So when you walk the course for your XC how do you do it?

Do you walk by yourself?
Or with a group of riders in the same class?
Or with your trainer?

And do you walk the course the day before? Or do you leave it to the last minute?

Do you whip off your shoes & socks to test the footing of any water jumps?
Is there anything 'strange' you do when walking courses?


I often walk by myself, or perhaps with my mother if she's around. I try never to walk with other people much - as they distract me (plus I don't want them knowing which options I'm going to take over some jumps).
I walk the course sometime after my dressage, so that it's fresh in my mind.
I always test footing of water jumps & creeks by walking around in them. I also stand in ditches to see how deep they are - it serves no purpose other than to terrify myself, but I still do it. Yes - I am insane.

So how about you guys?...

QUOTE (Perfie @ Jul 27 2003, 03:42 AM)

So when you walk the course for your XC how do you do it? Do you walk by yourself? Or with a group of riders in the same class? Or with your trainer? And do you walk the course the day before? Or do you leave it to the last minute? Do you whip off your shoes & socks to test the footing of any water jumps? Is there anything 'strange' you do when walking courses? I often walk by myself, or perhaps with my mother if she's around. I try never to walk with other people much - as they distract me (plus I don't want them knowing which options I'm going to take over some jumps). I walk the course sometime after my dressage, so that it's fresh in my mind. I always test footing of water jumps & creeks by walking around in them. I also stand in ditches to see how deep they are - it serves no purpose other than to terrify myself, but I still do it. Yes - I am insane. So how about you guys?...

I usually walk the course once in its entirety.. most of the time I walk with a friend- not necessarily one thats riding the course, I just like to reflect my thoughts off of someone (aka.. chatter continuously until they wander off into the woods for some peace). I know the lay of the land and most of the facilities around here, so it's rare that I walk more than once. There is such a thing as getting too technical. As long as I know the terrain and know where the fences are, I'm in good shape. Our water jumps are all made to regulation- can't be deeper than a certain depth (want to say 18" or is 24"?? Yikes, need to re-read my rulebook). I know how to judge my own pace, so i dont worry about that. I walk the course the evening before... gives me time to think about the best routes to take, etc. Walking it the morning of just makes me think too much. I get my plan the night before, and then I dont have to worry about it.

I don't do anything strange when walking a course. If there is a particular jump that I'm worried about, I try not to stand there by it and dwell on it... then I'll just find something about it to get even more worried about.

I usually walk the course the day before w/ our trainer as a group. Then on cross country day, I walk it again but by myself. Then I go over it a million times in my head before I ride.

i walk it by myself first. get my thoughts gathered. then i walk it with my trainer. have her help me out, see if my thoughts are ok. then i walk it again by myself.

First I walk the course with my coach and others from our barn doing the same level as me. After that, I'll go over it again twice. Once all by myself and once with the others from my barn.

And Perfie, I too, walk through the ditches... and through the oxers with ditches below so that the oxer is up to my head That's a real confidence booster as I'm riding up to that fence

The only good thing about walking in those ditches is how good you feel after you clear them!

msrid: our water jumps also have a max depth - but not much regulation about the flooring. Some are concrete with pebbles over them, others are dirt, some are unknown substance #8 Also it's not always flat on the ground - that's why I like to walk in them - find out if there are any bits to stay away from hiding under that water

I don't think I could ever know all of the local facilities very well! They're always changing things, plus it's pretty rural here. I had 3 XC courses on the last farm I lived on, and another 30 eventing venues all within 1 hours drive! At least it doesn't get repetitive

QUOTE (Perfie @ Jul 30 2003, 08:14 PM)

The only good thing about walking in those ditches is how good you feel after you clear them! msrid: our water jumps also have a max depth - but not much regulation about the flooring. Some are concrete with pebbles over them, others are dirt, some are unknown substance #8 Also it's not always flat on the ground - that's why I like to walk in them - find out if there are any bits to stay away from hiding under that water I don't think I could ever know all of the local facilities very well! They're always changing things, plus it's pretty rural here. I had 3 XC courses on the last farm I lived on, and another 30 eventing venues all within 1 hours drive! At least it doesn't get repetitive

We have a "suggested" design.. if they aren't up to a good standard, our USEA won't give the venue recognization until they improve it. All of the ones here have excellent footing in the water itself.. only one has some yuckiness on the entry/exit.

Living in Texas has its distinct advantages/disadvantages. There aren't that many venues, and they're all really spread out. But then again, I'm familiar with all of them because there are so few.

I used to walk the day before with a coach, then again by myself once or twice more, both the day prior and the day of.

Now its sort of old hat and I've been showing solo for so long that I only course walk with a coach when I'm upgrading. Although I'll probably start walking with a coach all the time for the rest of the season as I can always use help with the technicality of prelim+.

Right now though, I usually walk after dressage. Walk it once, maybe talk to my friend about any options (we always go for the fast route though - hey, if you want to upgrade you need to be able to do the tough stuff at the lower level right?) and then think about it - usually forget a jump or two in warmup and have to ask someone, then go.

As far as what I look for - I look for potential runout options (on corners in particular) so I can plan my lead appropriately. I look for bad footing areas (having had a runout last week on my baby simply b/c of footing), I plan my corking strategy based on the course walk. I assess what shadows I will be dealing with depending on the time of day, and think about false groundlines and plan my approach to avoid being affected by them. I plan my spot for jumps like ditches with height (ie ditch with wall on far side of it) to either allow the horse a good look (get in deep) or not give them the chance to see it (stand off) depending on the horse. I look for places to make up time, and select jumps for markers for timing (although I havne't worn a watch in a year). I look for good, but soft footing that may be different than currently once run on by numerous horses. Basically, I look at whats there, then I rethink it and plan for what could change.

i walk with my friends and my trainer. We check the footing etc. My trainer makes us say what we are going to do when we are riding the course. Example: coming to this jump, i will sit tall and say woahhh, we're heading home hehe

i will either walk the night before or the morining of depending on my times and how far away the event is. i will walk with my trainer when she is there if not i walk by my self or with friends.

i look for the best route the footing, anything different or scary that in know my horse may have a problem with and just my general route i will take.

I walk it at least twice unless it's really straight forward...the first time I walk it just to get a general idea of the course and what it asks...the next time I make notes on my course map and then study it before I have to ride it

sounds nerdy but it works for me

I sometimes walk the course twice, but often I just don't have the time to, so I only walk once. If my trainer's at the event, I'll walk it with her, but it's not incredibly vital for me to walk it with her.

It was funny, last year at King Oak we were both going Beginner Novice(it was her filly's first event), and she kept saying things to her friend(also with a greenie) that the jumps were really big and that her baby was going to have a lot of trouble, then she'd turn to me and say, "You'll be fine, just keep your leg on,"

Mostly I just walk it through, get an idea of my lines and where I want to be focusing, and make notes of anything that looks problematic. Then after dressage I try to sit down and visualize the course as best I can. I also watch a few horses start/finish while I'm warming up.

I walk the course with my trainer, or a experienced rider(Krystin) who can help me observe my fences. If I have extra time, or I forget something on the course I walk it a second time.