09/12/2025
The rider who rides in an independent seat is always changing, rebalancing responding to their horse.
One of the most difficult things to teach riders is to transition from a form based method of riding to position based riding. Form based riding is a series of poses that are static and don't change until the rider assumes a different static form. Riders who have been taught fixed forms i.e. heels down, fixed rein length, fixed foot position, etc., move from one pose to another. They might, for example, ride in their 2 point pose called perching and then change to their jumping form for a jump of a fixed crest release. These forms exist in order to please a judge and hopefully win a ribbon.
Riding positions are never static. The rider who rides in an independent seat is always changing, rebalancing responding to their horse. They move in unified balance with their horse's movement that's constantly changing. These riders can ride in a deep seat, a light seat or up out of the saddle supporting themself in the stirrups while jumping, riding up or down a slope or while they accomplish different tasks like hitting a polo ball, roping a calf, shooting an arrow and more.
Form based riding came out of Geroge Morris' Hunter Seat Equitation that he launched in the 1970s. Since then, this method of show riding has "evolved" into an off balance forward, sometimes dangerous, way to ride because a rider in fixed forms can have great difficulty adjusting to unforeseen changes in a horse's balance or movement.
By contrast, a rider with an independent seat is always adjusting to changes in their horse's balance and movement. This difference limits the form based riders to flat arena riding because attempting to ride cross country, fox hunt or many other equestrian pursuits are too dangerous to ride using static forms that can be easily disrupted by change.
If you want to change how you ride to a more dynamic, non static riding method, I suggest riding and jumping using a jumping or neck strap that moves up and down, as well as side to side on a horse's neck. Grabbing the strap will stabilize you while you balance and rebalance as you ride and jump over terrain and in different tasks. That is the key, being stable while your body is constantly changing and adjusting to your horse's changing movements.
The end result of this transition to a more dynamic riding method is that you will feel more stable when you ride and that will build greater confidence. Instructors in dynamic riding positions can be found at eventing, polo, foxhunting and other barns that do not teach Morris' from based Hunter riding.
*link to info on using jumping straps -
www.facebook.com/BobWoodHorsesForLife/posts/pfbid0BkjMY6S32W5PH2UiRV76WwmfYe4ezLMeBxNmvVjqhmsj99VBhZgmr3u7h5c4KR1ml
