A favorite trick of the course designer is to set up a bent line in the middle of an otherwise predictable course. Many horses and riders become so used to the straight lines that they are not prepared for the change of direction mid-line and the horse refuses the second jump.

To practice riding bent lines set up your arena as follows:

If you have the materials to set up six jumps, build three four-stride lines of jumps through the middle of your arena. One should be down the center line, and the others should be along each diagonal.

If you only have enough materials to build three jumps, place one jump on the center line at one end of the arena, and the other two jumps on the diagonal near the far end of the arena. There should be 60′ between the jump on the center line and the jumps on the diagonal (measuring from center to center).

All of the jumps should be built so that they can be safely jumped from either direction. Choose a height that both you and your horse are comfortable with. This exercise is for building confidence and experience, so height is not important.

Start out by introducing your horse to all of the jumps in the arena as straight lines or singles. This way he will be confident with them, and will not refuse the jumps because he is startled by them.

Now, starting with one of the jumps on the center line, plan a bent line to one of the two facing diagonal jumps. All of the distances should be set as 4 stride lines, so as long as you ride from the center of one jump to the center of the next, you should have four strides to work with.

There are two ways to ride a bent line. You can deliberately take the first jump on an angle so that you straighten the line between the jumps, but ask your horse to jump from an indirect approach. This is not always possible on a course, and can confuse an inexperienced horse, making him refuse the first jump in the line.

The second method is to ride the first jump as usual, then bend your horse to the second fence. This way he approaches both fences with a direct approach. To get this bend, you need to plan ahead. Many horses will simply continue to travel straight ahead, assuming that they are expected to jump the jump ahead of them. You need to show your horse that you are the one in charge, and let him know that you expect him to approach a different jump.

As you come to the first jump in your bent line, look ahead to the jump you intend to take you horse to. As soon as you land, ask your horse to bend towards the jump on the diagonal. He will likely take a stride or two straight ahead, but should soon turn so that he is heading directly towards the jump on the diagonal.

Continue to practice bending your horse to one of the diagonal jumps, changing the direction to which you bend so that he does not learn to anticipate. If you are using six jumps, be sure to ask your horse to take the straight line on occasion so that he learns that he must listen to you and be prepared for whatever comes his way. When using six jumps, don’t forget to alternate which direction you approach the jumps, making full use of both center line starting jumps.

Once your horse is confident with the bent lines, try adding more challenge by starting out with one of the diagonal jumps and bending to the jump on the center line. Horses who start out on a diagonal naturally expect to continue on that diagonal, so this is more difficult that the center line to diagonal bent line.

Finally, if you are doing very well, you can try a bent line from one diagonal fence to the facing diagonal fence. This requires a bit more planning as you will need to make an arc from one fence to the other, rather than merely bending the line.

Don’t forget that this is a big exercise and should be spread over a few sessions. Don’t over jump or overtire your horse. The six jump set-up is an excellent practice course and can be used for many different exercises. Be creative and adjust the heights and styles of the jumps to add more challenge as you progress.

Jazz is one of the spontaneous varieties of music and it is important to understand nobody is an expert in jazz play alongs from birth. It needs rigorous practice and dedicate love for the jazz music which extracts experts from common Jazz lovers. You will know that most of the jazz experts have come up with repeated practice of the jazz bass lines and continuous improvisation of their observations. If you also want to become an expert with jazz play alongs then the most important step is to practice jazz bass lines. First of all, you have to learn all the genres of the jazz music and then specialize and gain expertise in the form that you like most or you feel the easiest.

When you are on your way to improve your jazz skills, your interest has a very important role to play. Once you have made yourself familiar with the basics, you can step forward and have mastery in the one that you are most interested in. The logic behind this is very simple that specialization is the route to excellence. When you have decided to practice jazz bass lines then make sure to practice a variety of the tempos including slow, fast and medium. Apart from that, you have to be creative and try to click on upbeats rather than the downbeats. Set metronome in the comfort zone as per your requirements and practice jazz bass lines for all the patterns with both your hands. This will help you in being more creative and developing a superior level of expertise in jazz play alongs.

While practicing the jazz baselines or piano, make sure to play the chord, scale, pattern, lick, song or phrase five times continuously without making any mistakes. If you have committed a mistake, then you must be lacking somewhere or you are not concentrated enough to practice jazz bass lines. In that case, practice the jazz play alongs until you have attained mastery over them. With these simple rules, you will become a jazz expert within no time and you need is dedication and love for this form of music.

A favorite trick of the course designer is to set up a bent line in the middle of an otherwise predictable course. Many horses and riders become so used to the straight lines that they are not prepared for the change of direction mid-line and the horse refuses the second jump.

To practice riding bent lines set up your arena as follows:

If you have the materials to set up six jumps, build three four-stride lines of jumps through the middle of your arena. One should be down the center line, and the others should be along each diagonal.

If you only have enough materials to build three jumps, place one jump on the center line at one end of the arena, and the other two jumps on the diagonal near the far end of the arena. There should be 60′ between the jump on the center line and the jumps on the diagonal (measuring from center to center).

All of the jumps should be built so that they can be safely jumped from either direction. Choose a height that both you and your horse are comfortable with. This exercise is for building confidence and experience, so height is not important.

Start out by introducing your horse to all of the jumps in the arena as straight lines or singles. This way he will be confident with them, and will not refuse the jumps because he is startled by them.

Now, starting with one of the jumps on the center line, plan a bent line to one of the two facing diagonal jumps. All of the distances should be set as 4 stride lines, so as long as you ride from the center of one jump to the center of the next, you should have four strides to work with.

There are two ways to ride a bent line. You can deliberately take the first jump on an angle so that you straighten the line between the jumps, but ask your horse to jump from an indirect approach. This is not always possible on a course, and can confuse an inexperienced horse, making him refuse the first jump in the line.

The second method is to ride the first jump as usual, then bend your horse to the second fence. This way he approaches both fences with a direct approach. To get this bend, you need to plan ahead. Many horses will simply continue to travel straight ahead, assuming that they are expected to jump the jump ahead of them. You need to show your horse that you are the one in charge, and let him know that you expect him to approach a different jump.

As you come to the first jump in your bent line, look ahead to the jump you intend to take you horse to. As soon as you land, ask your horse to bend towards the jump on the diagonal. He will likely take a stride or two straight ahead, but should soon turn so that he is heading directly towards the jump on the diagonal.

Continue to practice bending your horse to one of the diagonal jumps, changing the direction to which you bend so that he does not learn to anticipate. If you are using six jumps, be sure to ask your horse to take the straight line on occasion so that he learns that he must listen to you and be prepared for whatever comes his way. When using six jumps, don’t forget to alternate which direction you approach the jumps, making full use of both center line starting jumps.

Once your horse is confident with the bent lines, try adding more challenge by starting out with one of the diagonal jumps and bending to the jump on the center line. Horses who start out on a diagonal naturally expect to continue on that diagonal, so this is more difficult that the center line to diagonal bent line.

Finally, if you are doing very well, you can try a bent line from one diagonal fence to the facing diagonal fence. This requires a bit more planning as you will need to make an arc from one fence to the other, rather than merely bending the line.

Don’t forget that this is a big exercise and should be spread over a few sessions. Don’t over jump or overtire your horse. The six jump set-up is an excellent practice course and can be used for many different exercises. Be creative and adjust the heights and styles of the jumps to add more challenge as you progress.