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| Guide 2 Horse Riding > Classical Seat |
How to Master the Classical Seat
A good riding position will vary according to the equestrian discipline for which it is used, but all good positions are based on the traditional classical seat, including the jumping position devised in the late 19th and early 20th century by two men, Italian cavalry officer Federico Caprilli and a south American, Count Llias Toptani, who made later refinements.
The modern classical seat stipulates an upright torso and soft but "toned" seat and legs. From the side, an onlooker should be able to drop an imaginary vertical line from the rider's ear, through the shoulder and the hip/elbow, through the ankle bone (not merely the heel) to the ground.
To enhance the blueprint, the rider must sit up straight and gently press the back of the neck into the collar so that the ear lies above the shoulder. The riders face should normally be directed between the horse's ears. The shoulders must be pressed gently but definitely back and down and the breastbone raised (or the ribcage expanded). The small of the back should be slightly flattened rather than arched.
The rider must sit, with an open seat and hips, on the seat bones at the bottom of the pelvis, not back on the buttocks muscles. The seat bones or hip joints must be pushed slightly forward. The legs should be held lightly down and around the horse's sides, their weight dropping, and not being pushed, down through the heel, supported via the foot which rests on its widest part along the tread of the stirrup. The anklebone should, generally, be held beneath the seat bones and the toes should be pointed forwards as much as the rider's natural conformation permits.
Clearly, the rider must use some tone (slight muscular effort) to maintain this position although once it has become second nature the effort is barely noticeable, provided the saddle is not hindering this seat through unsuitable design.
One very important refinement to this seat is that the elbows be held lightly at the hips, not several inches in front of them, as is so often seen. There should be another straight line from the riders elbow, through the hand to the horse's mouth. The rider's forearms and the reigns should, in general, form an unbroken A-shape with the horse's mouth forming the top of the A.
An ancient way of thinking can also be applied to the seat with great advantage. Those interested in Eastern practices such as Shiatsu, Yoga, Tai Chi and in general Eastern philosophy will be familiar with the concept of "being in your center".
The centre of the body is regarded as being inside the abdomen, a couple of inches or so below the level of the navel, which, for riding purposes, sites it just above the seat bones, ideal for the classical seat. If you can mentally and spiritually bring your awareness down from your head into your centre and ride from there, you will find that it enhances your balance, basic posture and practical effectiveness of the classical seat.
This seat has developed over many hundreds of years, having been used in war, hunting, herding, bull-fighting, tournaments and displays, confirming that it allows the best energy distribution for communicating with the horse and balancing the horse/rider unit.
Doing Nothing
An eminent horseman based in the north west of England in the 1960s, Geoffrey Hattan FBHS, used to say that a rider should not be allowed to do anything until he is capable of doing nothing. He also said the most difficult thing to do on a horse is nothing.
By "nothing" he meant nothing to interfere with the horses movements. A rider cannot follow a horses movements passively without doing something, and that something is moving his or her body so as to not block, but accompany, the horse, giving the impression that the rider is "just sitting there doing nothing".
This is always a source of amazement to riders who have never been taught this principle or the technique of how to maintain a toned, "held" torso and a loose seat and legs and to absorb the horse's movement through the small of the back and the seat.
The Forward Position
For modern use, adaptations for rising trot and jumping have been introduced. The upper body retains the posture described and is brought forward from the hip joints, not the waist which causes crouching, so that the shoulders are just above the knees. The seat remains in the saddle or is held lightly just above it and, in jumping all but the highest fences, the upper body is not thrown forward but folded down as if trying to touch the horses chest with the riders breastbone. The hands follow diagonally down the line of the shoulders to the horse's mouth during the jump.
This forward position is relevant for jumping or fast gaits, but in walk, sitting trot and canter the rider should sit upright, absorbing the movement in the seat and small of the back or loin area.
Harmony And Elegance
We must aim for true lightness, balance and self-carriage of both horse and rider, for harmony and restrained elegance. Less is definitely more in classical equitation. There is no cruelty, no force, "nothing forced can be beautiful" but there is great discipline of both horse and rider. Any person who applies forceful, distressing or cruel practices to a horse is not a true classical horseman or woman, no matter what their background or how they describe themselves.