Conference noted::equitation

    
    Depends on who you talk to.
    
    If you read George Morris's HUNTER SEAT EQUITATION, (or ride with any
    of his protoge's) you will be told to have the ball of your foot in the
    middle--not to one side or the other.  
    
    IMHO -- I tend to go with what George says.  He and the people he
    studied with (Wright, DeNemethy...) have kind of rewritten the book on 
    standards in riding.  Also it generally makes good sense to me for
    whatever kind of riding I am doing.  His "style" makes it easy to ride
    over fences, or gaited horses, or dressage, or western horses--with
    only slight positional modifications.
    
    Helen Crabtree will also tell you -- ball of the foot in the middle of
    the stirrup.  
    
    However there are those who don't agree with them and use other methods.

    I use/teach the middle position, too. For most people it is the
    most comfortable and efficient position.
    
    The inside position is a relic from the military seat days - you
    gripped with your knees, shoved you heel down and cocked your ankle
    out - essentially weighting the inside edge of your foot.
    
    The outside philosophy was used by saddle seat and pseudo-dressage
    folks - they needed their legs closer and feet parallel to the horse- 
    so they moved the foot to the outside edge and weighted the outside of 
    the foot.
    

    

    re.0
    are talking about the placement of the ball of the foot within the
    stirrup or are you talking about if you had both feet out and you
    bent down to place your foot in the stirrup.?ie(which way you would
    turn the stirrup??)
    
    
    

    I am talking about where you place the ball of your foot in
    the stirrup ...
    
    As for it being a relic of "military" style - it's not.
    I was NEVER taught to grip with the knees - that has
    always been a huge no-no.  Additionally, we were always
    taught to turn our toes in - so that in reality they
    would be parallel to the horse.....
    
    It sounds like I have been taught a unique hodge-podge
    of riding styles.....
    
    Anyway - I was just curious about the "majority" ruling
    on placement of the foot....
    
    RF

    Way back when I was first learning to jump (oh lord, has it really
    been 25+ years?), we were taught to hang on with our knees.  And
    god forbid you should touch your horse with your leg!  It was a
    very precarious position - but it was the "correct position" on
    the AHSA Hunter circuit at that time.  Funny how things change,
    isn't it?
    
    -maureen
    

    I am confused, when I bought stirrups for my saddle I found
    they came in several different widths. The saddle shop person
    helped me size mine so my boot sits right in the middle with
    very little space on either side but not so tight my foot could
    get caught in it. Did I understand the question right? Maybe your
    stirrups are just too wide?
    
    Sandy
    

    I was taught and therefore have always ridden "the little toe
    jsut touching the outside branch of the stirrup"...but my stirrups
    are narrow enought that the base of my big toes also just about
    
    touches the inside branch...thus the stirrup is actually on the
    foot at an angle, with toes turned out, but only to a comfortable,
    natural angle, with heels down and lower leg in line with hip.
    Interesting how many different methods there are out there! :-)
    

    
    
    I believe you should ride in the most efective and comfortable style
    for YOU. There is so much conflicting advice on how to position
    your feet, seat etc. that many riders waste a lot of time struggling
    to maintain the 'perfect' seat and end up tense and sore, which
    does not help the rider or horse.  Look at show jumpers when they
    are trying to get thier horse over a huge fence, elbows out, legs
    flailing, or cowboys and their relaxed style. Ok, dressage demands
    a little more discipline, but a lot of that is helped by a good
    dressage saddle.
                 
    First you have to get confident and relaxed in the saddle, then
    work on it from there if you want to have a 'classic' position.
    After all, riding is supposed to be enjoyable!
    
     

    
    I agree we need to make riding enjoyable and we tend to worry a lot
    about position. 
    
    However, once the rider has achieved a "good" position, riding then
    becomes more enjoyable for horse and rider because the rider should 
    then have a safe base of support for whatever type of riding that 
    horse and rider chose to do.
    
    As far as jumper riders--I wish I looked as good on the flat as people
    like Ann Kurzinski, Katie Monahan-Prudent, Conrad Homfeld, Joe Fargis, 
    George Morris, Ian Millar, Gail Greenough, Leslie Lenehan... look over 
    a 6 ft oxer.  They all are committed to excellent style from their feet 
    on up.

    
    So we are back to judging what a "good" position is. Naturally when
    you start riding you should be advised on how best to sit into the
    saddle, sit straight, heels down, the elementary stuff. Then when
    you are comfortable start to concentrate on the finer points. I
    remember as a child going to a very strict riding establishment
    with my school every week. The instructor always looked like she
    was entering the 'best turned out class'. She insisted on perfect
    position even if you had never sat on a horse before. There were
    some pretty miserable kids who were struggling to look just right
    and hadn't even mastered the rising trot. My daughter was taught
    in a more relaxed manner and developed an excellent seat from very
    early on.  As for a 'safe base of support' you have to FEEL safe
    to achieve that. 
    
    Back to the original note, in the UK I think the general feeling
    is that the foot should be in the centre of the stirrup iron, which
    should have a bit of room either side so as not to trap the foot
    in an emergency. This also aids balance and avoids strain on the
    leg muscles. 
    

    I rode my new horse last night english. (I'm a western
    rider)  I'm sure I had the stirrups too long, as I had
    a hard time maintaining my balance at the trot.  
    It was huntseat, BTW.
    
    Thanks-
    
    Lynne

    A general rule of thumb is to drop both stirrups and let your
    legs hang long.  The bottom of the iron should knock into your
    ankle bone, or just below.  Happy posting!