Sitting the trot

From: Pip

Hi Jessica:

Things have been progressing very well for Squeak and I, we just had a very successful show with a nice 60.91 for our Basic 2C test. needless to say I am very pleased, but as always, ever striving for perfection!

(I'm the biggest problem!). Still cannot seem to 'get' the 'independent' seat. Occasionally, in my last few lessons, now that Squeak is rounding up nicely, we've had a very definite feel for a few strides of the trot, that we were actually moving together, but I'm still having a hard time keeping my knees down, sitting back and 'driving' with my seat bones. Most of the time the seat bones aren't even connected to the saddle! Any exercises, suggestions, things I can do???

so, thanks for any suggestions you might have Jessica. Boy, by the time you get up here for our clinic I"ll have figured everything out!!

thanks again,

Pip

There are two secrets to sitting the trot. The first is to do with the rider. Sitting the trot is an ACTIVE process, not a PASSIVE one. Most problems at sitting trot are caused by the "down" motion -- the saddle drops away from the rider, the rider doesn't move WITH it but instead begins to drop down just as the saddle is moving back up toward the rider, with a resulting "whack!" to the rider's seat and the horse's back. The rider stiffens, and the next "whack!" is even harder -- the horse stiffens and drops its back, and that makes the trot impossible to sit (more about this later).

To sit the trot, you need to be able to "chase" the saddle as it drops away from you -- and, just to make it more complicated, you need to chase it with one seatbone at a time. If you can find a hard wooden kitchen chair and straddle it with the back of the chair in front of you, you can practice this. First, just sit as you would in a saddle, and feel both seatbones in contact with the chair seat. Your seatbones are in pads of muscle, and you should be able to tighten and relax those muscles at will. You can practice alternating sides, so that while sitting astride the chair, you "lift" one seatbone away and "drop" the other one. It isn't easy at first -- but persevere. If you find this difficult, ask yourself why -- you may have trouble isolating the muscles that "pick up" and "drop" your seatbones, or your hips and lower back may be tight.

Once you know the feeling, you'll be able to practice in the saddle. Your lower back and hips need to be strong and flexible, so that it can help you "push" the saddle with your seatbones; your upper back needs to be tall and balanced over your hips and seat -- think about a stack of building blocks, all in place -- so that your spine can absorb the movement of your horse's trot.

I'm sure you've seen people who round their backs while sitting the trot -- they are the ones whose heads bounce up and down in exaggerated nods at each stride. That's because the movement of the horse isn't absorbed by their backs, because the "blocks" are out of alignment -- and the movement all comes out at the very end of the spine: the neck and head!

If your knees won't stay down and back, that's a sign that your hips are tight and/or your building blocks are out of alignment! If you sit on your bottom instead of your seatbones, your knees will begin to rise. If you try to PUSH your knees down, your legs will become stiff, and you will no longer have flexible hips. Your hips MUST be flexible so that you can bring your legs back and underneath you and let them hang naturally FROM THE HIP. Then you can follow the movement of the horse.

The second secret is that you cannot, and should not, sit the trot until and unless your horse is ready for you to sit the trot. Your horse must be warmed up, relaxed, engaged, and OFFER his back to your seat. If his back is lifted and swinging, you will be able to sit easily. The second he feels uncomfortable and drops his back, the trot will become difficult, if not impossible, to sit -- and you should NOT sit it! You must make your horse's topline a priority -- develop the muscles that will allow him to carry you at a comfortable, swinging trot. The best exercise for this is simply to alternate sitting and posting the trot! When the horse offers his back, sit -- and pay attention to subtle signals. As soon as he hesitates or begins to drop his back, begin to rise to the trot, and continue until he relaxes forward and offers his back again. Then sit for as many strides (possibly three or four) as his back remains UP, and begin to post just as he becomes slightly uncomfortable. If you work with him in this way, you won't give him any reason to become tense and stiff, and you will help him to become stronger -- and eventually those four strides of sitting trot will become eight or twelve or twenty strides! Take your time, be aware of what is going on underneath you, and never sit to the trot until your horse offers his back.

- Jessica

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