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Re: [RC] Riding posture - Karen SullivanI rode bareback for many, many years ,and still do at times. The easiest way to ride was a relaxed position (relaxed rider is always better for the horse; with no gripping)...and so ended up sitting back on my pockets, relaxed and flexible slumped lower back..and legs and feet forward as balance....my horse never had a sore back and I rode for hours at walk, slow trot and canter over rough terrain. Riding down very steep hills i did really lean back and grip with my thighs; up very steep hills I rode in more of a forward seat position with some thigh grip, holding onto mane and leaning up and forward...rest of the time i rode pretty loose The only time i got my body forward and my thighs gripping was to jump, or again, barrel up really steep stuff... Posture is important, but not at the expense of having to grip to stay on, or bouncing on the horse;s back....what they consider bareback equitation in the show ring won't get you very far down the trial...and any time you try to keep your body in any kind of form, you stiffen and can almost squeeze yourself up off the back of the horse...... Having relaxed muscles that allow you body to move totally with the horse is the key, I feel..... Karen On 2/12/09, Rosalie Marley <trailpal@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: A RC friend and I have been talking about rider posture. I realized that I have seen a similar posture in Puerto Rican Speed Racking races (Andadura). These are informal and take place on the street, they are not endurance distances. The horses are Paso Finos doing a speed rack - the speed rack requires a slightly hollow back. And the riders are bare back - no cantle or stirrups to brace against. If you think of the rider's whole body being a teeter totter board, with the seat bones as a fulcrum, they can balance very well front to back. I can't remember seeing anyone really hanging on the mouth causing a gape (although there is pretty good contact). There is not a lot of steering or side to side as these are short street races. The position must work for these riders, as speed seems to be the primary goal. However - these are gaited horses who need a somewhat hollow back for that gait, and they are not going for 100 miles. Youtube has tons of videos - check out "andadura". Here is a sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25ogWbvDjzg&feature=related Please note - I'm not saying this is a right or wrong thing. I'm just pointing out that others use this kind of posture. Rosalie Marley ============== I have the ability of single-minded determination and focu... Hey, look! A horse! ________________________________ Get Free Smileys for Your IM & Email - Learn more at www.crawler.com/smileys Works with AIM(R), MSN(R) Messenger, Yahoo!(R) Messenger, ICQ(R), Google Talk™ and most webmails ---------------------------------- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! ---------------------------------- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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