Years ago, I taught my husband to ride after telling him that he would be using the same postures and dynamics of core strength he used in his decades of Tai Chi practice. He never though he'd like horses but he ended up loving them and riding. Too bad severe arthritis made him give it up. Loved this little video.
I have been riding RWYM for 5 years now and im only 18 so many years to go :) its amazing and im fortunate to have a foster mum as a rwym instructor, olivia pollard, and to have visited overdale :)
Starting to ride at 47 it's a challenge, but I wanted to do it. I never have horses before and now I love horses with all my heart. Your video seems very helpful ill try the horse stance tomorrow. Thanks Sofia
Midlife rider as well! Haven’t been on a horse in 30 years.. but contrary to a bicycle, it isn’t just like riding a bike and you remember. I have muscle memory in my brain but my seat.. ehh not so much… but I too have been bitten once more by the horse bug. I hope you have a long and wonderful journey. Horses are truly my happiness and keep me aligned with being present at the moment. Good luck and happy Trails. 😊
Id give anything to train with her!! I do ride western, but this is what I NEEDED to become more stable in the saddle! I was always told legs on the girth, and I can totally see now why I dont feel stable in that position. Saturday, I will be putting what I was able to learn here to use, and see how much better I can post! THANK YOU for posting this!!
Excellent! i am a martial art student and now i am learning horse riding. I hardly have time to ride and one in few months i go out of town to take my lessons..,it is very difficult to learn but i don't have choice. Hence, i keep watching such videos and i came across this most valuable video which i can very well relate to! thank you so much...i understood what you mean by having a very solid posture which moves with the horse, thanks!
I get very similar coaching :) It really makes the difference between being just perched on the horse and really riding with a connection through your seat and allowing the horse to do its job without you blocking them! . My lesson mantra at the minute is strong core/strong inner thigh! If only my body would do what its told more often! Its tough work! But totally worth it to see the results with my happy willing mare :) Thank you for sharing this wonderful video. You are a fantastic coach :)
To find this on youtube has made my day. And my horse's for his days to come. Thank you Erica, Julie and the lovely aged mare Quest. Greetings from the Netherlands.
You're an amazing teacher! It saddens me to think of all those years in training...riding so many frustrating hours with so little learning. Now, having gotten older, I wonder if I would be able to return to something desperately missed and have my body do it!
I love Erica. I would love to spend time with her. Her compassion for the horse and rider are heartfelt through a video. Can you imagine being with her in person. Well done, Erica. You are blessed and thank you for blessing us! LP
This is such a helpful video. Even still at pony club instructors try to enforce the leaning back to halt nonsese. I'm almost 20 and been at pony club since I was 7, and that aspect has never changed (same goes with the heel/hip posture). I will certainly be forwarding your video on to others. I've never heard it explained and demonstrated in such a relevant way.
Thank you for this video and explaining the posture. I've been riding for 17 yrs but mostly bareback and on trails. I have taken a few dressage and equestrian lessons and I could not for the life of me figure out the stance. This is perfect, explained it absolutely perfect. Thank you again!!!
Thank you for giving us such a clear explanation! I've just started helping teach beginner lessons for a local college group. While I'm reasonably skilled working with students and horses on the ground (having worked as a professional groom in eventing), I'm not an accomplished teacher by any means. I've been racking my brain for a way to help start our new riders out with a good, quiet seat, and this is excellent advice!
Hello, like can I come out and live with you over the summer! The way you explain recommendations is so easy to understand and actually true! This reminds me a lot of positions used in yoga. Learnt so much from your two videos please upload more!!!!
Thankyou!! This really helped! After my last riding accident I started putting my legs forward to try and "jam" myself into the saddle...for security...this video has helped me to move my legs back underneath me. Can't wait to watch more of your videos!
OMG I am so blessed to have found this video! I've been doing martial arts for some years but just began doing dressage. This puts things into perspective and makes them a hell of a lot easier to understand! Thanks :)
Ah ha! Precisely what I was looking for. I have made a transition from teaching saddle seat on high headed horses to teaching beginner hunter seat. There are major differences in biomechanics but I couldn't quite figure out how to translate. This will help all my beginners a lot!
such a great video! I tried all of this in a no-stirrup flatwork lesson over the weekend, and it was so helpful, it'll definitely help me with jumping!
Your great information is invaluable...i wish every rider ,trainer , coach would follow your practical advise . Very nicely done !!! Make more videos Erica ! cheers from Canada
Wow inspiring video from an inspirational woman! It's so important to stay active and I bet your Karate kicks are lethal, because riders have the most powerful legs I've ever seen.
This is most helpful! Thank you so much for the video! I never connected the 'horse riding' karate position to actual riding. Good to know I can put it to use!
Thank you, this is exactly what I needed. I've been training both martial arts and riding, but for some reason they haven't clicked together in my brain before. I've felt more comfortable with a long stirrup, but now I can see why that's not good.
Love this video! I often tell students that riding is like Dancing With the Stars....as the rider we must be strong but flexible, just like a great ballroom dancer!
This was exactly what I needed after a 32 riding hiatus! I rode as a child/teenager and am re-learning all these techniques. I teach yoga and having a video showing the biomechanics just resonated! Excellent way in describing sitting - I can't wait to use this today. I love the fact that you are bringing martial arts into riding!
really interesting! i am preparing for British Horse Society exams this month and been trying my best to improve my seat in preparation for the riding part of the exam. one of my worst habits is overuse of my hands and i also have a terrible habit of letting my lower leg come up and/ or forward which causes me to lose my stirrup. i cant wait to try the "unmoveable position" and hope it will work when im teaching students myself one day! :)
Thanks your videos are very interesting! I have been looking for an off horse exercise to help me with core strength and balance so this seems like a good one to try. I am a tense rider so tend to curl up when I get unbalanced. I have recently shortened my stirrups a lot and starting to accept it makes me more secure, although it made me feel too bouncy when rising in trot at first, this helps to explain why :-)
This looks similar to what my position normally is while riding (and I have been criticized for it). I think it will be helpful to incorporate more of my lats, rather than my arm muscles in holding steady contact. My horse has trouble coming round and on the bit, but I think this position would help my consistency, which will also help him to become more consistent. Also, when we are jumping, I believe this position will help stabilize both of us on the approach and help me ride more confidently
I understand moving with the horse. But I also understand the need to feel grounded in your position. How can you be in control, if you can't control yourself on the horse? Not only is dropping your heel rather unnatural for you, but... i personally find it hard to "sink my weight in my heels". I naturally want to do the kibadachi (I've taken Karate for 8 years) and learned to ground myself and perfect my center of gravity. Dropping my heel, makes me feel awfully top heavy...
I'm not trying to hate, because everybody has their own riding style. But, what I did notice is that she isn't moving with the horse very well, at around 9:30 during the trot work her hands are moving with her body instead of being independent so they are pulling then releasing then pulling then releasing on the horses mouth, you can see this by the way he gapes his mouth around the reins.
I've been riding for over 40 years and thought I was a pretty decent rider. I watched this video and had the opportunity ride the very next day. WOW!!! What an incredible difference it made!! I've never felt "so connected" to a horse in all my life. The horse I was riding shied sideways a good 10 feet and I literally didn't move! One thing I found is that my "tail bones" were really sore and blistered, due the new seat I was adopting ( 4 hour ride). Does that mean I'm doing this seat correctly?
This is also called the rooting stance. Practicing it with breathing creates strength and balance. It is also how massage therapists are taught to stand while working on a client.
I love this video! I'm a beginner rider, and I feel like it's helped me to understand what I was doing wrong. But I was wondering if you had any tips for riding with a slightly longer stirrup? I'm pretty short, and even fastened up all the way the stirrups are pretty long for me, to the point where it makes it diffficult to post the trot. (standing up doesn't really raise me much out of the saddle)
As I understood, your core is your inner muscles in thighs, seat bones, and below your belly which are affected by the way you move your legs when you ride. It is an inner strength that you should feel to resist any unexpected motion or imbalance
LianeHeartleb Your foot is not supposed to be back far far. Actually the women that is riding in this video, has the wrong leg position. It is too far back. Instead of being inline with her hip, shoulder, and ear, it is inline with her bum only. So you want your leg/foot position to be a little back behind half way point of the girth
hey im also a black belt in karate and i ride since 2 years and i also realized that what i learnt in martial arts does really help for horse riding! But i learned new similarities....Thanks! (Just a question what dan are you?)
@LianeHartleb - I also noticed the leg position, I guess it may be the saddle or that this rider finds it more secure, but my instructor is always telling me off for my leg wandering back! I am a rider who tenses up and curls forward though, so I think it makes an especially big difference for me and I need to think about keeping my feet slightly further forward than I think they should be. I saw pictures and didn't realise how far back it went :-/
im wondering would this seat translate to showjumping or what possission do i need to be in for showjumping? also could you do i video on correct 2-point? your videos are very helpful
Thanks for the video. I have an issue where my leg is not far back enough and when I post it looks like my leg kicks sideways. I have been riding a while but I am really getting frustrated and I am not sure how to fix this. Thanks!
i have been out of the saddle for about 15 years and now have my lifelong companion a very tall 18-2 ID X hunter the cob i had just before him kept getting excited and bolting zig zags with me when i would least expect it he was just a 5 yr old my new boy is a ripe 16 and well mannered but im so scared of falling now its getting ridiculous :( my confidence is shattered and i find myself hunching forward and not feeling as well balanced as i once was :( i used to break youngsters
