This week's rider has some good points... Her leg is not sliding back, which is good. The stirrup leather is hanging straight down as it should... She is looking up and ahead, which is also good.
However, she is pulling back on her pony's mouth, punishing him for jumping, she needs to learn about releasing so she does not hinder his jump. She also needs to work on two point, as it looks like she is just leaning forward rather than folding into two point.
his pony does jump pretty nicely, with nice level knees, and though the fence is low, this pony could make a very cute jumper :D
Here's a diagram of what her position should look like. As you can see her legs are pretty nice, but her release needs some work :)
This rider's legs are too far forward. She is leaning far too far forward and is hanging on her horse's mouth for balance. She looks *very* nervous and needs to relax, bring her body back, and probably even go back to a walk to establish her position and gain confidence. Her head is nicely up, if only her body would follow...
her position should look more like this:
with a straight back, low heels, *not gripping* legs, and a relaxed mindset, her horse would relax and they would be better partners.
This week's rider has an issue with her elbows! She has no contact with her horse's mouth because of her awkward arm movements! Unless this is part of some training method I am unaware of... She also needs to work on letting her horse's lift gently bring her seat out of the saddle... She has jumped ahead of the horse and as you can see, she has passed the saddle with her body! Her horse does *not* look happy with her jumping ahead, as all her weight is now on his forehand... Her head is up nicely, not looking at the fence, and her legs have not slipped back too much (I have trouble with that!) and look pretty good :D
This is more how they should look... perfectly centered over the saddle with arms not flailing about and in sync...
books recommended for riding fixes and tips:
100 Ways to Improve Your Riding by. (ill look it up)
Centered Riding by. Sally Swift
The Encyclopedia of Horses & Ponies by. Tamsin Pickeral
The Handbook of Riding by. William Steinkraus
Shy Boy by. Monty Roberts
