The Key to Sitting Trot

It is the goal of the rider to capture and control the power of the horse as it enters the rider's pelvis through the seat bones. This is achieved by actively controlling the 3 movements of the pelvis (left-right movement, rise and fall of each side, and the tilt of the pelvis forward and back) as well as the rotations of the femur bones and the opening and closing of the curve in the lower lumbar and sacrum.
The left-right movement redirects some of the power of the horse down into the femur bones through the knee and lower leg into the foot, forward through the arch of the foot into the stirrups then through the ball of the foot back to the horse. This flow of force has the effect of quieting the movement of the rider’s leg and keeps the heel down by relaxing the ankle and the hip joint. This relaxing is in a way completely passive as it is a result of redirecting the force out of the seat down the leg. The leg can then be used much more effectively with less muscle and more rhythmic power that has been borrowed from the horse.
The amount of force that moves up the spine is redirected by the left-right movement of the pelvis. It is as if it splits and is redirected up the spine in a double spiral. The effect is that the bounce of the trot in the rider's seat is minimized. Instead of the force and power of the horse pushing up into the spine as two strong pulses it now moves in a double spiral up and around the spine. Initially few riders will feel the spiral of energy up the spine; all one can feel is the deeper connection in the sit bones and the lift in the back of the horse. As the force is redirected in this way the effect on the rider's upper body is lessened, therefore the sternum is not lifted and held against the force which in turn means the head does not bounce as much and the arms and hands can be much quieter as a result ….

BHS Training Day

BHS Blog Entry

It was my great honour to be invited to give a training day for the British Horse Society South West Region, in Dorchester, England on the 18th April. The day was open to BHS registered instructors as part of their Continuing Professional Development programme and was held at the very impressive Kingston Maurward Agricultural College.

I have to confess to being a little nervous as to what they would make of me! I am aware of the history of the BHS and understand it is a highly respected and important organisation in the UK. I thought they might think me an upstart from America but I was made to feel more than very welcome and I presented my work with a lecture in the morning, including some audience participation. It was great to see 55+ instructors finding out where their weight is in there feet and shoving each other to mimick the horse’s energy and see the effect on their bodies. After a short break for lunch I taught three very brave young students from the college, one at a time for about 45 minutes each. Taking the principles I had explained in the morning and applying them in the saddle. All three riders and their horses did very well and gave the audience a lot to see. It always fills me up when the horse gives unequivocal evidence that the principles work in action, when the horse visibly improves it’s way of going for all to see.

The feedback from the day was excellent. I think nearly everyone enjoyed themselves and I hope they all got something to take home with them and apply in their every day riding and teaching.

I would like to thank all of those who attended the day and special thank to Julie Garbutt who organised the event and I think perhaps ‘stuck her neck out’ and broke with tradition.

My only gripe was that I didn’t see enough of Dorset. How beautiful it looked and I could smell the sea!! I would dearly love to return here to teach and have more time to explore the coast line and may be even catch a wave!!