Jumping with bum in or out of the saddle?

Firewell

Firewell

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Personally I think there is more than one way to skin a cat but does jumping in a light or point two seat really help?
I like sitting when I'm cantering around jumping, I think it's from the days of being a kid and having a naughty pony where if my bum wasn't in the saddle and my shoulders not back I was on the floor.
Now its a habit and I feel I can keep my canter better this way.
If someone tells me to ride in a light seat my canter goes flat and I can't see a stride. I can see how it can help soften the horses back but I don't feel comfortable showjumping like this and it's irritating me.
XC is different, obviously I gallop in a light seat and then I sit up on approach but I still have to sit up and back.
Thoughts?
 
fwiw I do the same as you unless its a hedge or something that requires little to no setting up on a xc course? In those instances I just keep my leg on and dont worry about strides or distances. I think a lot of it depends on the horse, there are some who you can ride in a light seat and they dont change shape/tempo whatsoever and just sort themselves out - others need a bit more help and riding, mine being one of them!
 
Horses for courses. Personally, I've been taught to jump light seat and therefore it's what I'm used to and how I ride best- some trainers have since tried to make me sit down and it feels alien!
If you are balanced and supple it shouldn't really matter which you do.
 
I'm the opposite to you. Jump mainly from a light seat and get irritated I can't sit in the saddle better. Don't Americans tend to jump in a light seat? I think you a more secure sitting in the saddle if things go wrong though which is why I get frustrated but you've got to do what feels best for you.
 
Thanks! I did think it was horses for courses. Yes they do ride light here but I was told to raise out of the saddle in England as well.
I had a lesson this morning and kept being told to lighten my seat between fences and round corners and I did it but then coming into the fence I sat back and couldn't see my stride until much later than normal :/.
I think I'm not used to it...
 
Firewell said:
Thanks! I did think it was horses for courses. Yes they do ride light here but I was told to raise out of the saddle in England as well.
I had a lesson this morning and kept being told to lighten my seat between fences and round corners and I did it but then coming into the fence I sat back and couldn't see my stride until much later than normal :/.
I think I'm not used to it...
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It might be that your feel for impulsion, speed and movement as a whole is much better in full seat. I think it is useful to train both styles, the more you ride in light seat the more you "read" the movement through your knees and lower leg rather than your seat bones and your feel improves.

In your case, it sounds like you simply need more practice :)
 
I used to have two Novice eventers. One jumped from a light seat best, and one from a normal seat. It may also depend on the horse.
 
I agree it is totally dependent on the horse which is why it's useful to train both styles :) However, in most cases, I find that it's the rider who finds certain horses easier or more difficult to ride in either seat. When both seats are very good, most horses adapt well.

I do personally like American style a lot, it's light and let's the horse travel well in between the jumps but it was adapted to the type of horses they rode when system developed (a lot of TB blood). Heavier, more powerful horses sometimes need more control/more riding so full seat definitely is useful with them.
 
Agree it depends on the horse, I use to jump in a light seat with my last horse and when my instructor wanted the bum in the saddle with a different one it took me a while to get use to it. Now I know I would struggle to suddenly change to a light seat........the joys of being a one horse rider I guess!
 
My tb mare needs sitting into and 'pushing' a lot more into fences, not to go any faster,but to keep a deep seat to add impulsion. Where as the chestnut mare on my pic is very hot,and i ride her in a light seat. She bucks a lot when jumping so it makes them easier to sit haha. She also has a huge jump, so if i ride heavy and miss her, well that makes a very stroppy chestnut mare to say the least. :)
 
I'm learning to ride in the hunter style. I hate having to keep my hip angle closed but my shoulders up. I don't understand how you can do that without tensing your lower back (I get yelled at a lot for that, so I know I'm doing it incorrectly) which then seriously hurts. How do they do it?! I simply can't understand the mechanics of it, unless I completely relax and just sit pretty, which is fine on the nice school masters who know their job, but I wouldn't want to school a young horse. And this idea of not changing position in the air... I'm fine until the horse pops in a big jump then I lose my position and my instincts kick in and I sit up, which annoys the horses as they're not used to it. I find it so much easier to stay with the horse when you have to move with the horse.

The only good thing I'm finding about having to jump in light seat is that I have to be a lot more secure in my lower leg, which is my biggest issue riding. Whilst I doubt I'll keep such extreme weight in my heel when I go back to riding my horses, it is a good discipline to have.

I'm sure it's because I grew up with it, but sitting into a fence makes so much more sense!
 
I also think it very much depends on the rider's physique. I think if you are long backed its easy to feel unbalanced in a light seat whereas if you have a shorter back its more natural. If you look at the really tall German riders they often sit more but riders like Beezie Madden (shorter frame an American) ride in a lighter seat.
 
I guess, it's what you and your horse are used to. I can't ride worth toffee out of the saddle and my horse says, "Huh? Where did the seat aids go?"
 
I find it so much easier to jump in a light seat! But have to concentrate not to get my shoulders in front of the horse.
Its easier to allow them to lift from any stride if you are already out of the saddle, if I sit down i find I am riding for strides all the time instead of riding a forward canter and the rhythm in a light seat (which tends to bring the strides better anyway!!)
I think its whatever you are used to, and what the horse is used to and suited to- its harder to ride a less forward horse in a light seat as you feel you are getting in front of them and its harder to create the impulsion, however my instructor would say your impulsion and 'ideal' canter should have been created before you started jumping anyway!
 
GreyCoast said:
I'm learning to ride in the hunter style. I hate having to keep my hip angle closed but my shoulders up. I don't understand how you can do that without tensing your lower back (I get yelled at a lot for that, so I know I'm doing it incorrectly) which then seriously hurts. How do they do it?! I simply can't understand the mechanics of it, unless I completely relax and just sit pretty, which is fine on the nice school masters who know their job, but I wouldn't want to school a young horse.
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You can hollow your lower back a bit, try just cantering in 2 points you should feel that the hollowing of lower back helps to follow the movement, keep bum above saddle and weight in your legs with heels down.
 
sportsmansB said:
I find it so much easier to jump in a light seat! But have to concentrate not to get my shoulders in front of the horse.
Its easier to allow them to lift from any stride if you are already out of the saddle, if I sit down i find I am riding for strides all the time instead of riding a forward canter and the rhythm in a light seat (which tends to bring the strides better anyway!!)
I think its whatever you are used to, and what the horse is used to and suited to- its harder to ride a less forward horse in a light seat as you feel you are getting in front of them and its harder to create the impulsion, however my instructor would say your impulsion and 'ideal' canter should have been created before you started jumping anyway!
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Yep, same for me and probably why I am fairly useless on horses that aren't forward going.
 
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