chair seat

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Rexie

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12 June 2015
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I just wondered if the chair seat is ever a correct position for some disciplines? I see a lot of riders positioned like this and thought maybe I am missing something in terms of the requirements for hunting/cross country/jumping. I'm getting back into riding and only working in the school at the moment and to be honest I really don't remember much of how I used to jump :)
 
Drop fences XC and in the hunting field it is de rigeur! Always better to be behind the movement rather than in front. Check out any picture of Lucinda Green XC if you require confirmation....she weren't too bad XC!! :D
 
Thanks for responding :) I thought there must be something in it as it's so prevalent. The forum is playing up for me...can't see most pages apart from this one. Anyone else having issues?
 
It's not really correct, but is quite a secure place to be! It's better to choose safety over style I guess, especially for XC and hunting.
 
I dont know whether there is any irony here in OPs posts. I am an old lady and learned to ride late in life. There was no way I was ever going to look like a textbook picture of a rider and most of the photos of me on a horse show what I imagine is the despised chair seat. Unless I am bareback when one's legs hang further forward in the groove behind the shoulder.

I am comfortable sitting on horses. The slowest Rs horses seem to go forward happilly for me. Through my seat bones, I feel what the hind legs are doing and the horse similarly feels whatever it is I want it to do.
Photos of my grandfather riding and his head groom show similar.

Would one of you like to explain what is so very terrible about a chair seat?
 
Skib, what do you mean irony? I've only recently become aware of the term through researching how I should position myself. Since I've been thinking about position, it's hard not to notice others positions and I see it quite a lot. I think the reason it isn't recommended for schooling flatwork is to do with your centre of balance and how much of your weight you are holding and how much affects the horses ability to lift his back and work from back to front properly. But I can see how it could be effective outside of the school and I think I have probably done it on hacks in the past when my pony was threatening to bolt (rightly or wrongly).
 
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