Fit For The Saddle: NSN, part 2

Last week, I shared one of my favorite riding exercises without stirrups, the canter. This week, I’m focusing on another great exercise with some variations – rising and sitting the trot.

One of the more challenging lessons I’ve had was the first time my trainer told me to take up my irons and sit the trot. OK, that’s pretty easy, I thought. Then she had me lift up my legs as much as I could without bouncing out of the saddle. And then again…and again…you get the idea. I continued around the arena a few times before I was able to take a break and just sit. And then I noticed something…my leg position had improved! Why? Because I wasn’t relying on my legs to keep my planted in the saddle, I had shifted focus and was now riding on my seat! Yay! I still do this exercise when I can feel my position shifting or when my balance is off. It’s almost like hitting the “reset” button.

The other exercise is definitely more of a challenge but really helps with core strength, balance and leg position. If you think rising the trot without stirrups is easy, first of all, who are you and where did you come from? Kidding!! (kind of) But if you’d like to take it to the next level, try the “down, up” exercise. You can think of it like this: right diagonal sit, up, up, left diagonal sit, up, up. So you stay up for two beats instead of just one. It took me a few tries to get into the rhythm of this, and it helps if you don’t sit deep when you come down but instead barely sit down before you come up. It’s hard not to get behind your leg while doing this, and it definitely takes some concentration until you get it. But once you have it, you can increase the amount of time you do this and keep improving that seat of yours!

Good luck everyone! Come back next week for tips on how to ease back into stirrups, one iron at a time!