SPEED DEMON

PERFECTING THE GALLOP

Having the confidence to go galloping is one of the most amazing feelings. Here, we look at the gallop and how you can perfect the fastest pace with your favourite pony.

Note: Galloping isn’t for everyone, and if you don’t feel confident to gallop on your pony, don’t do it!

The gallop

The gallop is the fastest gait a pony or horse can move at. It is a four-beat pace, and ponies can gallop on either a right or left lead. The footfalls for the right lead are:

Left hind

Right hind

Left front

Right front

How to gallop

Before you try to gallop, the first thing to do is to shorten your stirrups by a couple of holes and practice riding in a light seat in the walk, trot and canter. To do this:

Lift yourself out of the saddle slightly.

Push your hips towards the back of the saddle.

Keep your knees and hips soft.

Relax your lower leg and put your weight into your heels.

Focus on keeping your shoulders and eyes up.

Allow your hands forward, but keep a steady rein contact.

It’s a good idea to get your light seat position perfected in the canter first. So, rehearse this posture in the arena until you feel comfortable to stay in the position. Then, when you feel you’ve mastered the posture, you can consider going for a gallop.

Top tip

If you’re looking to go for a gallop on an outride or on a surface you are not super familiar with, check the ground carefully before you begin. Uneven terrain or terrain with holes is not suitable for galloping.

To encourage your pony to gallop, go into light seat canter and squeeze with your legs to encourage your pony to pick up the pace! You will know if your pony is galloping as you will feel him flatten out underneath you and really go up a gear.

To bring your pony back from gallop to canter and then trot, sit gently in the saddle and use your seat and voice to slow him down. You may also need to squeeze on the reins gently.

NOTE: Use a neck strap for the first few times you gallop to give you something to hold on to for balance.

Note

For your safety, you need to be able to bring your pony down a pace easily and quickly, so when you’re considering trying a gallop, practise lots of transitions beforehand to make sure your pony is ‘on the aids’ and listening to you.