Sitting Trot

If you're looking for help with your sitting trot, you won't find it here. Sorry. How is it that sitting can be so difficult? I mean really, we're all experts at sitting on our butts. We do it all day long!

I bet even he can sit the trot. Look at how relaxed he is through the pelvis.

When I decided that my time at First Level was rapidly drawing to a close, I started working on my sitting trot for real. That meant I actually looked at my watch and started timing the length of time I could keep my butt in the tack without switching to a rising trot.

A sitting moment ...

Some days, I can sit for 5 to 10 minutes, but then I get frustrated and move on to "real work." I have discovered a few things that help though. 1) I sit better in the afternoons when I've been walking for hours. 2) I sit better in the mornings if I do some stretches first. 3) I sit better when I am focused on a specific movement like shoulder in or leg yielding.

I think I really was sitting here.

It was pretty hot when I rode Speedy on Tuesday. My arena has some really large trees that will throw great shade in the early evening, but I ride a bit too early for it. Instead, I get a couple of areas that shade maybe a 15-meter circle. I decided that sitting trot in the shade was the focus for the day.

I am happy to report that I rode for 23 minutes and didn't post once! We spent the time working on Speedy's collected trot, shoulder in, turns on the haunches, and walk to canter to walk. And you know what? My sitting trot is getting better!

I might have been sitting.

I can sit the trot when the work is slow or collected. I am even finding that we do some movements better when I am sitting, like the leg yield. The real hurdle is figuring out how to sit Speedy's lengthened trot. Since Speedy is smaller than most dressage horses, there's less "hang time" from one stride to the next. This means my pelvis needs to move much quickly than it would on a larger moving horse.

My Second Level debut is in 10 weeks. It might be a bit ugly, but we're going for it!