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.

By Jennifer Mellace

Riding 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.

“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 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

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 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

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

stability to follow and guide the horse’s movements and to avoid giving unintended or conflicting signals.

“We loosely think of core muscles as just the core,” says Clayton. “But we must include the muscles that attach a rider’s arms and legs—the sling muscles—as part of the core because they control what happens between the pelvis and the leg muscles.”

As the study authors explain in their report, the pelvis is moved and stabilized by the core musculature, which connects the pelvis to the trunk; and by the extrinsic leg muscles, which affect the position and movements of the pelvis relative to the thighs. Many equestrians cross-train using exercise programs that purport to strengthen the core muscles needed

From equestrian-biomechanics expert Susanne von Dietze, here are three simple yet effective exercises to help dressage riders develop that all-important pelvic mobility and control. You’ll work your core, hone your balance, and develop a better connection with your horse. 1. Sink and grow. Sitting in a chair or on a mounting block, allow your upper body to become very relaxed, sinking down in the seat and rounding your spine slightly with your head still aligned above your pelvis. From that very relaxed position, start gradually growing taller until you are at your tallest possible position. As you do this, imagine that the tension in your body is increasing like a scale with eight levels, similar to an octave in music.

Now gradually shrink back to your lowest and most relaxed position. Then find your “comfort” position: This varies from person to person, but it should be more toward the middle of the two extremes. Note that in both extreme positions—either very slouchy and relaxed or stiff and upright—elasticity and balance are not possible. 2. Arch and curl. The seat bones are not just points; they are shaped like the runners of a sleigh, and you can shift the weight on them forward and back. When you sit on a chair or in the saddle, you should be able to feel your seat bones. Experiment with angling your pelvis so that your weight shifts first to the front of your seat bones, then to the rear, toward your tailbone. Feel how shifting the weight forward leads to an arch in your spine (arched position), whereas shifting the weight rearward causes your lower back and shoulders to round (curled position). As you alternately arch and curl, find the balanced middle point (sometimes referred to as neutral spine). When you ride, from this balanced pelvic position you need to be able to momentarily arch or curl at any time in order to adjust your balance to your horse’s movement or to influence him. 3. Walking seat bones. Sit on a wooden chair, a mounting block, or some other hard, level surface. Imagine that your seat bones are your feet. Shift your weight onto one seat bone, and lift the other one slightly off the chair. Move the lifted seat bone a “step” forward; then shift your weight again and move the opposite seat bone. Alternately lifting and “stepping,” “walk” your seat bones to the front edge of the chair and back again. Feel whether you find it easier to move forward or backward. Notice how much your upper body has to sway to the side to be able to lift one seat bone, and compare the two sides. This exercise promotes awareness and control over pelvic weight shifts while also mobilizing your hip joints and lower back.

Three Awareness Exercises

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SINK AND GROW: Balance in Movement author and biomechanics expert Susanne von Dietze demonstrates the first awareness exercise. Notice how the scarf she’s holding changes from slack to taut as she alters her sitting posture from slouchy and relaxed (1), to stiffly upright (2), to to comfortably erect (3).

WALK YOUR SEAT BONES: From an even sitting position, Von Dietze shifts her weight onto her left seat bone and “walks” her right seat bone backward (1), back to center (2), and forward (3)

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ARCH AND CURL: Feel how altering your pelvic angle changes where your seat bones are weighted. An arched back weights the front of the seat bones (1). A neutral spine centers the weight atop the seat bones (2). A pelvic tuck (curl) shifts the weight rearward and causes the lower back and the shoulders to round (3).

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THE FOUNDATION: Using a skeleton model, biomechanics expert Susanne von Dietze demonstrates correct spinal and pelvic alignment. Note that the seat bones are not “points” but rather shaped like runners on a sled that can rock forward and backward.

for riding, but little is known about whether such regimens actually help riders to improve their performance in the saddle.

One authority who’s dubious about the benefits of traditional corestrengthening work for dressage is author and equestrian-biomechanics expert Susanne von Dietze (Rider & Horse Back to Back; Balance in Movement).

“The pelvis is a complex thing,” says von Dietze. “It’s important to understand that if the pelvis moves, it also makes a movement in the lower back and in the hip joint. There is no pelvis movement without creating movement in the lower back and the hips. It’s a functional unit.”

When you sit in the saddle, the horse’s movement likewise moves your pelvis with every step—which is why your hips and lower back need to be mobile, as well. If the hips lack mobility, then “the whole leg will swing forward and back because the hip is tight. If the hip is tight, the rider has to compromise and move more in the back, and then the hips get tighter,” von Dietze explains. Stabilize to Mobilize

It might seem counterintuitive to say that riders need to develop core and hip stability in order to promote mobility, but von Dietze says that’s exactly what has to happen.

Core stability, she explains, isn’t just about strengthening muscles, but also about developing coordination and connection among the ligaments, tendons, and fascia (connective tissue) that surround the core muscles. Tightening and “crunching” the core are the wrong approach; the resulting rigidity not only tamps down and restricts the horse’s movement, but it also causes the muscles to fatigue and the fascia to become looser. Once again, the objective is less about strength and more about stability, which is the basis from which the rider can learn to stay in harmony with the horse and to influence the horse’s movements with the seat.

“How come all these women are winning against men?” von Dietze says. “Because it’s not about strength. How your body moves and connects with the horse is the important thing. For me, it’s a mix of rhythm, which would be the timing; balancing and keeping everything open; and suppleness, which would be the ‘volume control’ of your tension. I sometimes talk about tone instead of suppleness—that you have the right tone in your muscles.” Less Strength, More Awareness Both Clayton and von Dietze believe that developing awareness and understanding of seat-bone positioning, and of how the horse moves, is infinitely more valuable than doing a handful of exercises over and over again.

“It’s more important to get on the horse and take the first five minutes on a long rein, and ask yourself and your horse how you each feel and what you need to do to feel better for that one ride,” von Dietze says. “You need to become more sentient with your riding, [to acquire] the wisdom of what to do and how to do it.”

Clayton often sees riders who possess strong core muscles but who don’t use those muscles properly in the saddle.

“You must learn to use the core in harmony with the horse, and that’s where a good trainer comes into play,” she says. “I think you can do things in the gym to strengthen the muscles, but it comes down to getting on the horse and using the muscles correctly, and [having] the right person on the ground watching you and the horse to make sure you are correct and that the rider isn’t blocking the horse.”

As she did in her many years as McPhail Chairholder at Michigan State University, Clayton strives to unlock the secrets to equine and equestrian athleticism and performance through scientific research. And as much as she’s learned, she’s aware that many discoveries await.

“We are only beginning to get a clue to what is important” in developing the ability to ride well, Clayton says. “We don’t ride all day; we do other things, too. General strength, flexibility, and cardio should be a part of your daily life. But if you’re a rider, pelvic mobility and the ability to control it are important.”

Thanks to Trafalgar Square Books (HorseAndRiderBooks.com) for permission to reprint photos from Susanne von Dietze’s book, Balance in Movement. Photos by Thomas Lehmann.

Jennifer Mellace is a published author who writes about topics ranging from health and wellness to lifestyle and business. She lives in Frederick, Maryland, with her husband, two children, and three dogs. Visit her website at MellaceWrites.com.