Find the correct body position on a moving horse.
A flawless body position, like a unicorn, is a myth.
Instead of worrying about finding it, I want you to focus on having the correct body position at this very moment.
Your position should do more than just keep you on the horse; it should maintain your balance at all times and keep you in harmony with the horse.
To stay with the horse's movement, it is very important to adjust your body position depending on the type of movement and speed of the horse.
Since body position is a very important part of your riding, I have written several articles about it over the years, including a detailed explanation about the position of the lower leg.
Simply put, when we talk about the lower leg, if you keep the stirrup leather vertical, your lower leg position will never let you down.
Here, I want to talk about the upper body.
Your upper body position is more complicated than the lower leg position for two reasons.
First, the angle that forms at the hip joint, between your thigh and upper body, which I call the "hip angle," is not fixed due to the changing speed of the horse.
In addition, you actually have two positions for the upper body; one for dressage and another for jumping in the arena and cross-country.
When you examine the photos below across the speed range, you will see that the horse's movement at every moment determines the best upper body position for the rider: in dressage, the rider's back is vertical; then for working over obstacles and galloping, it gradually gets closer to the horse's body; to the point that at racing speeds, the rider's back and the horse's back become almost parallel.
This is where it becomes clear why I say there is no perfect position, but there is a correct position for every type of movement.
We ride horses across their speed range; from collection in dressage to full extension at racing speeds.
The faster your horse goes, the more you need to shorten the stirrups and lean your upper body forward.
Photos like the one above provide a visual representation of your body position at different speeds.
1.
When you are working in dressage, I want your back to form a right angle with the horse's back.
Edward Gal, who is seen here at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky with Moorlands Totilas, appears to have his shoulders positioned behind his hips.
Due to the engagement and increased activity of the horse's hindquarters, his pelvis is lower than his shoulders.
However, the relationship between the horse's back and the rider's back remains correct.
2.
Jeroen Dubbeldam from the Netherlands and Zenith SFN appeared as gold medal winners in both the team and individual sections at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France.
With stirrups shorter than Edward Gal's, Jeroen's knee angle is 90 degrees, and his shoulders are positioned ahead of his hips.
I want you to be seated in the saddle as you approach the obstacles, as this will make you more stable, increase your influence on the horse, and give you a better chance of seeing your stride.
Just make sure to sit, not lean back.
3.
I really like Mary King’s galloping position on King's Temptress in this photo, taken at the 2011 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in Lexington.
Mary is in the right place at the right time: she is close to the saddle with her seat, but at the same time gives enough space for her horse's back to work freely under her body.
Pay attention to his vertical stirrup leather and the spring-like action of his knees; these allow him to remain floating above his horse's back.
His speed is much greater than the two previous riders, his hip angle is tighter, and his shoulders are ahead of his knees.
4.
Although this position is very different from the previous ones, the positioning of José Ortiz is still correct for that moment.
In this photo taken at the Ballarina Stakes 2014 in Saratoga, New York, it is clear that Artemis Agrottera is galloping at full speed along the final stretch, and José is positioned above him in a balanced manner.
His back is parallel to the horse's back, his stirrup leather is vertical, and the softness of his hands is a direct result of his excellent leg positioning.
Your upper body in flatwork, as usual, I will first talk about dressage and, as always, before I give a definitive opinion, I will refer to my primary sources.
The famous book "The Art of Riding" by Wilhelm Museler is my constant source for dressage information.
Museler considered the rider's position so important that he did not include any photos of a rider in a good position in his book; not because he couldn't find a good photo, but to emphasize that the dressage position should be flexible, not frozen in adherence to a predetermined notion of "perfection."
Although I try to explain my writings with photos and diagrams, Museler was not wrong.
Since your horse is in motion, your position must move with him.
Let me describe the most effective dressage position in a slightly different way: imagine your horse's back as a horizontal line while your back creates a vertical line.
Any action you want your horse to perform in dressage should create a right angle at the intersection of these two lines.
This same position explains why dressage riders at higher levels appear to have their shoulders behind their hips.
They are not leaning back; rather, even when the horse lowers its croup to engage its hindquarters and collect, they maintain a right angle between their body and the horse's back.
For the body position in dressage, imagine the horse's back as a horizontal line and your back as a vertical line.
Any action you want from your horse in dressage should create a right angle at the intersection of these two lines.
In previous notes, I have referred to your body position in dressage as a "three-point seat" because the two seat bones and the pubic bone form the base of this position in this discipline.
In controlled conditions, you can maintain your dressage position without reins and without stirrups.
A little later, I will present the same conclusion about your body position in jumping and Chaharnal.
Naturally, the horse's movement tends to disrupt your balance unless there is some sort of shock absorber built into your body position.
In flatwork, this shock absorber is your lower back.
Keep a gentle forward curve in your lower back and lift your chest away from your hips.
This allows your back to have space to flex in harmony with the horse's movement.
Of course, maintaining the upper body in this position requires a lot of physical fitness, but that is a topic for another day.
When you develop the flexibility of your lower back in all three gaits, your hands and legs will become calm, and you can apply the subtle and advanced aids of a good dressage rider.
I hope one day a spectator will say: "His horse moves so well, but he is just sitting."
Yes, he is just sitting; with a flexible back, an upright upper body, and calm hands and legs.
Jumping changes everything; your upper body position for jumping is stabilized by the pressure of your knees and shins and your weight on your ankles.
When you move from flatwork to working over fences, you need to shorten your stirrups because the horse moves faster when jumping and at a gallop.
And at the same time as shortening the stirrups, you should also tighten your hip angle.
Why?
Because shorter stirrups and a tighter hip angle help you stay with the horse's movement during the bascule, which is the arc of its body in the air.
For example, I want your stirrups in jumping to be short enough that when you are sitting in the saddle, the back of your knee creates a 90-degree angle.
Since you have tightened your hip angle a bit, now your shoulders should be slightly ahead of your hips.
Although I sometimes refer to your dressage position as "three-point," I call this position "light three-point"; light because now your shoulders are slightly ahead of your hips.
The best way to determine the correct hip angle and upper body position in jumping is to adjust the stirrup length as I explained above.
Then stop the horse; if it does not stand still and calm, ask a friend to hold its head.
Drop the reins, cross your hands in front of your chest, and stand on your stirrups.
Do not stand completely straight and vertical; just rise a few inches off the saddle, the same amount you would rise in a sitting-rising trot.
You should be able to pause calmly for a few seconds at the highest point of this movement and then return to the saddle with control.
This exercise is a great test for assessing your hip angle.
If this angle is correct, you can rise and sit with a smooth and controlled movement.
If it is too open, you will tend to fall back into the saddle.
If it is too tight and closed, you may tip forward and over the horse's neck.
Once you have mastered this exercise, do the same exercise in a halt, but without reins and without stirrups.
To improve your fitness, gradually increase the time you hold yourself in the two-point position.
Larger jumps and higher speeds require you to shorten your stirrups and tighten your hip angle more so that you can still stay in sync with the horse's movement.
I want to use the light three-point position when approaching cross-country fences and jumping.
You should sit down within eight to ten strides of the fence—but not leaning back—and remain in this light three-point position so that the horse's jumping force takes you into the two-point position.
When you are in the two-point position, your seat is above the saddle.
You are hovering above the two-point with your knees, and your weight flows from the contact of your shins to your ankles.
The range of motion of the upper body that you need to use for fences up to 3 feet and 6 inches and speeds up to 400 meters per minute is the same range used during sitting-rising trot.
The movement behind the horse, whether you are in sitting-rising trot or jumping, takes your upper body from the light three-point position to the two-point.
Larger jumps and higher speeds require you to shorten your stirrups and close your hip angle more so that you can still stay in sync with the horse's movement.
Horses can safely jump steeplechase obstacles at speeds of up to 1,000 meters per minute; a speed that is logically higher than the comfort level of most riders.
At these higher speeds, the stirrups must be short enough that your knee caps are just below the level of the horse's withers and your upper body is nearly parallel to the horse's back.
The maximum speed a horse can reach is well over 1,000 meters per minute; that is, over 40 miles per hour.
Riding a horse at such a fast Chaharnal requires a position that may seem quite exaggerated, but it is absolutely essential if you are to stay with the horse's movement.
The length of the stirrups should be short enough that when you are seated in the saddle, you can bring your knees together above the withers and in Chaharnal, your upper body is completely parallel to the horse's back.
About Jim Wofford Jim Wofford.
Jim Wofford, a longtime columnist for Practical Horseman, competed in three Olympic Games and two World Championships.
He also became a five-time national champion of the United States and was a highly respected coach.
Since 1978 and for several decades, at least one of his students has been on every Olympic team, World Championship, and Pan American Games team for the United States.
Wofford passed away on February 2, 2023.
Source: Practical Horseman – Training