Last updated: 9th June 2026
Did you know that the quality of your canter has a huge effect on the quality of your jump? Just like in dressage, where the canter affects movements like half pass, pirouettes, and flying changes, the canter also determines how balanced, round, and adjustable your horse is when jumping.
In this week’s video, we are talking about the shape of your canter stride and how it influences the shape of the jump. As hunter jumper rider and coach Archie Cox says, “the shape of your canter determines the shape of your jump.” If your horse has a long, strung-out canter, the jump will often become long and flat. If your horse has a round, balanced canter, the jump will be rounder, more organized, and easier to ride.
Why Canter Quality Matters for Jumping
To improve your jump, you first need to improve the quality of the canter. A balanced canter helps your horse stay uphill, responsive, and ready to push off the ground. When the canter is too long or flat, your horse may rush, lose balance, or struggle to make a good shape over the fence.
The goal is to create a canter with more energy, but without allowing your horse to cover more ground. This is what gives you that uphill, jumping canter. Your horse should feel active behind, light in front, and adjustable between your leg and hand.
Rider Position for Canter
One of the keys to creating a better canter is being able to sit the canter correctly. Many riders grip with their legs, brace through their seat, or bounce in the saddle, which makes it difficult for the horse to stay relaxed and balanced. When your seat is tight, your horse often responds by becoming tense through their back, resulting in a flatter canter and a flatter jump.
Instead, focus on sitting with a supple lower back and allowing your hips to follow the movement of the canter. Think about absorbing the motion rather than resisting it. When you can sit quietly and stay in balance, it becomes much easier to influence the quality of the stride and create the uphill, adjustable canter that leads to better jumping efforts.
If you struggle to sit the canter, improving your position and relaxation in the saddle can have a dramatic effect on both your horse’s canter quality and the shape of the jump.
The Shape of the Stride Makes the Shape of the Jump
If the canter stride is flat, the jump will often be flat too. If the canter stride is round, lifted, and balanced, the jump will usually reflect that same quality. This is why the preparation before the jump matters so much.
Even if you are not jumping, this same idea applies to dressage. A better canter creates better flying changes, better collection, better transitions, and more quality in every movement.
How to Improve Your Canter for a Better Jump
Think about adding energy from your leg while keeping the stride organized with your seat and hand. You do not want your horse to simply go faster or longer. Instead, you want more power, more lift, and more balance.
In the video, I am riding Mercurio, and he gives a great demonstration of how poor canter quality affects the “jump,” which in this case is a cavaletti pole as I don’t really jump! It is amazing to see how much the quality of the canter changes the quality of the effort over the pole.
Improve Your Jump by Improving the Basics
Whether you are riding over fences, cavaletti, or working on dressage movements, the quality of the canter is one of the most important basics to develop. A round, uphill canter makes it easier for your horse to stay balanced, find the distance, and produce a better jump.
I hope this video helps you improve your jump by improving your canter first.
Happy Riding,
Amelia
P.S. Wondering how you can improve your canter even more? Check out my free PDF mini-course all about the canter!
