From Hunter Seat Equitation by George H Morris
... none of the positions, controls, or exercises that I discuss in this book did I invent myself. They are, rather, a sifting and sorting of what I've learned in the many years I've appreciated good style and its origins from watching successful participants and their working methods.
Books are often ridiculed as a means of teaching riding and this attitude has always mystified me. Regardless of the subject of study, books can effectively give you the benefit of someone else's experience. By taking advantage of another's knowledge through books as well as personal instruction, you can stimulate your learning abilities and more quickly consolidate your technical security.
Therefore I suggest you read. Perhaps you are a complete beginner or perhaps you are a show-ring rider in need of a bit more polish. You might even be an accomplished, professional instructor going stale for want of new ideas and approaches to old-hat subjects. No matter what your status, you really cannot go wrong in trying someone else's solution to a problem that bothers you. You will benefit whether the method succeeds or fails, and have seen for yourself how well or otherwise it works. And let's hope the reading and trying prove fun in the process, too!
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all demand horses that are perfectly obedient, soft, supple, and most important, relaxed. Any short cuts or force usually will backfire and be exposed
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Dressage ... is a two-side coin. As I've pointed out before the "good" can be out-weighed by the "bad" if one is not careful. ... Rather, what is important is how one works his or her horse. Too much dressage, slow work, and collection and can also be damaging to the galloping horse and rider. It can stifle freedom and pace; and a certain stiffness can take over when one wants simply to gallop and jump. Beware!
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Unfortunately, these position flaws are being taught today and imitated! It could be ruination of what I call "beautiful" riding (or style) in all disciplines.
Keep riding simple and clear. When something doesn't look attractive, it is usually wrong. That is why I am first a stylist. Usually people who look well, ride well ... Use dressage, yes, but don't let it hamper or smother you. Remember the pros and remember the cons. Our first and last task is to gallop down and find the fence!
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The right way to do almost anything with horses is mainly a matter of using your natural intelligence in an uncomplicated manner, and this holds true also for the rider's basic mounted position. Simplicity and economy of movement are the goals of classical technique; the position of the rider upon the horse is the first fundamental. From the very first we must use the essential, neccessary ingredients and pare away the extras!
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It is also important to appreciate the relationship between the rider's security, the horse's freedom of movement, and the length of the stirrup.
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For convenience, the rider's body can be divided into four principal parts: the leg from the knee down; the base of support, which includes the thigh and seat; the upper body, which means all parts of the body above the base; and the hands and arms. A rider is considered balanced when his legs, seat, upper body, hands and arms co-ordinate correctly and are in equilibrium. By dividing the body into these four parts, it is simpler to isolate and correct specific faults, as well as to explain more clearly their effect upon one another. Of course, each of these major elements has many components; the ball of the foot is important to the leg; the seat bones are a major consideration in connection with the base; the head and shoulders greatly affect the position and function of the upper body. Each of these components must be put in place to create a unified whole. Thus the rider's basic position must be described in considerable detail.
Establish the rider's basic position is like building a house. We begin with the foundation, the bottom of the structure, which is the leg.
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The rider's upper body is completely dependent upon his base and leg. The trunk of the body should be carried erect with the shoulders relaxed and the chest opened. A slight arch should support the upper back, but care must be taken not to arch the lower back, as this will bring the seat out of the saddle. With the rider looking straight ahead, his line of vision parallel to the ground, the eyes and head should anticipate the line of movement. A common fault is to allow the head to jut foward in front of the body. The tendency, and in fact, any manifestation of stiffness or artificiality, should be quickly erased and replaced by a completely natural, yet elegant, tall carriage. Two other commonly observed posture faults are the stiff, hollow "sway-back" and the sloppy, hunch-shouldered, rounded "roach-back."
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Next in line we come to hands and arms. "Elasticity" is the word most often associated with the hnads and rightly so, since rigidity there is quickly reflected elsewhere in both horse and rider.
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Hands assume weak, passive characteristics when flattened to a horizontal position; they tend to become too hard and strong when held completey vertical. A happy medium of positioning the hand halfway between horizontal and vertical encourages a combination of strength and softness. Wrists, too, should be held as straight as possible, neither twisted or bent. Twisting or bending the wrist causes unnatural arm and elbow displacement, thus producing the stiffness that always results from any kind of forced, irregular body position. The most useful hand is the one strong enough to control, yet relaxed enough to allow freedom; as we have seen, a straight forearm, hand, and wrist is the simplest method of acheiving the useful hand. Remmber that the wrist and hand are a straight extension of the forearm.
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Correct basic position at a standstill. The rider sits so that a line from her shoulder falls directly down through her hip bone to the back of her heel. She is really in balance and in the middle of her horse, giving the appearance of being completely at ease and in control regardless of what difficult situation may arise.
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Correct upper body position. Looking straight ahead, the rider is erect yet relaxed. Her shoulders are neither pinched forward nor drawn too far back and there is a true line from her ear through the shoulder to the hip bone.