Saddle Seat History

The Art of Saddle Seat You are probably thinking what on Earth is saddle seat? Don’t worry I thought the same thing. Most people think;Western or English. They would be right for the most part. There are different types of western; roping, barrel racing, trick riding, and the most commonly known is trail riding. Western is more of taking it slow, where as English is a lighter saddle and is meant for going at a faster pace. Just like there are different types of of western there are different types of English. Jumping, racing, hunt seat, hack, dressage, and my favorite saddle seat. Enough about the different types of riding; What is saddle seat? You will have to keep reading. First off, what on earth is saddle seat? It is a little hard explaining …show more content…
To even be considered a winner in the big shows you MUST have the foundations down. They are: Weight on the balls of your feet; toes up and in, heels down and out; bend in your knee; back up and straight, shoulders back and just over your hips; hands up and together; and finally eyes up and smile. These are the foundations of not just saddle seat but any riding (it’s mainly used in saddle seat though.) They not only make the rider look nice, but it’s more comfortable for the horse and allows better control of your horse. According to horsechannel.com, weight on the balls of your feet is important because it allows your legs to fall in the correct position. Heels down is important for a few reasons; with your heels all up in your horse it is not only unfortable for your horse but it can be dangerous. Horses are trained to move away from pressure( heel in the horse cues the horse to go faster), for an inexperienced rider this can be dangerous. The horse gets moving too fast and instead of getting the heels out of the horse, the rider puts their heels deeper into the horse( it’s instinct to want to hang on) telling the horse to go faster. The other reason is, it looks nicer having heels down and out. Bend in your knees, keeps contact on the horse in the proper areas. It looks nicer and once your knees are straight or off the horse, you lose your main contact. This also helps …show more content…
Where western horses are typically laid back, saddle seat horses always want to be moving once they are in the show ring. Having a bond with your horse is a good idea. Lindsay Shearman says “In the circuit it’s very important. You usually only show one horse the whole season or one horse per division if you're lucky enough to afford multiple mounts of that level. You’re usually the only person to show that horse, unless your trainer needs to enter it for training purposes. You really need to gain a bond to understand one another to perform at your best.” You know how your horse will react to things, but the horse you rode at home won’t be the same horse in the show ring. Horses know when they are in the show and saddle seat Arabians can get a little full of themselves. If you're not in control, your horse will take control and you will be disqualified. When you mess up in the ring it’s just like playing a solo on the piano keep on playing. Keep on riding, don’t let that mistake ruin the rest of the show. It’s good to practice wearing a smile on your face, not only does it make it look like you're having fun, it helps you look nice on the horse. Don’t make it even more obvious that you made a mistake by showing it on your face, keep on smiling and fix it. Now that you have made your first impression make sure to get off the rail! It’s different from being told in training to stay on the rail but in the show David says