on it in both directions. He wants riders to collect the walk, shift the weight off the inside shoulder and maintain that through the transition to canter. It is important for the rider to take her ti...

After warming up on the flat, Geoff has the riders jump a single fence, halt on the line, turn away from the inside of the arena and jump the fence in the opposite direction. The biggest issue the riders have is getting their horses stop after the jump because they are used to continuing around t...

To help with the idea of stopping after the fence, Geoff has the riders stop straight, relax, back up a couple of steps and then go forward again. He asks the horse to back by bracing his heel slightly forward, closing his fingers on the reins and asking his horse to come up and back. When the ho...

They continue working on stopping straight and backing after the jump. The horses start to balance back more so they can stop sooner. It is important that the moment the horse gives and backs up, the rider has to soften the hand to reward the horse and go forward. In some cases, the rider needs t...

Geoff does a review of rider position as the group warms up on the flat. He also wants to make sure the horses work equally in both directions and that they stay relaxed and maintain a steady pace regardless of gait.

Geoff does a review of rider position as the group warms up on the flat. He also wants to make sure the horses work equally in both directions and that they stay relaxed and maintain a steady pace regardless of gait.

Kristy introduces her series of hunter/jumper videos.

Kristy McCormack (Herrera) explains and has a rider demonstrate how to help fix a rider that "pulls out of the corner." They start with cantering a ground pole and go to jumping a small fence. The focus is on having the rider get used to a forward hand position with a soft rein coming out of the ...

Kristy McCormack (Herrera) explains and has a rider demonstrate how to help a horse that drifts. They start on the flat using counter flexion to help keep the horse straight. Then they progress to cantering a cavalletti also using a counter bend and outside leg to help keep the horse from driftin...

Kristy McCormack (Herrera) helps a rider work on transitions with a horse that can be fussy in the bridle. She wants the rider to maintain a steady contact and then add leg, having the horse move forward into the contact. She reminds the rider that in a down transition the leg has to go on first ...

Kristy give valuable tips on how to take a horse that is used to being a show jumper and schooling it so that it is appropriate for the hunter ring. She talks about the differences in jumps and lines between the two disciplines. She also explains how they teach a horse to relax over small jumps a...