Tips for a graceful sitting trot

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~Howrse~Mad~

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I love my boys forward thinking fast trot, which is very bouncy and i need tips to sit to his stride and pace elegantly, i have watched several youtube videos, and it seems that non stirrup work is the main factor, as well as starting at a slow trot and building up the speed, any other tips besides from practise, practise, practise? Thanks :)
 
its all in the hips/ lower back :) lean back ever so slightly and use your lower back as a kind of spring like you do with your elbows in rising trot so it should be your hips moving with the up and down motion while your upper body remains still :) dont lean forward as you will just bounce everywhere and dont tense your back you have to relax and get rhythm with the horse if you tense you will just bounce. keep your legs relaxed and start at a jog/ slow trot and build up to a working trot :)
 
No stirrups :) and I think it can be helpful if you can get someone to lunge you. You can really focus on the movement and relaxing then, making sure there is no tension. Bouncy is difficult though!
 
StormyMoments said:
its all in the hips/ lower back :) lean back ever so slightly and use your lower back as a kind of spring like you do with your elbows in rising trot so it should be your hips moving with the up and down motion while your upper body remains still :) dont lean forward as you will just bounce everywhere and dont tense your back you have to relax and get rhythm with the horse if you tense you will just bounce. keep your legs relaxed and start at a jog/ slow trot and build up to a working trot :)
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and remember to smile and take 2 pain relief tablets before the lesson or test if you are old and stiff like me !!
 
My tip: Dont do it!!
Iv heard from a few top eventers and a top dressage judge to never sit to trot unless it is required at the level you compete at! Much better to rise for both you and the horse.

Of course if you have to, then the main thing I would say is relax! Keep lower legs as relaxed as possible and dont tense up
 
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The best tip I got was to control your breathing so you don't end up purple and passed out after a few rounds

but like the others have said just do little bits and build it up :) no stirrups work is also a good thing to do but don't overdo it just take your time
 
tobiano said:
Genuine question... do you mean do belly dancing to build up suppleness or literally belly dance whilst on the horse?!
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My belly dances regardless of where it is !!! How about a lunge lesson, I think it took a good week for my friend to get over this session. Obviously our horse is capable of this type of work, please don't attempt it on a horse that has not been schooled for mounted lunge work.
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snooples said:
My tip: Dont do it!!
Iv heard from a few top eventers and a top dressage judge to never sit to trot unless it is required at the level you compete at! Much better to rise for both you and the horse.

Of course if you have to, then the main thing I would say is relax! Keep lower legs as relaxed as possible and dont tense up
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That is absolutely ridiculous! Just shows how awful most event dressage riding is; all you need to do is have a properly supple back and swing the hips (easier said than done to judge by most tests I see). Nonsense: get a proper instructor.
 
~Howrse~Mad~ said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pP_hNjjOvU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WfEjdk0gKs&list=PL9340E2CF89BD079C
How do you get your position like this, any tips, exercises.? Thanks
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Lessons with a good instructor. I thought this rider looked a little braced against the movement, if you watch Carl or Charlotte they both go with the horse in a softer more flexible manner. If you mention the area you are based in someone will suggest an excellent trainer for you.
 
Cortez said:
That is absolutely ridiculous! Just shows how awful most event dressage riding is; all you need to do is have a properly supple back and swing the hips (easier said than done to judge by most tests I see). Nonsense: get a proper instructor.
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This. And what kind of dressage judge would say that I don't know - are they suggesting that you should rise to the Piaffe?
 
Relax through your pelvis and almost thrust to the paces, not quite but be totally fluid and drop your legs.
 
the amount of people i have seen bouncing around awfully in sitting trot when they could be rising is ridiculous, do you still think these people should sit to trot
 
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snooples said:
It was a judge judging an international event competition and clearly if your riding piaffe then your at a level where sitting trot is compulasry!!

Most people cant sit to trot properly and therefore if the level they compete at doesnt require it then why do it
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With that mentality no body would ever learn - I was doing sitting trot before I was 10yrs old and as a result it is a very easy and natural thing for me to do now and I can use it to give clear seat aids to a horse rather than just concentrating on trying to stay in the saddle. I certainly wouldn't want the first time I sat to the trot to be when I was trying to school a horse at medium level. Most riding schools teach it as a matter of course.
 
Don't be lazy. Learn to sit to trot properly, find a decent classical trainer, do simulator lessons or get someone to lunge you with no stirrups or reins. If your going to ride a horse, at least learn to do it well.
 
Sitting trot needs you to absorb both up and down and lateral motion of your horse's back. It's important to work on stability of your upper body (for which work without stirrups is great), mobility of hip joints (pilates ball exercises or any well adjusted routine by physio should help if you are tight in your hips/hip flexors). Don't just relax, you will simply flop about if you do so, certain amount of muscle tension is necessary to match that of the horse and vice versa but you need to keep your joints relaxed (ankles, knees and hip joints).
I have written a blog post about it case studying a rider who tends to hold with her knees during sitting trot so if you have similar problem feel free to have a look here: http://aspireequestrian.wordpress.c...uly-get-it-or-improve-it-if-you-dont-feel-it/
 
Agree with what everyone has said :) Practise with no stirrups and at a steady trot and build it up. Also remember it's a forward and back motion rather than an up and down one. My horse has a jackhammer trot and it's taken ages to learn to sit gracefully to it!
 
Many moons ago while training for bhs exams a friend of mine on the same lesson was struggling to get a medium trot without stirrups. Instructor was a fantastic old school dragon type and getting more irate with her.
Just as she was about to set off down the long side I circled round inside her and said just think about Jean Claude Van Damme! ( told you it was a long time ago, you younger ones will have to google him) anyway she set off down the long side in the most fantastic medium trot ever, it was hilarious!
The point being, if you are not free in your hips and lower back no one enjoys it! :-)
 
But how do you tense your abs, and relax and straighten your back, wont you tense up by doing that, and how do you go forward and back rather than up and down, because as one seat bone goes forward the other comes back how do make them work like that? "f you let your hip joints “give in” on alternate sides in sitting trot, picture the seat bones massaging your horse’s back, one at a time, not both “driving” together…"
 
Practise!! It look me ages to learn to lift with my stomach and carry my hands without tensing my shoulders. Like I said, yoga helps, as it helps you feel when muscles are relaxed and when they are not.
 
snooples said:
My tip: Dont do it!!
Iv heard from a few top eventers and a top dressage judge to never sit to trot unless it is required at the level you compete at!
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I've never heard that in my life.

OP when I trot, I do so almost exclusively sitting, regardless of whether I'm riding western or English. I have a very relaxed and secure seat and I'm totally at home in sitting trot; whether that be western on my quarter horses or English on my WBs and TBs. Rising trot is fine too but sitting is easily my preferred way of trotting. I'm not sure how to explain how though. My stomach muscles are taut and my back is always relaxed and loose so it moves with the horse rather than being rigid and you kind of go with the horse's movement if you know what I mean. My body doesn't fight against the horse's movement, it works with it.
 
Stick a 2 year old child on a horse and watch.

Seriously, I was amazed at how my grandson as a toddler moved naturally with the horse, his bum didn't leave the saddle. Completely fluid and relaxed. I was quite envious (and took notes !)
 
Sorry, haven't had time to read all replies but make opportunities to ride bareback. That's what we always used to do, fetching ponies in from the field, moving horses around, dealing with poor fitting saddles, and I can sit better than I can post (rise) a lot of the time. As others have said relax your back and lean slightly back - works bareback too with the added proviso that if you don't, you'll get it wrong and slide (dis)gracefully off!
 
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