People often ask me about the differences in rider position between western, English (or hunter seat) disciplines and are interested when I tell them that many of my students ride and compete in both. The rules of good equitation apply to both English and western riding; the similarities are greater than the differences. In my program, I feel very strongly about explaining the reasons behind what Iım teaching my students to do, and building a foundation of correct form so that the rider wonıt have to "unlearn" habits as he or she moves on to the next level. This is something that I missed in my riding school days. We were taught how to post on the correct diagonal, but not "why". We were told repeatedly to put our heels down, but not how this fit into the big picture. So let's take a look at just some principles of correct rider position, and I'll explain why they work.
Eyes and Head - I tell my students that where they look, they will go. It does no good to look down at the pylon you don't want to run over or at the fence post you don't want to hit, but rather to look ahead at an imaginary dot in the dirt, 30-60 feet ahead of you. "Big" eyes take in all that's going on around you in your peripheral vision, and prevents collisions with other riders. Although I don't mind a rider looking down at his horse occasionally to check for straightness etc, learning to feel your horse's leads, diagonals, and body position is one of the keys to becoming an effective rider. When going around a corner, a rider's head should turn to chart the path far ahead. Upper Body and Seat - Your upper body needs to be stretched up as if someone was lifting you up by the ears, stretching the curves out of your spine. There is a fine balance, however, between straightness and stiffness. A stiff back can't follow the horse's movement and absorb shock. One of the remedies for a bouncing rider is to unlock your lower back, and follow the motion of the horse as you picture keeping your seatbones glued to the saddle.Hands and Arms - Here we see some differences between western and hunter seat riders. The hunter seat rider needs to maintain a straight line from his elbow to his hand, and through the rein to the corner of the horse's mouth. Riders that hold their hands either above or below this line, sacrifice strength for decreasing the horse's pace, and sensitivity for asking him to collect.
The western rider, using one hand, also has a line from his elbow to his hand which is held just in front of the saddle horn to the horse's bit, but the rein line itself isn't straight. When riding with a curb bit, which magnifies a rider's hand cues because it works on the principle of leverage, the reins are longer. I like to see a soft curve to the rein so that the horse can't feel any curb chain pressure unless the rider moves his hand back six inches. When cueing the horse to slow or collect, the western rider closes his elbow, bringing his forearm towards his upper arm. When steering, the rider directs his hand towards either of his shoulders, depending on direction, creating slight pressure across the horse's neck, but most steering should be done through leg pressure. Neck reining takes a bit of practice to master, and I encourage my students to ride with one hand whenever they re riding with a curb bit, not just at a horse show, so it becomes second nature. The most common mistake I see in neck reining is steering with the hand too low, directing it toward the horse's shoulders rather than up toward the rider's body. This upward pull helps to lighten the horse's forehand. The other mistake I see is never allowing the hand to return to "home" position after steering and slowing.
As I have mentioned in previous articles, it is important to communicate "yes" to your horse immediately after he has responded to your cues. Many riders forget this positive reinforcement and end up hanging on their horse's reins in tug-of-war fashion. For an English rider to communicate "yes" to her horse, it isn't necessary to have long swinging reins, but rather a soft, following arm. In order for you to be able to ride with a straight rein - in contact with the horse's mouth, but not bumping on it - you need to develop the same kind of sensitivity in your arm joints that you use when you are driving in your car over train tracks with a cup of coffee in your hand.
I work with my students on various exercises to develop this following arm, but one barrier to doing it is cocking your wrists stiffly inward or outward, breaking that elbow-hand-bit line. Thumbs for both English and western riders should be turned inward so that just the first two knuckles are visible when you look down. If the thumbs are turned in toward each other, the rider's elbows stick out. Western riders can carry their free arms straight down, perpendicular to the ground, or, as I prefer, bent at their sides with their hands held softly about three inches from their belt buckle.
Legs - A rider who has his ear, shoulder, hip and heel in a line perpendicular to the ground is in balance and isn't likely to fall forward or backward. I mostly see riders with their legs too far forward so that if they glanced down at their knee, they would be able to see their toe poking out. Often I'll climb onto a student's horse to discover it's the balance of their saddle that's making them feel that they're riding up or downhill. It's important to purchase a saddle that feels level.
Stirrup length is a few inches longer for western than for English, but with either discipline, your knee and ankle joints need to be bent to allow them to function as shock absorbers. Western riders particularly, tend to ride with stirrups too long, reaching forward and down for them with their toe, eliminating their ankle's shock absorbing capacity.
I surprise many people when I instruct them not only to push their weight down into their heel, but also to allow their toe turn out a bit. A "toe-in" position causes a rider to pinch the saddle with her knee, losing contact with her calf and the stability it provides. In lessons, I give my students various exercises that address any position problems they may have and we work on them for only three minute segments, like commercials in between other work we're doing. This avoids muscle fatigue that could lead to sloppy practice, developing another bad habit en route to correcting an existing one. Remember, "perfect practice makes perfect riders!"
Lindsay Grice trains horses and riders at Lindsay Grice Quarter Horses in the Caledon Hills, 25 minutes north of the Toronto airport.
Her students have won many provincial High Point awards in both English and western events, and have won at major shows in the United States and Canada. Lindsay has been Ontario's top-ranked Junior Hunter Under Saddle Rider almost every year since 1986, and in recent years has ridden several horses to National High Point Top Ten status.
Lindsay has a reputation for successfully training clients' horses for new events, including western riding, horsemanship, equitation, and classes over fences. She strives to create thinking horsemen of her students by clearly communicating the "how's" and "why's" of riding.
Lindsay Grice