As you’ve probably heard many times before, being able to ride smooth, accurate turns is key to your success in the jumper ring. Especially when trying to navigate a tight turn, it’s crucial that you use your outside aids to get your horse square to enable him to put in his best jumping effort over the next fence.

In Grand Prix show jumper Todd Minikus’ experience, a lot of riders sail through a line or combination brilliantly only to allow their horses to then cut a corner or fall in to a tight turn resulting in lost impulsion, poor jumping efforts, slower time and often down rails.

In this lesson, Minikus helps students ride cleaner, stronger and more accurate turns by practicing several challenging rollbacks taking the inside track. He then coaches riders through a difficult exercise in which they ride an eight-stride square over a small vertical to teach them how to turn squarely while also riding every stride.

Tight Turns: Mind Your Position to Help Your Horse

“The most important parts of any course are the turns. We could spend days just talking about turns actually. But most importantly, you don’t want to cut in. You want to come in straight and make it square. If you come through the turn leaning in, then your horse is already going to be crooked and you’re likely to get an automatic duck-out to the left.

“Make sure you ride straight then square up that left side; closing the left shoulder is key here to get straight. On the back side of the first jump make sure you land in a good position to get that inside turn. It’s going to be really hard.

“A lot of riders make the mistake of twisting their shoulders in an effort to help their horses turn. But be patient and stay straight over your horse’s shoulders. If you get too much drama by twisting your upper body that can affect the lead change.

“As you turn, separate your arms from your torso a bit and use the flexibility in your shoulders and elbows to follow your horse’s movement.

“I tell all my students this. Nobody you can make you ride better. Not me or any other trainer. The only person who can do that is you. Don’t cheat yourself after riding a beautiful line and then get sloppy and twist your body for the turn. That’s ultimately going to cause you to miss a lead change or get off your track.

“It’s my job to give you the right information to improve your riding, but only you can actually do it. It’s all those teeny things that make a difference in the big picture. You don’t want to be driving home from the show kicking yourself—if only you hadn’t twisted and missed that lead. You must constantly think about your position on the back side for your recovery.

“A lot of times riding isn’t about making it perfect; it’s making it work with the ride you have. People often get so wrapped up getting a line in a certain number of strides. But if you land and your horse carries you on a bit, make that work.”

Improve Your Turns By Riding an 8-Stride Square

“For this exercise, you’re going make an eight-stride square over a small vertical. The whole point of doing it in eight strides is to teach you how to control the outside of your horse through your outside aids.

“When working on square turns, it is very important that you don’t get rigid in your arms. You want to stay loose and leading.

“If you find you need to close the gap by adding leg to get the eight, you must set that up. You can’t just out of the blue thump and kick your horse. You need to enlighten her along the way.

“A lot of riders make the mistake of turning with the horse’s nose leading; instead, you want the shoulders coming first. Ultimately, you want his shoulders and hind end square with the jump, so he can sit on his rear end and push off.

“If he turns with his nose leading, his front end might be square but his hind end is off the track in line with the jump, and he’ll have little to no impulsion when he takes off. And when he leaves the ground, he’s going to try to bring his hind end in line with his front end, which will likely cause him to hit a rail.

“If you get the turn right, you’ll get to the jump perfectly.”

About Todd Minikus

Todd Minikus has won countless grands prix in a career now spanning more than three decades. Originally from outside of Des Moines, Iowa, he received his first pony at the age of 1, then rode Western before taking his first jumping lesson at age 11. Hooked on show jumping ever since, he turned professional when he was 18 and went on to earn enough prize money on a Canadian ex-racehorse named Thriller.

Since then, Minikus has represented the U.S. on several Nations Cup teams, served as an alternate for the 2000 Olympic team and won the team bronze medal in the 2007 Pan American Games. Recently, he won the 2015 Zoetis $1 Million Grand Prix at HITS Saugerties and the 2016 Winter Equestrian Festival $86,000 Marshall & Sterling Insurance Grand Prix CSI** on the Oldenburg mare Quality Girl, with whom he won six grands prix in 2014. He and another top mare, Babalou 41, won the $130,000 Adequan Grand Prix CSI*** this January and have been named to the USEF Olympic Show Jumping Team short list.

Now based in Wellington, Florida, Todd spends his free time with his wife and two children.