sSc ucceeednwciteh ! Riding in the right makes a huge difference to your performance, as our experts from Hartpury College explain

Jo Winfield, Senior Vicky Lewis, Lecturer Lecturer in in Equine Sports Science Science

n last month’s ‘Science for interface between horse and rider. natural body. Few people are purely Success’ we discussed riders’ Selecting the most suitable and one somatotype, but most of us fall natural body shapes and how they comfortable saddle will enable to you broadly into one of these categories Iaffect our ability to ride and establish a correct and secure (see last Month’s Science for Success perform. This month we turn to an position on the flat and when jumping. for more details), and below we show equally important aspect of Somatotype is the word that how can help these different performance – the saddle, the describes the shape and ratios of your shaped riders and their horses.

Sitting comfortably?

Ectomorph – long, thin Mesomorph – medium Endomorph – increased muscles/limbs, low fat storage, bones, solid torso, low fat fat storage, a wide waist and a usually referred to as slim. levels, ‘V-shaped’, muscular. large bone structure, usually In the picture below a slim rider is This rider has just stepped up referred to as fat. riding in a saddle. The fit of to affiliated dressage and moved to This rider has had a saddle made to the saddle accommodates the shape her first dressage saddle from a GP. measure to accommodate her Irish of the rider and supports her weight in a After an initial period of adaption, she Draught cross mare as well as her central position, thus allowing her to has achieved much higher body shape. The cantle has well establish an independent position in the percentages. Research has found padded panels providing a greater working . Whilst this rider is slim that through a more vertical position surface area to maximise weight and light in her body frame, she is able to the rider can accommodate the horse’s distribution. The saddle fits the rider well, as ride this bigger horse independently. The movements through the isometric contraction shown by the the horse’s free forward saddle provides a balanced seat that she can of the muscles (in particular the abdominals movement and the rider’s ability to maintain maintain throughout all of the paces. and obliques). her own independent position and balance.

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Where should we sit? Biomechanical research has shown that the seat of the saddle must allow the rider to sit with their seat bones over the horse’s fourteenth vertebra. This The seat of the saddle position places the rider in line with the horse’s centre of gravity. If should place the rider the rider is sitting in this position, then they are likely to be in over the horse’s fourteenth balance with the horse. vertebra which has an In order for the rider to be in balance (their centre of upright spinus process gravity running in line with the horse’s centre of gravity) and is generally accepted they must be able to maintain a straight line from their ear, to be the deepest part of shoulder, hip to heel. The balance of the saddle seat is his back critical to establishing and maintaining this position. A balanced saddle will provide equal distribution of the rider’s weight through the panels of the saddle, and thus reduce pressure points. Developments in rider performance analysis have highlighted the importance of evaluating the rider’s shape, build, anatomical differences and position. All can influence the rider’s balance.

If a saddle is the wrong shape or size for the rider, it will affect the the horse’s ability to perform Balance is all-important All equitation theory stresses the front of and behind the movement maintain their own equilibrium. importance of positioning the rider disturbs your horse’s equilibrium. Such adjustments require the in balance with the horse. If the Every time the rider comes out expenditure of much additional you cannot remain in balance, the of balance, the horse makes a effort and energy which affects continual shift of your body in compensating adjustment to the horse’s performance. L

H ORSE & R IDER 109 steps to selecting asaddle 5There are several elements to consider when selecting a saddle to optimise horse and rider performance.

1 Dressage 2 Event saddle 3 Jumping saddle saddle

Sports performance With modern technology and research it is possible to purchase a saddle to fit any type of rider. These 16½ins 17½ins 18½ins range from the seat sizes 17 18 general purpose (GP) saddle (right) which is ideally suited to novice and all- round riders and riding school 5 GP saddle horses, to special discipline saddles for dressage, jumping, racing, endurance. Finally, there are specifically designed and tailored saddles for the ultimate performance at the elite level of any discipline. Seat size 1This is the first consideration when Saddles from top left: 1GFS PDS choosing a saddle: it must be correct Euro XCH S500 dressage saddle for the rider’s seat. This means that with AMS humane memory foam the seat must be an appropriate width panel tailored to the horse 2 Albion for the rider’s buttocks and the length saddles, like this Kontact Lite Event must correspond to the length of the saddle can be customised for each rider from the front to the back of their rider and horse 3 Amerigo DJ pubic bone. Pinerolo Mono 4 Amerigo Vesuivio jumping sadle for horses with longer withers and straighter backs 5 The GFS Elite XCH for all round riders, 4 Different seat sizes (top) with a cut back head and flatter tree and flaps can be specified for broader horses. to suit the rider

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Does it sit evenly on will force the rider’s weight to be the horse’s back? focused on the front 2 panels and points of A saddle sitting high at the front due the tree, thus to a horse with high withers, or the restricting movement use of a front riser pad, will lift the of the horse’s saddle beyond its correct balance. shoulder. This will throw the rider back to sit on the buttocks rather than the seat , bones, forcing the lower leg too far Exercise forward to compensate in a ‘chair Is your saddle seat’. This not only puts the rider out in balance? of balance but will place the rider’s A simple exercise to test whether the weight on the rear panel too close to balance of the saddle is correct for you the horse’s weaker lumbar area. is to stand up in your stirrups – try it in Conversely, a saddle sitting too walk and trot, too. If you are relaxed, high at the back, caused perhaps by not having to fight gravity and can stay excess panelling in the rear section, a standing with your lower leg horse that is croup high with flat comfortably underneath you, the withers or use of a rear riser will balance of the saddle is good. If you encourage the rider adopt a ‘fork seat’ have to adjust your legs to stop falling and to tip forwards with their upper backwards or forwards, the balance of bodies, putting the rider out of the saddle needs to be addressed. balance with the horse. This time it

Does it support your 3seat and legs? Research-driven advances have also been made into designing saddle seats to allow for differences in the shape of the pelvis, hip alignment and flexibility of the rider. Gender differences There are significant anatomical differences between men and women which extend from basic body shape Ideal hip alignment Bow-legged Knock-kneed to the way we move. spine which forces the weight on the A knock-kneed rider will find it more Women are essentially pear- fork of the seat and creates an arch in difficult to apply the leg aids, shaped, have a wider base at the hips the back. An effective, balanced particularly on a round-barrelled and most of the muscle mass is in the position can be found between the horse. For this type of rider legs and pelvis. They have a smaller two extremes. consideration would need to be made shoulder complex, as well as less Taking gender into account when to incorporate specific stretching muscle mass and strength in upper selecting a suitable saddle can help exercises to improve the flexibility of body. Because of this women have a ensure a better fit. Some companies the abductors, hamstrings and slightly lower centre of gravity and a have even designed ‘female’ shaped quadriceps muscles. Also, the correct better base of balance. seats which supports the female seat saddle seat is important; a narrow Men and women also have in its forward rotation. twist could help improve the situation. different-shaped pelvises which cause The angle of the rider’s hip is also them to sit slightly differently in the How are your hips? an important consideration as it saddle. Men tend to ride with with a The orientation of the rider’s hip affects the quadriceps and muscles of slightly flattened back, due to the the bones in the hip socket dictates how the back of the thigh attached to the sacrum (the large triangular bone at the leg will be positioned under the knee. Riders with an acute hip angle the base of the spine) being tilted body. Our diagrams shows the ideal may suffer knee pain due to stress back, causing a flattening of the alignment, medial rotation (bow- placed on these muscles as the knee lumbar spine. legged) which is common in males flexes in the riding position, therefore The tilt of the women’s sacrum is and lateral rotation (knock-kneed) a saddle that allows the hip to stay in forward, resulting in an increased which is more common in females. a natural, relaxed position can help.

curve at the juncture of the lower L

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Saddle flaps 4Once the saddle’s seat shape and size has been evaluated, the next focus should be on the shape and size of saddle flap, as it has been found that they also have an impact on the rider’s position and balance. When analysing the saddle flap for a rider, measurements must be made of the thigh and of the lower leg, plus the length of the stirrup. Whether Here the rider has jumping or riding on the flat, it is a saddle with a widely accepted by leading coaches forward-cut flap that riders, particularly at the lower that accomodates levels, ride with a stirrup length that her thigh and is too long for them and that many of these riders are unable to ride any enables her to ride shorter due to the flap design on at the correct their saddle. length of stirrup This is critical when jumping as the while jumping rider needs to maintain a 90° angle in moderate sized the knee joint. Stirrup length can also jumps. The more influence the security of the lower leg. demanding the jumping, the more forward cut the flap needs to be.

The saddle blocks shuld run parallel with your thighs when you’re in the correct position

Block shape compromise the rider’s position, 5The shape of the block is by pushing the thigh backwards. also improtant when choosing Unless the rider is extremely the flap shape. Ideally the block flexible through the hip and pelvis should run parallel with the thigh it will force their seat towards the when the rider is in the correct back of the saddle or in the case position for their discipline. of a deeper seated dressage A block that is positioned at saddle, force the rider onto a too straight an angle will ‘fork seat’.

Albion’s Plantinum Royale Next month Dressage Saddle, ridden in by So now you are sitting Laura Bechtolsheimer, has comfortably, find which equine blocks that support an injuries are most prevalent in advanced dressage leg position different disciples, and how to prevent them.

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