Prepare your hunter style session

Hunter Exercises: Improve Session After Session

Hunter is a jumping discipline judged on style. Unlike show jumping, time matters very little: the judges assess the consistency of the canter, the quality of the track, the accuracy of the approaches, and how subtle the rider’s aids are. A good hunter exercise isn’t about height or speed. It’s about building a calm, straight, rhythmic horse, and a rider who can put together a smooth course from the first fence to the last.

On this page, you’ll find hunter exercises shared by our users as well as exercises designed by professional coaches (premium exercises), from beginner level up to local and amateur competition. Some sessions are free, such as the Hunter Intro Course: Speed Control or the Sample Hunter Course. Exercises written by our coaches are reserved for Appaloo Premium members: setup, distances, goals and progression steps are all detailed so you can plan your session in just a few minutes.

Hunter fundamentals to work on

A consistent canter. This is the foundation of the whole discipline. A simple ground pole exercise, like the “Consistent Canter” session, helps you find your horse’s natural canter and maintain it through an entire sequence.

Stride length and set strides. Knowing how to lengthen or shorten without losing rhythm lets you ride every line on a course. The “Adjusting Stride Length” exercise has you ride the same line while adding or leaving out a stride.

Track. Tight turns, required track points, angled fences: hunter rewards riders who look ahead and ride clean, flowing lines. The “Tight Turns with Required Track Points” and “Jumping on an Angle” sessions are designed for exactly that.

Transitions and trot fences. Common in required elements, they call for a responsive, attentive horse. The “Transitions and Trot Fences” exercise brings them together in a mini course.

Speed control. Keeping the same pace from start to finish is often the first challenge for riders new to the discipline. The Hunter Intro Course: Speed Control is a great place to start, and it can be adapted to any level.

Hunter-specific fences and challenges

Some challenges are typical of the discipline and deserve specific work, always step by step, starting with poles on the ground before building the fence:

• the arrowhead, to teach the horse to pinpoint exactly where to jump (“The Arrowhead, 2 Ways” session);

• the spider, a signature hunter fence to approach calmly and with relaxation (“The Spider” session);

• the counter-canter approach, for pairs who are already confident on the flat, which tests balance and straightness (“Counter-Canter Approach” session).

From a single exercise to a full hunter course

Once you’ve worked on each challenge separately, the goal is to link them together into a real course, as in the “Mixed Hunter Course” and “Preparing for a Mixed Hunter Class” sessions. To test yourself on a demanding sequence, try the Sample Hunter Course as well.

For a structured progression, we’ve designed two programs with our federation-certified expert: Learn the Basics of Hunter Riding, followed by Mastering Technical Hunter Exercises and Courses.

How to choose your hunter exercise

Use the filters at the top of the page to find sessions by level (easy, intermediate, difficult or adaptable), where you ride, and the equipment you have: poles, cavaletti, cones, jump standards... To set your lines at the right distance, try our ground pole distance calculator.

Hunter pairs really well with other disciplines: cavaletti and ground pole exercises improve rhythm, and jumping exercises complement your work on jumping technique.

Hunter exercises: frequently asked questions

Which hunter exercise should I start with?
Start with ground poles at the canter to work on consistency, then add required track points and transitions. Exercises marked “easy” are designed for this.

Can any horse do hunter?
Yes. Hunter rewards a calm, consistent horse rather than a big jumper. It’s an excellent discipline for young horses and for riders who want to become more precise.

Are the hunter exercises free?
Some of the sessions are free. Exercises written by our professional coaches and training programs are included in Appaloo Premium.

All of these sessions are available in the Appaloo mobile app: save your favorite hunter exercises and pull them up right in the arena.