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In the previous tutorial I described corners that potentially give the rider the option to go wider around corners, should there be sufficient space from the boundaries. Quick corners are corners that have a turn from 90° but less than 180° and often take a V shaped turn. Sometimes the best way to ride these corners is to cut the corner slightly. The corner must again allow a minimum of 3 straight strides from landing, a turn with a minimum of 20m in diameter and a minimum of 3 straight strides before take-off.

Quick corners are easier to set around boundaries but can easily be set too tight. Poor courses often have too many quick corners in them. They force riders to pull and kick their horses around the course and make it difficult to ride in a rhythm. Experienced horses and riders handle these corners much better as they can keep a rhythm through tight corners and experienced horses handle short approaches to fences better. If you do set a quick corner in your course for lower levels, make sure there is more than ample space between the fences.

After 3 strides following the first fence there must be a turn of 20m minimum in diameter to reach the 3 strides before the second fence. See pic 1.

Pic 2 shows how tight a corner gets by moving each fence 1 metre towards each other. The Strides Corner Checker immediately flags this corner.

Pic 3 shows how tight the turn is should riders want more space from the first fence and to the second fence as is normal practice by riders with young horses. This severely hampers the horse's rhythm.

90° turns are a popular test in many courses but be aware they are more difficult than they look. I only recommend using them like a broken line for more experienced horses and riders.

I generally try to avoid quick corners whenever possible for lower levels and use them sparingly for higher levels and jump-offs. If there are too many quick corners set in a course, it is likely to make riders to ride erratically around the course and will be detrimental to the horse's development. It will not be one that will be pleasing to watch being ridden.

See the latest Strides Course Design tutorials, visit Strides Tutorial Series on our News page:

Tutorial 1 - 3 stride - 20m rule


Tutorial 2 - Roll back turns


Tutorial 3 - Quick corners


Tutorial 4 - Balanced corners


Line distances - Imperial vs Metric


Tutorial 6 - First Fence in a Course