Lesson Plan: You're the Course Designer!

Materials Needed

• Large sheet of paper or poster board
• Pencil and eraser
• Colored pencils or markers
• Ruler
• Calculator
• Device with internet access (for watching short videos)
• Optional: Small objects to represent jumps (e.g., LEGOs, blocks, books)
• Optional: Measuring tape for the extension activity

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:

• Design: Create a complete and logical showjumping course on paper that includes at least 4 different types of jumps and a clear start and finish line.
• Strategize: Explain the path or "line" a rider would take to navigate the designed course efficiently, describing the turns and approaches to each fence.
• Apply Math: Calculate the approximate distance of their course and estimate the time it would take to complete, applying concepts of scale and speed.

Lesson Activities

Part 1: The Rider's Eye - Warm-Up (10 minutes)

1. Watch a Pro: Watch a short (2-3 minute) video of a professional Grand Prix showjumping round. Search for "Grand Prix Show Jumping Winning Round" online.
2. Discuss and Analyze: As you watch, pay attention to the path the horse takes. It's not just about jumping the fence in front of them. Ask guiding questions:
   • Did you notice how the rider steered after landing from one jump to prepare for the next? That path is called the "line."
   • Why do you think they made a wide turn there, but a tight turn somewhere else? (Answer: To save time or to give the horse a better, straighter approach to the jump).
   • Count how many strides (gallop steps) the horse takes between two specific jumps. This is a key part of a rider's strategy!

Part 2: The Building Blocks - Learning Jump Types (15 minutes)

1. Introduce the Jumps: Explain that course designers use different kinds of jumps to test the horse and rider's skill. Briefly discuss and sketch these four basic types:
   • Verticals: A simple jump that is straight up and down. It tests the horse's ability to jump high.
   • Oxers: A jump with two elements that makes it wide. It tests the horse's ability to jump both high and wide. A "square oxer" has poles at the same height; a "ramped oxer" has the front pole lower than the back.
   • Combinations: Two or three jumps in a row with only one or two strides between them. These require incredible precision. Label them on a course as 5A, 5B, etc.
   • Liverpool: Any jump (usually a vertical or oxer) with a tray of water underneath. It tests the horse's bravery.
2. Arena Rules: On the large piece of paper, draw a large rectangle to be the arena. Explain that courses almost always start with a simple jump to build confidence and end on a line facing away from the entrance gate. Mark a "Start" and "Finish" line on the paper.

Part 3: The Main Event - Design Your Dream Course! (25 minutes)

1. Set the Challenge: Announce, "You are now the official course designer for a major competition! Your job is to design a course that is challenging, safe, and fun to ride."
2. Design Requirements:
   • Your course must have between 8 and 10 jumps.
   • You must include at least one of each jump type we learned: a vertical, an oxer, a combination, and a liverpool.
   • Number the jumps in the order they should be jumped.
   • Draw the "line" or path a rider would take using a dashed line in a different color.
3. Creative Freedom: Encourage creativity! The student can name their course, decorate the jumps, and add details like flower boxes or sponsor logos. If using LEGOs or blocks, they can build a 3D model of their course.
4. The Math Challenge:
   • Establish a scale. For example: 1 inch on paper = 10 feet in real life.
   • Using the ruler and the dashed line path, measure the total distance of the course in inches.
   • Convert the inches to real-life feet using your scale. (e.g., 140 inches x 10 feet/inch = 1400 feet).
   • An average showjumping horse canters at about 1,150 feet per minute. Calculate the estimated time to complete the course: Total Distance (in feet) / 1,150 = Time (in minutes).

Part 4: Present and "Walk" the Course - Cool-Down (10 minutes)

1. Present Your Design: Have the student present their course as if they were explaining it to a group of riders. They should point out the start, finish, each jump type, and the line they drew. They should explain *why* they placed certain jumps where they did (e.g., "I put the combination here to test accuracy after this long gallop").
2. Walk It Out: This is the fun part! Go into a large room or the backyard. Have the student "walk the course" by pacing out the path they drew, pretending to be the rider. They can imagine where the jumps are and count their "strides" between them. This helps make the 2D design feel real and reinforces the concept of the rider's line.

Assessment

Assess the student's learning based on:

• The Completed Course Map: Does it meet all the design requirements? Is it numbered logically? Is the line clear?
• The Verbal Presentation: Can the student clearly explain their strategy and reasoning for the course layout and the rider's line?
• The Math Calculation: Is the calculation for distance and time completed correctly based on their measurements and the provided formula?

Differentiation & Extension

For Extra Support:

• Provide a pre-drawn arena with the start/finish lines already marked.
• Give the student printed icons of the different jump types that they can cut out and arrange on the paper instead of drawing them from scratch.
• Simplify the math by pre-calculating the distance and having the student only calculate the time.

For an Extra Challenge:

• Require the inclusion of more complex elements like a "triple combination" (three jumps in a row) or a "rollback turn" (a tight 180-degree turn between fences).
• Have the student write a short paragraph from the perspective of a rider about which part of the course they think would be the most difficult and why.
• Use a measuring tape to lay out a portion of the course to scale in the backyard to get a true sense of the distances involved.