Rider The Key to a Better Seat New research shows: If you want to ride better, you might want to dust off that hula hoop. Here’s why.
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iding doesn’t require brute strength, but most dressage enthusiasts nowadays understand that an independent seat and correct equitation require core strength—well-toned muscles in the trunk, from waist to knees, and especially in the abdominals. Recently, however, researchers have identified what they say is the real key to that harmonious, beautiful, effortless-looking seat we all aspire to: pelvic mobility and control.
which factor or factors are most highly correlated with the ability to sit well and to ride in harmony. Their findings, published in February 2021 in the MDPI Journal Animals, show that although core strength remains an important fundamental, pelvic mobility—and control of that mobility—are paramount. “There are sophisticated studies showing that the timing between the horse and rider needs to be synchronized,” Clayton explains. “If horse
THE DRESSAGE SEAT: Supple hips are needed to keep the pelvis in the ideal middle position so that the base of the rider’s seat can establish the best contact with the saddle
“The single most important thing is the rider’s pelvis, and the ability to control it and follow the horse’s movement with precise timing and not tamp down the horse’s movement,” says equine veterinarian, renowned biomechanics researcher, and accomplished dressage rider Hilary M. Clayton, BVMS, PhD, Dipl. ACVSMR, FRCVS. Along with colleagues Mette Uldahl and Janne W. Christensen, Clayton conducted a study of experienced riders, with the aim of determining
and rider are well-coordinated, they move as one in sitting trot. If the rider is slightly out of time, you can see it. Synchronicity is a really important part.”
Methodology The study evaluated riders’ performance of exercises on a gymnastic ball, their equestrian skills, and indicators of stress in the horses they rode. Twenty experienced riders each performed three exercises on the ball, and videos of their riding were
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assessed for quality and harmony. To gauge the horses’ performance and stress levels, their heart rates during riding and their post-ride levels of the hormone cortisol (which is released during stress) were measured, as were the number of “conflict behaviors” (such as bucking, kicking, head-tossing, and tail-wringing) exhibited while under saddle. What the researchers found was that a rider’s ability to roll the pelvis from side to side on the exercise ball was highly correlated with both the ability to circle the pelvis on the ball and with quality and harmony during riding. Interestingly, although riders need to be able to balance in the saddle without hanging onto the reins for support, those who showed the greatest ability to roll the pelvis on the ball and who demonstrated the most harmonious equitation skills were actually less adept at a balancing exercise: Sitting upright on the ball with their arms extended, the riders were asked to lift their feet off the ground and to attempt to balance for 30 seconds. In other words, the ability to actively move the pelvis is more relevant to equestrian performance than static balancing skill. In addition, horses whose riders demonstrated increased pelvic mobility and control showed significantly fewer conflict behaviors. What’s more, high scores for balancing on the gymnastic ball were negatively correlated with the horses’ working heart rates, suggesting a less-energetic performance.
There’s More to the Core Don’t stop your Pilates sessions, though. Dressage riders need core
THOMAS LEHMANN/COURTESY OF TRAFALGAR SQUARE BOOKS
By Jennifer Mellace
