Hi there, my name is Laura and welcome to another video if it's your first time here. Thank you so much for being here
I really appreciate it
and if you'd like to
Improve your riding and training win more ribbons that you next horse show or generally like other horse related stuff
Then remember to subscribe and hit the bell icon so you don't miss any new information coming out. Today
I'm gonna share with you
Some information on how to get noticed by the judge - in a good way-
For your next equitation class now stick around at the end because I'm going to give you some
Exercises that you can do to help improve your equitation in your riding. The photo today is supplied by Natalie
Thank you so much Natalie for sending in this photograph. Really appreciate it
It's an excellent photograph from the side you'd like to get your own position review
Send me an email ThistleRidge at hotmail.com
What is equitation anyway?
Equitation is your writing ability
Equitation is the way you sit on that horse and the way you will ride
It's a little different than the hunter or the hunter is judging the horse and equitation is judging the rider
It's your style. It's your efficiency and your effectiveness
and your
Security in the saddle not just how you look but it's how effective you are when you're sitting on that horse different than hunter
Because a hunter is a being a junior hunter class pony hunter class novice hunter class
That is judged on the horse
Equitation is judged on the rider
What is your first impression of this rider
and thinking of it as the judge that the judge would see
the judge has two minutes to make a decision and
Eight jumps to make a decision of this rider in an equity ssin class
okay, so you can see here from this photograph that Natalie has her heels right down her lower leg is
secured around the
horses sides and this is really important because that's the number one thing that the judge really wants to see is the rider would have
his heels down or her heels down and
The legs around the horse and I want you to see and take a really good look at the way
This rider has the legs around the horse. There's weight
distributed on their stirrup
but our heels are down and the weight is coming down into our cows with the lower leg around the horse and that's really
Important you don't want to see the heels jammed down and forced down and forward away from the horse
This writer has the lake securely around the horse without pinching with her knee. There's equal
Gripping around her leg around the horses side. There's no one part of her leg or knee gripping more than the other part
that's really important keeping your heels down that's important because
having your heels down is then anchor and the
foundation of your jumping position if your heels aren't down and the weight isn't coming down into your calf that just means that you're not
Secure in the saddle. So what's your first impression of this rider?
Does she look secure. Does she look like she knows what she's doing?
put it in the comments below what your first impression of
this rider is
You can see by this rider too that she's got her eyes up
Looking forward to the next job
so this riders looking forward looking towards her next jump looking towards the
corner that she's going through and that having your eyes up is really important because the horse can
Feel whether you're looking
Right or were they looking to the left even though you may not
Realize it but when you turn your head you shift your weight
Slightly in the Sun and the horse can feel that so keeping your head up looking straight looking where the horse is going
looking where you want to go is
important
it's important because you can
Influence how the horse goes if you're looking up looking straight the horse knows it's supposed to go straight so it goes straight but if
You have a turn if you have a rollback turn if you have a turn at the end of the ring
Turning your head will shift your weight
That enough that the horse can feel it and that will help you make your turn also
Keeping your eyes up and your head up helps to keep your back flat and that influences the overall
Feeling the overall
Professionalism of your position if you have rounded shoulders, that doesn't look very good
Keep your shoulders back and your back flat and to do that
Keep your head up if I have my head up
Just wondering if you can see that when I put my head down
My shoulders round
another important thing that the judge really wants to see in the equitation, press and the hunter classes too is a
release your hands pushed under the horse's neck and a slight loop in the rein to allow the horse to jump and
Round us back bascule over top of the jumps. You can see that this writer has
Her hands firmly pressed on the horse's neck. Do not do a floating release a floating releases when your hands aren't on the neck
but are
Floating above the horse's neck
Having a proper
crest release
allows the rein to be a little bit looped and allows the horse to stretch down and reach forward and use himself better overtop of
the jumps if your reins are too short or if you get left behind or if you are
Floating your release your upper bodies and support it
You may catch the horse in the mouth and that's not a good thing now
This rider has a straight line shoulder nito
which is really good for
Going over top of your fences straight line shoulder knee toe is really important because it helps stay
Helps you to stay in balance with your horse. If you get too far ahead you load the horses front end
They don't jump very nicely if your shoulders are too far back you get left behind and you weight the back end of the horse
Which isn't good either so this rider is in really good balance with their horse
their shoulders over top of her knees on top over top of her toes and that's very important so that you can
Stay in balance with your horse really like that. This riders seat is over top of the seat of the saddle
really important watch these videos next
they have
Selection of position reviews and you can see that some of these riders have their seat over top of the pommel of the saddle
If you look at this rider here
I'm just getting the photo up here seat is clearly over the middle of the saddle rather than over the pommel of the saddle
Let's contrast a couple of riders here
Full riders here
You can take a look at these videos here where you can see that I suggest you take a look at these videos next
The only comment I would have to say about this rider
Is that conferring your shoulders back like two inches or something just to get a little bit more of a vertical line
Shoulder knee toe if you look at this rider get more of a vertical line up and down line
Shoulder knee toe over top of her fence. It's a very picky thing
she looks some really good balance and it may be just when the photo was taken if it was a
Split second before split second after it may be a little bit different
So for this rider
I would like for her to now move on to the next move on to the next level with her riding
She has a beautiful release
But this is the release that you would do if you were in a novice class
So that you wouldn't get left behind or interfere with the horse's mouth
the classic
Release that you would like to do is have your hands in line with the horse?
So there's a straight line elbow hand horse's mouth
I've outlined it in green here so that you could see it straight line elbow hand horse's mouth
so we'd like to have her hands drop down a little bit and if her
Shoulders were back a little bit in her hands just on the sides of the horses crest
Rather than on the top of the horse's neck. This would be just an ideal position for me now
We'd like to have the range just a little bit looser
So that a horse can reach a little bit more and also thank you know
Maybe she's not doing the release because he over jumps. She is going into a knock sir into a line
So maybe he's jumping in a little bit more. She's not not wanting to give much a release because he over jumps
I just can tell you from the picture that I've seen right here is
I'd like to see a little bit more loop in the rain. So the horse can use himself a little bit more
He's using himself nicely
but we'd like to have
Like to see as a judge would like to see a loose looser rein so that there is more of a release the other thing
Is to have our hands drop down a little bit more so her hands are out in front of her
bringing your shoulders back
This much will help keep her hands out in front of her with their hands following
Along with the horse's mouth rather than resting on the horse's net
He looks like a really competent rider
and so the next step for her would be to start using an
Automatic or following release and drop her hands down and follow along with the horse's mouth a little bit more
To help improve this rider or maintain this position. I recommend that you have a plan for your ride is
having a
Schedule and a plan for each of your rides
So this means starting a journal keeping a journal
if you know that your starting point is at this point and you want to get to this point which is winning more ribbons and
getting to more horse shows
it's all that space in between that you have to design and plan for and
If you don't have a plan
it's kind of like going on a road trip and not having a map or not having your GPS with you have to have a
Plan to get from point A to point B
and it's that route that you're following in between if you want some help with that if you want to help getting your schedule and
Your plan down send me an email thistle Ridge at hotmail.com
it's something that I can help you with getting a journal is really important start writing down the things that you're doing and
get a plan if you know that your horse show is
Next month, you're going to be doing the Handy hunter class and handy hunter class is made up of tight turns
Jumping off the corners
Galloping to a fence halting walking through all the elements that are included in a handy hunter course
design
Your program throughout the month to include all of those elements in your training program
work with your coach work with your trainer on that and do don't be afraid to push yourself a little bit because
Once you get to that horse show grounds
it's going to be a little bit stressful for you and your horse and you have to be able to handle that stress and
The horse has to be able to listen to you and know okay
She's asking me to do something
Getting a journal keeping a journal is really important because you can write down your own tips and your own
exercises that worked really well and also
Exercises that didn't work. So well or that you need to work on more also
You can include in your journal the way your horse felt the way a horse
Reacted the things that you did and what happened when you do did them
Also when you have a journal you write down the exercises that you did and you realize jeepers last week. I
did five
Jumping rides maybe I should work on my flat book a little bit more and likewise
Well, he felt a little sore in his left front leg
Well, that's because I had five jumping rights the week before so keeping a journal is really important
I'm recommending and keeping on with this planning is
planning your ride
So once you have your month planned out plan each and every ride that you do it doesn't have to be broken down
For each minute in each second, but just say okay today. I'm gonna focus on
Transition, I'm gonna do these three exercises to work on my transitions
I'm gonna drop ten steps walk ten steps draw ten steps walk
ten steps and I'm gonna do that for ten minutes that helps to give a focus to your ride and when you ride with the
Purpose and ride with focus your horse gets it if you just kind of go around and around
round
And round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round in circles the horse gets bored you get bored
and they start thinking about other things like a
Plastic bag that may blow into the rain or a cat jumping on the kickboards
So this week schedule your ride and put in the comments what you're gonna schedule in your ride
Are you gonna schedule 10 minutes of working without stirrups?
Are you going to schedule 10 minutes of canter transitions or ten minutes of lateral work in the comments?
I'd love to hear what you guys are working on and
The third thing that you have to consider when you're riding is doing off the horse
exercises to help maintain your fitness
To help maintain your fitness and
Improve your fitness and help improve your strength and to get your body
In tune with what you need to do do some off horse
Exercises and it may be walking and we'll be running at maybe yoga
Could be going to the gym doing some weight training any time of any type of off the horse fitness
You can include to help develop your muscles and strengthen your muscles that you need for. I expect a lot from our horses
So we should expect the same amount from our own selves. What are you doing to keep yourself fit? I?
Recommend you look at these exercises up here. Look at this one next to help get some ideas of some exercises you can do
Here my three top exercises for this rider to do get someone to lunge you on
The quiet suit of a horse. Maybe your horse is good for it
I don't know ride without your reins hands out at your side slowly
journey with your left hand pointing towards the horses ears and
then slowly
Switch left hand pointing towards the horse's tail
Right hand pointing towards the horses ears and then slowly back. Again. This is a really great exercise
To teach you your body
control over yourself so you can feel
Exactly how your body shifts and moves when you're turning your body this way and this way
Helps to keep yourself off
Strengthen and develop your shoulders and teaches you how to understand what your body's doing
When you're riding
if you find that too difficult or your horse doesn't like
Something close to his ears or close to his tail or whatever put your hands on your hips and do the same exercise
Important to keep your shoulders great and see that when I did it
You can see that when I did it my I dropped one of my shoulders down see it dropping this one
Keep your shoulders level and keep the weight centered in the saddle. I'm watching myself. That's why my eyes are down there
Same thinks I'm wrong the same exercise is
hands on your shoulders
on your head
Shoulders front move your hands around
So your upper body will just get stronger and your upper body
Just have a little bit more feeling in your riding rather than become a kind of mechanical in there. So keep your shoulders down
Take it touching your shoulders
Touching your shoulders and hands up front touching shoulders
Those types of exercises really good when you're wondering
It looks like your leg is really secure riding without stirrups is an excellent exercise to help get a secure lower leg
Another really good exercise
is to ride in your to point you'll include
Ten minutes of to point riding in your regular riding training session to point down the long side. For example
And then regularizing try on the short side
Include two-point position as part of your regular ride a new routine put in your schedule. Put it in your journal
My name is Laura and if you'd like to improve your riding and training win more ribbons at your next horse show
Generally, like other horsey related stuff remember to subscribe and hit the bell icon
See ya. Bye
Looks like she's in a horse show here. She's got a jacket on her horses braid it up beautifully turned out as excellent
got an even
Her saddle pad is showing evenly I mean her horse has turned out beautifully. Just love it