How to Make Equestrian Jumps

VIDEO

My niece is really into horses and recently wanted to make a set of equestrian jumps for a friend of hers. She asked if I could help her make them, so I did. Watch the video and follow along with us making these below:

TOOLS & MATERIALS (affiliate links)

4 - 4x4 treated posts (we had upcycled ones)
3 - 2x6 treated
2 1/2" deck screws - https://amzn.to/32ceQJd
Paint of your choice
4 - Jump cups (These hold the pole that the horse actually jumps over) - https://amzn.to/2XLpyae

Miter Saw - http://amzn.to/2ruEfLs
Table Saw - http://amzn.to/2s8JpAD
Drill - http://amzn.to/2runtMh
Driver - http://amzn.to/2runtMh
Drill Press - http://amzn.to/2faQhZ8

STEPS

First, I had to cut all of the 4x4 posts to the same length. I used the miter saw for this. After cutting one, I used that one to mark all of the others. That way, if there were any slight errors in the next ones measured and cut, that error was not compounded by 4. 

Then, it was time to mark out where we were going to drill all of the holes. Each post would get a hole to accept a pin starting at 12 inches off of the ground, and ever 2 inches thereafter. I like to use an ice pic to put a little divot in the wood so the bit can follow it. My newphew happened to be in the shop at the time, so he wanted to help do this. 

We turned our attention to the feet of the equestrian jumps. The material we had was just some treated 2x6's, cut to various lengths. So the first order of business was to get all of those to be the same length. For that, I used the crosscut sled on my table saw, setting up a stop block. That way, there was no measuring. Just cut a clean edge, move it over to the stop block, and make another cut. We had a total of 16 of these, so it was important to use a stop block in order to make very repeatable cuts. 

I wanted to do something to take a bit of the weight off of these, but not compromise how steady they would stand. To do this, we came up with an angle that looked nice, marked that on each of the feet and then cut it out at the bandsaw. This removed a lot of unnecessary weight without making them more susceptible to tipping over. 

Then came the drilling. Oh, so much drilling. We all kind of took turns with this. After drilling a few holes with a regular forstner bit, we realized it would be an extra amount of work. The forstner bits I had were not really able to reach all of the way through the 4x4, so we bought a longer bit just for this project. That worked really well. 

At this point, it was time to attach the feet to the 4x4 posts. Use a level to check the plumb of the 4x4 posts in two different directions. After that, you should be good. I pre-drilled for the screws and used a countersink bit so the heads of the screws would sit below the surface of the wood. 

Repeat that a few times, and you have some nearly finished equestrian jumps. All that is left at this point is putting some paint on them. My niece took them back to their house and painted them another day. They just used some white paint they had leftover from another project. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

These were interesting to build. I have never done anything around the subject of horses, so I liked being able to help with it. It was a. relatively easy build, other than the fact that we were waiting on the jump cups (hardware that holds the pole that the horses jump) to come in, so we didn't know what size holes to drill. That made us pause the project for a few days, but promptly finished in one more evening. 

Let me know if you have any questions about the project, or if you would have done something differently. See you next time!