As a general rule, unless a woman knows her mount thoroughly and has ridden him many times,
she should not attempt to help him over his jumps. Every horse has an individual style of jumping, and it is nearly always best to develop his own natural style and not to attempt to make him jump in a way that is unnatural to him.
There are three quite different ways in which horses jump: one by rushing, one by taking the jump in the stride, and the other by popping over. One cannot say that any one of these styles is best, for it all depends on the individual horse. Some horses do best in one way, others in another; and a horse who naturally rushes his jumps can hardly ever be trained to pop over them quietly, and the horse who has jumped in his own natural style for years can jump far more safely in that style, even if it be rushing, than if his rider attempts to make him jump in any other style.
For a woman the best style of jumping is that of the hunter who swings along and takes his jumps in a steady stride, and who is neither too fast nor too slow; who is up with the hounds, yet not on them.
What I am about to say with regard to the seat and hands in jumping applies to hunting in this country, not in England, for there the horses are very differently trained; but in any case a woman should always find out how a horse has been trained before attempting to jump him.
Positions of Hands in Hunting
Gathering reins before taking off
Giving him his head over a jump