What do you like and dislike about your riding?

I also dont like my hands. I am always paranoid Im letting them lean on me. And the fact that I can lean forward sometimes (even though I think Im sitting bolt upright!).

Good wise, I think I have a secure seat XC and somehow keep my horses confident jumping (teaching babies to jump etc. had always been easy) as it is extremely rare for them to have stops.
 
Plus points:.. it takes ALOT to get me off, and i think i install confidance in young horses and they all seem to jump for me, i have VERY strong legs, and am able to wrap them round anything! which adds to the horse feeling secure and safe underneath me.

Bad points:.. dressage dressage dressage dressage!!!!! i can't do it, simple as!! those strong legs (in a jumping or racing saddle) suddenly become weak USELESS things that just hang down in a dressage saddle!!
I know what i want to achieve, but can't seem to do it!!
I know what i want my legs to do, but they wont do it!!
I tip forwards, hunch my shoulders, and can't keep my hands still!!
 
I dislike my hands/elbows/arms really - very tense and it's something I'm constantly having to work on.

Hunched back and shoulders - am a victim of tall rider syndrome really.

And the worst thing - confidence. It holds me back so much even over little things. And in the past, just as I've got it up to a good level of self belief, primarily through some fantastic instructors, I'll do something, or get put on a horse that I dont feel comfortable with & I'm knocked back 20 steps in the space of 3mins. It is more so on jumping than flatwork - get me within 30metres of the jump field and I tense up, and stop riding from that point onwards. And because I don't have any confidence, plus the fact I can be a perfectionist, I get so worked up that I can't do something - I end up in a vicious circle
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Good points - get results from some of the more lazy ponies and enjoy winding them up/working them forwards.
 
Bad- I'm squint, have to concentrate very hard on keeping my pelvis (and thus shoulders) level.
- I revert to quite a defensive position without realising it, body forwards, heels too far down.
- my hands could certainly be better, they're not appalling but plenty of room for refinement!
Good- riding fowards on the flat, getting tense horses to stretch and soften and I keep trying! ( do often look silly while I'm working out how best to avoid being mashed)
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well i HATE !! with a passion my lack of confidence .... i used to be soooo confident and positive ... and now i have lost it all ...the good thing is im working on it with the help of my trainer .
 
like the fact that I can get on pretty much any horse and quickly get a tune out of it.

don't like that my lower back isn't strong enough after I injured it about 2 years ago meaning I can't sit and hold horses together through my back as much as I would like.
 
I hate my position, not a sypmathy post but I do. Until now, I never stuck with more than one instructor, so at least now I am improving. My legs are my worst now, and my back, but I'm most happy with my hands as I wouldn't say they are hard, but do need to bring them up every now and again. They most certainly aren't great, and I also tend to curl my wrists (hence SERIOUSLY achey back afterwards..!)
I also need to lengthen my stirrups, I put them down pretty low on the weekend and WOW I felt so unbalanced, which isn't good.
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I need a position makeover, and Chloe is NOT the horse to do this on, but we are perservering.
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My left side! Its awful, and if I'm not careful I slouch to the left too! On the plus side - my boy is worse on the right rein so we just about balance each other out...

and as much as I try not too, I curl my wrists too :-(
 
My hands alway tend to be too low and even if I'm reminded regularly they slowly creep back down!

Also keeping the horse slow and in a rhythm round a course-At a show for the first class and the jumpoff i tend to be fine but by the thrid round I don't slow them up enough and we tend to go on some flyers
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! Get a bit onward bound oops!
 
My lack of confidence, and how I can forget things so easily!! Also a rather inconsistent rider.
Legs dont 'work' properly, and balance all off since I broke my ankle and my foot (oppsite feet). I do tip forward, but from 5 years of having a 34HH chest its no wonder!

I get so frustrated as I know I have let myself become rather rubbish! Ive gone from a 13yr old training dressage horses to having a normal horse who I was convinced was a psycho, but it was only beacuse I was too scared and it was scaring him!
 
Unless everything goes just tickety boo when I ride I get really disheartened, start analysing what I am doing wrong, what I suddenly CANT do - and poof it spirals from there!

We all go through stages, I [hopefully] am just coming out of one. All you need to do is enjoy your riding and not worry so much.

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I have a nasty tendancy to concentrate on one thing and forget what the rest of my limbs are doing! If I focus on keeping my outside hand firm and my inside loose and spongey then my poor legs start dangling around and if I focus on my legs I get piano players fingers...grrrrr
 
I get complimented for being a very quiet and sympathetic rider, most horses like me and go well but I can get a bit stuck in my comfort zone and take a lot of pushing to really ride to get the best out of a horse.
It's my main problem with dressage really- I'll ride a nice accurate, quiet test but wont push enough for the higher marks. Jumping however I've had to learn to be determined- I've ridden a lot of cr*p and so getting from A to B is the most important thing!!

Oh and my left leg is weaker than my right, I can do too much in the air over fences I tend to be a little defensive in my position rather than attacking
 
I have a lot of problems with the right side of my body which worries me because I'm not totally straight all the time
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My right foot turns out more than the left, and apparently sometimes my seat slips to the right, and I can't feel this happening.

I can't go riding more than once a week, and I don't think they do lunge lessons so I don't know how to combat this problem.

Plus I tend to relax TOO much when a horse starts to go nicely.

But I get good work out of most of the horses I ride, so I assume I must be ok in some areas.
 
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