Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Oxer

As I mentioned in my last post, today I will be talking about oxers.

Oxer – noun
A jump or obstacle used in show jumping. An oxer can be in many shapes and forms, they can be tall and wide, or short and narrow. Oxers can range in height anywhere from a foot off the ground to around eight feet tall. 

Setting up oxers is not an easy job; it takes lots of practise to know how to prepare the right patterns and where to place the oxers correctly. In show jumping, riders will often walk the course with their coaches before they ride. As they walk the course they keep count of their steps, knowing that four steps for them is one stride for their horse. This is a very important part to show jumping. If a rider does not walk the course they wouldn’t know when to cue their horse to jump. With walking the course before hand, the rider can also judge if their horse could make the jump with three strides instead of four in-between jumps. They also use this knowledge to their advantage and it helps them to know if they can cut corners to shave seconds off their time, as they strive for not only a clean run but also a fast one. If a horse knocks a pole off of the oxer or their hoof steps in a water jump then four faults are added to their time for every pole down, which every rider wants to avoid. The riders also have to finish the course within a certain time otherwise they will have one fault added. The goal of the rider is to finish the course in the fastest time with no poles down and no faults which is considered a clear round.


At Spruce Meadows, they often have themed oxers. For instance, the Mount Rushmore oxer; it is tall and narrow, unlike the BMO oxer. Although it is almost the same height it does not look so because of its length. 
Leslie Howard & Lennox Lewis jumping the Mount Rushmore oxer: picture source

Aldin Fufer and Wiveau M jumping the BMO oxer: picture source


I have added some example photos of all kinds of oxers from the most complicated to the simplest two pole cross oxer.
Photographer: Sgt Ronald Duchesne, Rideau Hall July 4th, 2015. Horse & rider unknown, jumping the Canada oxer: picture source

Rider & horse unknown jumping the coin oxer: picture source

Philipp Weishaupt & LB Convall jumping the CP Rail oxer: picture source

Ian Miller & Dixson September 10th, 2017, riding by the Rolex oxer: picture source

Sam Felton, April 21st, 2017, jumping the two pole oxer: picture source

I hope that you have enjoyed reading about oxers. Stay tuned for my next post about a hidden gem in Kelowna, BC.


These photos do not belong to me. I have saved them from Google images. I have put a link to the source, so when you click on picture source (below the picture) you will be taken to the link. The picture sources are also cited below;





Canada oxer photographer Sgt Ronald Duchesne, Rideau Hall: https://www.gg.ca/gallery.aspx?ID=11344






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