Heyo! I started jumping around two months ago. I ride eventing, the only problem is I ride a hunter. Now I know hunters can do eventing but I have a huge problem. If I don't get excatly straight, my pony refuses. We went to both of our first event last weekend and only had two refusals which is great but in the warmup ring we had to be talked to multiple times by my trainer because we were doing horribly. It really brought my confindence down. He's also insanly buddy sour. I have to yank him over and still we have problems. He was amazing xc so I'm proud of that but does anyone have tips to help me?

Honestly, ponies that don't do it unless you're perfect are the BEST. You're just going to have to be straight, and solid, and ride well, and that pony will teach you so much. I know its frustrating now, but in a few years you will be so much better off for it.

I started jumping on an evil pony mare and she taught me so much.

Thank you! I'm already about to grow out of him so I won't be riding him for much longer but I have jumper show on him saturday so I thought we could at least try to place

A lot of horses won't jump if they aren't straight, so this horse is teaching you a valuable skill in keeping your horse on the track that you dictate.

Sit up, keep your leg on, and don't trust him! If he stops, kick him just before the jump. If he ducks out, learn which way he does it and keep extra leg on that side and guide to the other one. (If he goes right, then right leg and guide left, for example.) If you have problems staying straight, are you turning to early or late, or just making bad turns? That could be a reason why he stops. If he is buddy sour, try separating them for a little bit each day. Put one in the barn and the other in the field, and put a chain shank on him so that he will follow you. (To put it on, refer to the image below.) There is a pony that I rode all summer who also stops/ducks out, and I have had to become a much better rider because of it. Plus, you can work him somewhere else. If there is a clinic nearby, go to it! You will get a lesson from someone new, and he will get off the property experience. If all else fails, have your trainer or a more experienced rider get on and work with him. Hope this helps!

Thank you! I'm getting better at it slowly and I'm also getting more confident in my jumping.

That's great news! If you learn on an easy pony you'll never know how to ride the ones who need help :)

My mare likes to refuse because she is old and gets arthiritis. We have retired her from jumping now. My new project pony likes to try to refuse but just keep your eyes up and forward. Focus on something like a hill or a roof in the distance. Look where you wanna go and keep those heels down. Also make sure you are straight to the jump, gives them less of an excuse to refuse.

Update: I went to my lesson today and did perfect! No resfusals, maybe I wasn't perfectly straight but he listened! Only bad thing he did was try to leave the areana when another horse was leaving but I kicked and pulled him over. I'm super excited for my show tomorrow so thanks everyone!