gymnastic riding

Gymnastic riding is riding a horse with your own postural straightness. When you are straight, you will both straighten and balance the horse. It is essential that you assume full responsibility for the postural dynamic between you.

My sister and I have worked with many traumatised horses and those who were unable to compensate for their riders. This allowed us to study our postural influence in depth. When a horse needs you to help them balance,  you discover what they truly need. Our fundamental goal was to offer this without intimidation or compensations.

In this way we figured out how to sit with the movement, not above or in front of it. We learned what rider straightness and therefore horse straightness truly is. The validity was in the engagement. Engagement is often discussed and rarely fully appreciated. When we were able to engage a horse as a result of our own postural dynamic, we knew what we were doing was correct.

In the vast majority of cases the gymnastic riding connection brought the horse and ourselves into a state of deep relaxation. Some horses who were physically compromised would not be able to do this. Part of our learning process was learning to accept this, to listen and support any process the horse was ready and willing to undertake.

There is both a biomechanical and an energetic dynamic in riding a horse. It is my personal quest to explore the energetic connection with a horse. At this stage in my journey I am not riding again yet, as I wished to follow a fully consensual process. I imagine that riding in full biomechanical and energetic balance will be an amazing experience. It is also essential for me not to become attached to this as an outcome.