DIY: Homemade brush jumps

This year, instead of kicking your Christmas tree to the curb, recycle it as a brush jump in your ring or cross-country schooling field. The more trees the merrier… I’ve been known to stalk various neighborhoods around this time of the year in my F-250, looking for discarded trees to “re-purpose.” Many cities also have tree recycling centers where you can score a whole truckload.

Once you get them to your farm, the possibilities are endless. Stuff them under verticals and oxers to make jumps seem less airy, or use the trees to dress up a hunter course. They can also be used to simulate various cross-country questions such as Weldon’s walls and brush skinnies. Or, trim branches off the tree and stick them upright in a brush box to teach a green event horse how to “brush through brush.”

Jump this…

..to prepare for (someday) this:

Jump this…

…to prepare for (someday) this:

And best of all, when your trees have finally fulfilled their purpose, you can retire them in style.

Do you have a DIY project you’d like to share with Horse Nation? Email it to [email protected].