Dissecting My Position, Lesson Notes

Awareness of the outside world. Bored Panda: Hey Pandas, Share A Picture To That Might Brighten Someone’s Mood, Zagórska, Feb 06, 2025. #10 My 15 Year Old Girl Eowyn. How Can You Not Smile Back At Her? Posted by Life, the Universe, and Everything: A few odds and ends.

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Rode Optimus for one of our occasional position dissection lessons. Rode beautifully. I have no idea why. Therefore, long post. Mainly for my reference. Trying to remember what went well.

Riding is isometric. This is the big takeaway for me. Riding is all about staying in one position. Granted, one doesn’t want to be stiff, but being too quiet is not my issue, in any capacity. So, if I move too much and I think of locking everything down, I will end up in the right place. In theory, a solid, steady position gives you a place to work from, a place to adjust from, a place to support your horse from. The details of the position may vary, but I think if I can nail this, it will help all of my riding.

There was much else.

First thing. Sit in back of saddle, the very back. As soon as I sit down, I need to be sitting back. I know this. I understand this. It’s all about making space for the shoulder to lift. Yet, deep in my heart, I do not believe this. You sit in the middle of a saddle. End of story. Despite years of horses telling me how they want to be ridden, see below.

Legs generally okay. I could probably do a bit of styling with foot position if I were ever to be in a serious equitation class.

Do not ride from the lower leg. Use it and remove it. (Noooooooo.)

Hands up. Generally, the forearm is level from hand to elbow. Depending on the horse and the situation, occasionally above the line, very occasionally below the line. For me, never below the line. Hands up. Always up. Up higher than I think is possible.

Bending the elbow is a much subtler way of signaling the horse than sticking ones hand out as if hailing a cab. Yes, I had a jump trainer accuse me of this.

Hands do not follow. (Nooooo.) Hands create a containment space.

Canter. Although it looked good from the ground, I could feel that I was lifting off the seat a bit instead of following. Loosening my middle fixed this.

Knees in. (Again, noooooo). Knees in puts the upper leg on. Helps you stay in position. Keeps you from sliding forward. In my case, helps keep my lower leg out of trouble. [On the Second Day Of Christmas: 2 Talking Steeds]

I felt that I was falling forward. This happens for a bunch of reasons. I have been known to lean forward, see link. The entire edifice can collapse onto the horse’s forehand. What I discovered at the lesson is that even if everything is going wonderfully, you can still get tossed forward. The energy of the horse comes from the hindquarters. This thrust can push you forward. The idea of ‘fighting it’ is too combative. It is something one needs to be aware of and fix if needful. [Trying To Get Back In the Saddle, November Lessons, me modeling the traditional Saddlebred forward seat (tip for nonriders, there is no such thing)]

From an earlier lesson, I remember that saddle seat wants the horse to be straight. No subtle curve that allows you to ‘See the inside eye’. Face forward, straight out of the ring. [Errant Body Parts, An ASB Lesson]

And probably other things I forgot.

An Ongoing Issue

At one point, I lost my head and used a little inside rein around a turn:
‘Excuse me, do I look like a hunter? If you care to ride me like a saddlebred, I will continue to go like a saddlebred.’
‘Oh, so sorry, my bad.’ [Show Report: Dixie Cup, Conyers GA] 2013

“I sat too far back, lifted my hands to my eyebrows, and started trying to fix it like a saddle seat rider. Sam is never happy with my ersatz hunter moves.” [Show Report: Team Awesome, Pro-Am 2016] 2016

“Shades of Sam. On more than one occasion, Optimus wondered what I was doing up there. ‘If you would care to ride me like a Saddlebred, I will go like a Saddlebred.’ During the line up, Optimus kept moving around until I sat in the back of the saddle where I was supposed to be.” [Saddlebred Steadiness, Optimus at the Ellen Beard Clinic] 2022

“Apparently I have bad habits that only come out at shows. How to fix?

Coach Courtney, from the sidelines: SADDLE SEAT!

Me: Oh. Right. (Back of saddle, hands up, knees in, etc. etc. etc.)” [Hey Kids, Let’s Put On A Show, ASHAA Fun Show] 2024

Onwards!
Katherine