Are males naturally better riders because.....

[Orangehorse]

Men have 30% more muscle strength too. There was an article about this called "Who is Built Best to Ride?" by Dr. Deb Bennett, but I can't really remember what the outcome was.

 

[Orangehorse]

Oops, meant to add ..

If we are talking about competition riders, then I think men ARE more competitive and also if they are not getting good results they will move onto something else. Also lots of women are supported by fathers and husbands, whereas men will be supporting themselves probably, so have to get result. This is a WILD generalisation I realise, but if you notice that although in most equestrian sport there are probably more women than men competiting, at the VERY top it is pretty even between men and women.

 

[Apercrumbie]

This is a WILD generalisation I realise, but if you notice that although in most equestrian sport there are probably more women than men competiting, at the VERY top it is pretty even between men and women.

This is the point I was going to make. When I did PC, there were about 5 boys in a PC of well over 100. At the top it's roughly 50/50 which makes me think that men must have some form of advantage.

According to Mary Wanless, what helps them hugely is that they naturally have about 30% more muscle than women so when men "relax", they have far more muscles still engaged than a woman when she is relaxed. Core strength is such a huge part of riding and men naturally have more of it. Whether this makes up for the huge disparity between the bottom and the top I don't know. IMO men are more competetive - a woman is more likely to be happy competing and having fun at lower levels than a man.

Obviously ignore the huge generalisations.

 

[Seahorse]

My ex boyfriend looked amazing on a horse, he had a position to die for. Shame he was actually a really crap rider..

 

[TarrSteps]

I have often wondered this too! (What would the social reasons be, though?)

As for the OP, I remember that Hubertus Schmidt once said at a clinic that men have naturally better seats because of the difference of a man's and a woman's pelvis.

I also remember seeing ads on Dressage Today advertising dressage saddles specifically designed for female riders (I think Heike Kemmer was the celebrity starring in their ads).

Two reasons spring to mind. One, boys who are "different" have, traditionally at least, had less to lose/more to gain by participating in non-mainstream sports. I'd wager they'd be more likely to find open acceptance and encouragement in the horse world, relative to say, playing football or hockey. Because of the other factors discussed, they are also probably more likely to excel, or at least be favoured. Certainly in my Pony Club and similar experiences boys were a "big deal" and there seemed to be quite a lot of effort put into keeping them interested.

I also think, in the US showjumping world, at least, there have been some very powerful and influential gay men in the sport in the last 40 years. I don't think they necessarily consciously encourage young gay men (although one at least used to be quite outspoken about how men were naturally better riders) but young people, especially young people who may feel marginalised, are naturally drawn to people "like them" in power because they can more easily see themselves in the same position. Which wouldn't necessarily entice boys to the sport in the first place (and may, in fact influence some straight boys out of the sport, particularly in the US), but would certainly influence which ones stayed the course in adolescence.

On the pelvis issue, effectively men have "parallel" seat bone, with the thigh hanging more or less straight, while women (for obvious reasons) have seat bones which are wider in the front of the pelvis and thighs which hang at the same angle. Obviously there are wide differences within the sexes and training and conditioning can develop the ability to ride with a flat inner thigh in women, but the traditionally correct position is simply easier for more men. As time has marched on though, there's been some debate about whether or not this seat is REALLY more effective or is it just what we've been taught is "right". This is a bigger issue in dressage, where the ability to lay the leg relaxed and flat, and to flow through the pelvis is essential, but obviously there are many women who get this done successfully!

I think Albion made a "female friendly" saddle line as well, although I'm not sure they still do.