Walking The Twelve Foot Stride

The twelve foot horse stride is the industry standard when designing courses for the show jumper or hunter competitors. Designers will use this standard to create "tests" for the horse/rider combinations by altering the length of distances between fences based on this measurement. Some horses have a larger stride than twelve feet, others have shorter strides, it is up to the riders and trainers to decide how to ride specific distances according to the animal they are competing with. It is essential for the show rider to be able to walk courses and figure out how many strides their horses will need to do within a course of jumps.

The twelve foot horse stride is the average length of stride for show horses in this country and abroad, it can be walked by humans, who are believed to have an average step of three foot. Every four human steps, should thus equal one average horse stride. Riders may determine an amount of strides in a line by "walking the distance." When a rider walks a line, they must first judge their landing point. Horses will usually land out from a jump the same height as the obstacle, for example; if a horse jumps a five foot fence, they will approximately land five feet from the jump. Some riders use their judgement and pick the spot they believe their horses will land on, others determine landing points, by taking a landing step first, before actually walking the strides, this is done by placing your back against the fence and taking an initial step before counting out the four steps to one.

Once the landing point is established, a rider will pace off four of his own three foot steps and this will be stride one for his animal. The rider/trainer will continue to do this until he arrives at the second obstacle in the line. Every four of his steps equal one stride until take off. Take off points, are usually similar to landing points, the same height as the jump.

Walking courses is more difficult than it sounds here, and requires years of practice and experience to master. I recommend getting the tutelage of an experienced trainer to help you master the process. I have just touched on the basics of walking the twelve foot horse stride, but from these basics can come the necessary knowledge to move on to the next level.

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