I think if you look at any volume of the Chronicle you will see excellent examples of “good jumping form”.
The idea of good form, I believe, when broken down, is all about function; again like most things form follows function. What we call good form is nothing more than an efficient way for a horse to jump. It allows a horse to maximize its physical capabilities, and for each horse these capabilities may vary slightly or greatly, but the bottom line is that all good jumpers jump efficiently and consequently with good form.
A horse tucking its knees, and squaring off over a fence is simply the most efficient way to clear a fence. If a horse pulls its shoulder up, the forelegs are lifted, tucks the rest of his leg well, and he has all but removed his legs from the jumping equation, all he has to do now is lift his body high enough to clear the fence, and basically let his hind end follow the same trajectory, and bingo he is over the fence using the least amount of energy.
For arguments sake there are two types of jumpers/hunters those that follow a trajectory and those that make a trajectory, obviously there are horse in between and past these two types but I think we catch them all with two types. Those that “follow” tend to be round over a fence those that “make” tend to be flatter over a fence.
A follower would be a horse like Untouchable www.showjumpinghalloffame.net/inductees/untouchable.shtml), a maker would be a horse like Jet Run (www.showjumpinghalloffame.net/inductees/jetrun.shtml). Both of these horses he excellent form over a fence, and either form would work for either discipline.
I think that good form itself is the same for both disciplines, but what I think we consider good form really depends on the horse, and what is good form for one horse may not be for another.
Unconsciously I think when those that he experience look at a horse over a fence they do not just see form as an absolute, they see the horses conformation, its movement, its overall look and we basically balance out all the factors involved and determine whether the equation equals good form for that particular horse.