A winning trip in the hunter ring can be defined as a horse that flows from one jump to the next in a steady rhythmic fashion and jumps the fences in round forward athletic fashion. This does not mean fast and over paced but in an forward steady 3 beat canter.

The lead change is part of that steady rhythmic pattern. Cantering around the end of the show ring on the wrong lead, leaves the horse and rider unbalanced and unable to get to the next fence in a steady rhythm and usually results in a poor fence adding to a reduced score.

If, in the novice divisions, a rider does a tidy lead change through trot some judges may prefer this to staying on the wrong lead, or disunited lead, and being unbalanced through the corner. The key here is tidy. This means 2 or 3 steps of balanced trot through a change.

If you do a change through trot, let it be balanced and quick. Not running 10 steps with the horse’s head up. A couple of trot steps then up into a balanced canter can save your round from being a disaster to a possible training ride.