The newly expanded 2025 USEF Pony Jumper National Championship supported by Youth Show Jumping Foundation opens the door for more pony riders to take on the fun and challenge of the jumper ring. For many  the national championship provides a first experience in presenting a pony for the horse inspection, typically referred to simply as “the jog.”  

DiAnn Langer is the USEF Show Jumping Youth Chef d’Equipe, and she has helped many competitors in the jumper ring at USEF Pony Finals navigate their first horse inspection.  

“The jog acts as your first class, and you don’t want to fail the jog,” Langer said. “It’s important that we educate [pony riders] on the importance of turnout and the importance of fitness. It’s important that there are no cuts, scrapes, scratches, boot rubs, or anything that could cause a problem. We really need to train our youngest riders about horse welfare and what that means, and we have to start with ponies.” 

At Pony Finals, athletes go through the full jog process just like they would at an FEI competition, with the benefit of having Langer there to explain the steps and the purpose of each as they go through them. 

“We explain to them why we stand the pony up and how to stand their pony jumper, because hunters are completely different in the way they jog for the model,” she said. “We are very serious about the performance. Show jumping wants those horses to be fit and ready to go.  As they go up the ladder in competition, the stewards and vets will get tougher and tougher; they don’t want to see any sores on [horses] whatsoever. So it’s all about becoming a better horseman.” 

Ensuring a fit, healthy, and sound pony comes from work and care done every day at home, put presentation in the moment during the jog is an important component as well.  

“As they stand them up, they learn that they never block the view of the vet who is looking at their pony,” said Langer. “The vet is there to make sure that pony is ready to perform. What does that mean? You want to show up with a clean pony and you want to look sharp yourself. You want to learn how to make your pony stand still. Do you use one rein, and if you need to use two hands on the reins, when and why?” 

The actual jogging part of the jog follows a specific sequence that appears simple from the outside, but doesn’t always come naturally. 

“They don’t always understand that you walk from A to B, and then you trot,” said Langer. “Very few understand why you turn to the right [at the end of the jog strip], which is counterintuitive because we’re always tracking to the left. But if you were to turn to the left, your pony could wing right out and go outside the box. They learn never to trot through the turn, because that doesn’t show the true gait that the vet wants to see. They must be straight before they trot again, because if you’re starting to break into that trot through the turn, you’re not giving the officials the proper sense of how well that pony moves.” 

Langer’s goals for the jog at Pony Finals are to have young athletes learn about the importance of presentation, control of their pony in-hand and, “that it’s not as scary as they thought it was going to be. I’ve seen it where no matter how prepared they are and how much they practice, something can go wrong and then they go blank. The more they can get comfortable with it, the better. So we like to start right here [at Pony Finals] and give them a great experience.” 

Langer emphasized that the jog is more than just a step to get through on the way to a jumping class. Particularly for athletes with team aspirations, being prepared for success in the horse inspection is imperative.  

“If something goes wrong at the jog, their team is down a member,” she said. “They may get held at the box and reinspected right away, or they may be held until the next day. Meanwhile, they’re going to miss a training class.”  

Regardless of what level an athlete is competing at or striving for, “I think that all kids want to know what is correct and what is expected,” Langer said. “The youth is our future, and we must educate them, because that’s what our sport is going to be in five years.”