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What is Hunter Seat Riding?
Choosing a Trainer
Choosing a Horse
What Is Hunter Seat Riding?
Hunter seat riding is a style of riding horses that was developed to enable the animals to have speed and maintain balance when traveling over uneven terrain and encountering obstacles that must be jumped--such as fences enclosing fields. This style of riding is historically associated with England, in which groups of farmers would go hunting for foxes that were raiding their hen houses. Fox hunting is still practiced in England and elsewhere, but now is more of a sport and social gathering than a necessary pursuit in order to protect one's property. In fact, most of the people who practice hunter-seat riding do so for the sake of competition or trail-riding, and the fox is left out of the picture entirely.
An English-style saddle and bridle are used, and they are referred to as "tack." The cut of the saddle and the short accompanying stirrup length enable riders to raise their seats out of the saddle when their horses are galloping, This is called "two-point position," for only the rider's two legs are on the horse, and the third point, the seat, is away from the horse's back. Two-point, or galloping position as it is sometimes called, is maintained at high speeds and over obstacles. This keeps this rider's weight just over the horse's center of gravity, promoting balance, and frees the horse's back, promoting speed and endurance.
The rider's competition clothing is a high-top boot and breeches, as well as riding jacket and safety helmet. For training, some riders practice in lower-cut "paddock boots," and blue jeans protected by chaps (although chaps tend to have more grip and give a rider a false sense of security, so that sometimes the more slippery breeches are a big surprise in the show ring!).
The nationally recognized governing body for hunter-seat riding is the American Horse Shows Association (AHSA), which is located at 220 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017-5876; telephone 212-972-7286. Current membership fees are $70 for people over 18, and $46 for people under 18. Members receive an AHSA Rule Book every two years and "Horse Show" magazine ten times yearly, enabling them to keep abreast of upcoming competitions and other equine news.
If you're planning on keeping your horse or pony at home, it would be good to join the United States Pony Clubs, located at 4071 Ironworks Pike, Lexington, KY 40511; telephone 606-254-7669. There are more than 600 Pony Clubs in the United States, and if there isn't one near you, you can always start one. Check out the Pony Club web page for more information: http://www.horseworld.com/uspc/index.html.
Choosing a Trainer
Too often, riders pick a coach based on convenience or personality rather than on knowledge. However, you cannot get an accurate evaluation from a person who is not well-educated in the sport, so be sure to choose based on that person's record as a coach. (When you go to a horse show, keep track of whose students are winning the most in the Equitation Division--which is judged on the rider's proficiency. This is a good starting point in your search for a competent coach.) If he (or she) has also been a successful rider, that is another point in his favor; but in choosing, it is better to have a very good teacher who was not a very good rider than a very good rider who cannot teach what he knows. Of course, the best combination is a coach who has proven his capabilities in both areas.
Once you have a capable teacher, do exactly what he tells you to do. If you are always straying off in your own direction, ignoring the suggestions of your coach, then you might as well not have one. He should have an overview of the sport and be able to steer you toward reasonable goals. His evaluation should be the most meaningful because he sees you ride regularly and knows whether you are progressing, regressing, or standing still.
Choosing a Horse
It's best if your coach helps you choose the right horse, not only because he (or she) is a professional who should know more about choosing a horse than a lay person, but because your coach has to work with the animal and be accountable publicly for its performance in the show ring. It's only fair that he should get to choose something he thinks he can work with--the old silk purse from a sow's ear phrase comes to mind.
You may become faint of heart when you realize how expensive a good horse is; but remember that a bad horse eats as much, has as many (or more) veterinary and shoeing bills, etc. Additionally, the winning horse can at least make back his purchase price when you sell him; and if you rider really well, you'll be able to greatly increase the worth of your investment.
You need to have a horse with reasonably good natural talent, a build suited to your own, and a temperament that compliments your disposition. For example, you don't want a long-legged girl on a skinny horse so that her feet hang below the line of its belly (the Icabod Crane look); and you don't want a nervous rider on an excitable ("hot") horse, for this is a terrible combination.
Some basic advice: Put a nervous rider on a dull horse; put a timid rider on a horse that isn't too difficult to motivate forward; put a long-legged rider on a big-barrelled animal; and put a short-legged rider on a slab-sided horse so that the rider's legs hang farther down the horse's sides. Make sure that a rider with a long torso isn't mounted on a horse with a very short neck—it looks ridiculous. In all cases, avoid the high-strung horse, for few riders—even professionals—can deal with "hot" horses well enough to make them winners. If your first thought is, "Isn't this a high-spirited horse," put your checkbook back in your pocket.
Choosing a Trainer
Choosing a Horse
What Is Hunter Seat Riding?
Hunter seat riding is a style of riding horses that was developed to enable the animals to have speed and maintain balance when traveling over uneven terrain and encountering obstacles that must be jumped--such as fences enclosing fields. This style of riding is historically associated with England, in which groups of farmers would go hunting for foxes that were raiding their hen houses. Fox hunting is still practiced in England and elsewhere, but now is more of a sport and social gathering than a necessary pursuit in order to protect one's property. In fact, most of the people who practice hunter-seat riding do so for the sake of competition or trail-riding, and the fox is left out of the picture entirely.
An English-style saddle and bridle are used, and they are referred to as "tack." The cut of the saddle and the short accompanying stirrup length enable riders to raise their seats out of the saddle when their horses are galloping, This is called "two-point position," for only the rider's two legs are on the horse, and the third point, the seat, is away from the horse's back. Two-point, or galloping position as it is sometimes called, is maintained at high speeds and over obstacles. This keeps this rider's weight just over the horse's center of gravity, promoting balance, and frees the horse's back, promoting speed and endurance.
The rider's competition clothing is a high-top boot and breeches, as well as riding jacket and safety helmet. For training, some riders practice in lower-cut "paddock boots," and blue jeans protected by chaps (although chaps tend to have more grip and give a rider a false sense of security, so that sometimes the more slippery breeches are a big surprise in the show ring!).
The nationally recognized governing body for hunter-seat riding is the American Horse Shows Association (AHSA), which is located at 220 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017-5876; telephone 212-972-7286. Current membership fees are $70 for people over 18, and $46 for people under 18. Members receive an AHSA Rule Book every two years and "Horse Show" magazine ten times yearly, enabling them to keep abreast of upcoming competitions and other equine news.
If you're planning on keeping your horse or pony at home, it would be good to join the United States Pony Clubs, located at 4071 Ironworks Pike, Lexington, KY 40511; telephone 606-254-7669. There are more than 600 Pony Clubs in the United States, and if there isn't one near you, you can always start one. Check out the Pony Club web page for more information: http://www.horseworld.com/uspc/index.html.
Choosing a Trainer
Too often, riders pick a coach based on convenience or personality rather than on knowledge. However, you cannot get an accurate evaluation from a person who is not well-educated in the sport, so be sure to choose based on that person's record as a coach. (When you go to a horse show, keep track of whose students are winning the most in the Equitation Division--which is judged on the rider's proficiency. This is a good starting point in your search for a competent coach.) If he (or she) has also been a successful rider, that is another point in his favor; but in choosing, it is better to have a very good teacher who was not a very good rider than a very good rider who cannot teach what he knows. Of course, the best combination is a coach who has proven his capabilities in both areas.
Once you have a capable teacher, do exactly what he tells you to do. If you are always straying off in your own direction, ignoring the suggestions of your coach, then you might as well not have one. He should have an overview of the sport and be able to steer you toward reasonable goals. His evaluation should be the most meaningful because he sees you ride regularly and knows whether you are progressing, regressing, or standing still.
Choosing a Horse
It's best if your coach helps you choose the right horse, not only because he (or she) is a professional who should know more about choosing a horse than a lay person, but because your coach has to work with the animal and be accountable publicly for its performance in the show ring. It's only fair that he should get to choose something he thinks he can work with--the old silk purse from a sow's ear phrase comes to mind.
You may become faint of heart when you realize how expensive a good horse is; but remember that a bad horse eats as much, has as many (or more) veterinary and shoeing bills, etc. Additionally, the winning horse can at least make back his purchase price when you sell him; and if you rider really well, you'll be able to greatly increase the worth of your investment.
You need to have a horse with reasonably good natural talent, a build suited to your own, and a temperament that compliments your disposition. For example, you don't want a long-legged girl on a skinny horse so that her feet hang below the line of its belly (the Icabod Crane look); and you don't want a nervous rider on an excitable ("hot") horse, for this is a terrible combination.
Some basic advice: Put a nervous rider on a dull horse; put a timid rider on a horse that isn't too difficult to motivate forward; put a long-legged rider on a big-barrelled animal; and put a short-legged rider on a slab-sided horse so that the rider's legs hang farther down the horse's sides. Make sure that a rider with a long torso isn't mounted on a horse with a very short neck—it looks ridiculous. In all cases, avoid the high-strung horse, for few riders—even professionals—can deal with "hot" horses well enough to make them winners. If your first thought is, "Isn't this a high-spirited horse," put your checkbook back in your pocket.