So what's the correct position you should ride in xc?

[wench]

After having been to a pc ode at the weekend, kinda got me wondering.

Pretty much all of the riders were sitting in the saddle between each jumps. That's not to say they were sat in the saddle like a dressage seat, so of them would have had less weight in the saddle.

However I have always been under the impression that when riding xc, you should have your arse out of the saddle when covering the ground, and then reposition arse in saddle when approaching the jump. This is always what I do anyway.

Any thoughts?

 

[Lolo]

I think, with the younger classes of PC definitely, standing for the entire round is a lot for young legs. Evan at 11/12 that takes a lot of strength that children tend not to have. So a lot will adopt a semi-two point where they are just out of the saddle to make it easier.

With adults/ older teenagers, out of the saddle. Air not properly visible really, but they should be off the horse's back between fences IMO.

 

[Rosiefan]

Quite a few ponies (and some horses) are lazy little gits and have to be 'kicked' round the course so I guess you have to sit down to do that. I agree with Lolo though, you wouldn't necessarily expect to be able to see daylight under the rider's bum anyway, especially with more experienced people - they're not race riding.

 

[wench]

There were about five "younger" children in the class and the rest were all older teenagers or adults. Most of these looked quite "green".

 

[SpottedCat]

Well, there's 'correct' and then there's riding to suit the horse! So whilst I can do a course in 2 point, I doubt very much I will when my youngster does her first course - anywhere that has a lot for her to look at will require me to ride her softly but with some backup, and being out of the saddle isn't always the way to achieve that.

 

[kerilli]

the rider shouldn't have weight hard down on the back between fences, certainly. the 'sit up but not down' mantra is a good one. i hate to see riders thumping on horse's back. sitting up/down on final approach to fences is different of course.
the exact between-fences position varies, especially due to rider's individual build and size/height/weight. Some just stand up in their stirrups, legs straight (Andrew Nicholson is the expert proponent at this), the horse gallops as if they are not there. (he kicks, too, without putting his backside down!)
Some riders have a slightly more concertina'd position between fences, they ride shorter and have stronger angles at knee and ankle (Zara Phillips for e.g.) It's whatever works for them... as long as they let the horse canter/gallop unimpeded. I've seen the 'sit bolt upright and bang on the saddle every single stride' at 1* level. disgusting.

 

[TarrSteps]

We are talking about young children, right? So inexperienced, not very strong, light and likely to be mounted on not particularly speedy animals. Generally children don't make great role models.

I find it's useful for people to have a visual for position, to imagine what it feels like to ride a certain way. I often recommend they find a video or photo of a to rider with a similar body shape that really shows what they are looking to improve on and use that as an ideal. Watching is helpful, of course - I have lots of snippets of 'internal' video, including a girl I saw the other day galloping with a particularly polished position - but recorded stuff is better for detail as you can refer back.

of course there are also a range of correct xc positions depending on circumstances. I would say they all stem from a good, secure lower leg though, so that's the place to start.

 

[wench]

TS... There were about five children in the class... All of whom rode very nicely, and not sat with all their weight in the saddles.

 

[TarrSteps]

Ah, okay. My mistake!

To some extent my comments still apply though. This topic comes up regularly. At that level many people simply do not ride very well so you can't really draw conclusions about what you 'should' do. Look to Mark, Tina, Andrew, Jock, Zara etc for standards.

I suspect there are many reasons for less than ideal riding at the level you mention, ranging from not knowing to not being able to to not caring. I suspect everyone knows they SHOULD be able to canter in a light seat for the duration of their course but if the motivation to do so has to come from the individual.

 

[Swirlymurphy]

TS... There were about five children in the class... All of whom rode very nicely, and not sat with all their weight in the saddles.

I have to say that, having spent Sunday in XC control at PC Area eventing, we saw a higher standard of riding than at normal BE 80/90 levels! We came to the conclusion that it was because at PC, they generally have far more regular tuition. And at BE, you can usually tell those who have come up through PC.