Francis Whittington working a horse at Badminton. You can clearly see that the horse’s L/R centre of gravity is exactly followed by the rider’s body.
This is something that is really simple and totally obvious once you know to look for it, but until my trainer pointed it out to me one day, using photos from Horse and Hound magazine, which he’d been looking through, as examples, it didn’t truly hit home.
The rider’s centre of balance should always be perfectly in line with the horse’s. This is easily spotted in a photo taken from the front or behind, especially around corners and in lateral work.
It is very easy to get it wrong, by collapsing at the waist or collapsing a hip, or if your pelvis is slightly twisted, for example.
Michael Jung showing us how to do it perfectly.
Me and Daisy… hmm, a bit too much neck bend in the horse, + too much weight in my outside stirrup? Maybe sitting to the left too? Not as perfectly aligned as MJ. (Also, my shoulders are definitely more forward than his, I know!)
I have been brave and used myself for the bad examples, but flick through Horse and Hound any time and you might see photos that will show the same thing!
Basically draw an imaginary line through the horse (centre of brisket to withers) and carry on upwards, and the centre of the rider’s body should follow it exactly.
Can you see it?
It’s a very good one to use for critiquing photos and vids of your own performance, if your proprioception is a bit ‘out’, to evaluate your position and your progress.
In this one I look a bit better, I think.
Even worse – more pronounced in this one. Definitely sitting to my left. No wonder we didn’t win that day… and, poor Daisy!
Photo of Francis Whittington by kind permission of Will Baxter.
Photo of Michael Jung – unknown, I saw the pic and saved it ages ago because it’s such a perfect illustration. If it is your pic, my sincerest apologies, please get in touch for accreditation.
