Improving Your Sitting Trot

When riding a sitting trot correctly, a rider absorbs the energy coming up from the horse's back into the seat and waist without letting it travel any further up the body. To perform this correctly it is crucial that you not only keep your upper body erect and "held" (but not stiff), but also that your seat and legs are completely relaxed. Only in this way can you soak up the energy and dissipate it.

Bouncing about in Sitting Trot

I am sure that many cases of bruised backs are due to riders banging down on them (despite well-fitting saddles) in sitting trot.

Try to get access to a steady lunge horse with smooth gaits and have some sessions in trot, without stirrups or reins, to improve your seat and position. Imagine that you are gently but firmly stuck to your saddle with glue all over the seat of your jodhpurs. If the horse will jog, although most are firmly discouraged from doing so, this will help bring you into the technique gradually. Next, progress to a slow, but active trot and finally on to a horse with a bouncy trot, all on the lunge.

Concentrate on "glueing" your seat to the saddle by allowing the small of your back to gently move backwards and forwards, flattening and hollowing as the horse rises and lands, respectively, in trot. Look ahead and feel this with your seat rather than looking down at your horse, which reduces your sensitivity. The combination of the "glue" and the looseness of the legs will enable you to really sit to the trot with practice.

Stay focused and relaxed in your mind and once you've felt this soft, absorbing sitting trot, believe me you will never look back, and your horse will be so relieved.

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