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Probably the worst place to ask but I'm gonna do it anyway.

I have long legs, and they way the coaches tell me to sit in a two point (half seat?) makes me uncomfortable. I prefer to lean a bit forward, the way they tell me to sit is something I can describe as stiff. I don't know how to really describe it without a video.

Now, the question: is it ok to lean a bit forward if you have long legs?

#equestrian #horse riding #half seat #equestrian question #two point seat

I've been riding Saddle Seat for the past thirteen years and have been thinking of switching disciplines for a bit and learning how to jump just for fun. I've been browsing a lot of eventing and jumper blogs lately and I see a lot of people talking about practicing a two-point. What is that exactly?

Well, there’s two-point, and then there’s half-seat, but at their essence, they’re essentially the same thing.

A two-point is the position that you’re in over a fence. See show jumping master Eric Lamaze for reference:

[x]

Over a smaller fence, it wouldn’t be that exaggerated, but the principle is the same: leg at the girth or just behind (never far back though), straight line through hip and heel, butt back and out of the tack, straight back, release (this doesn’t mean fling your arms forward, but you don’t want to be catching your horse in the mouth).

A half-seat is a slightly less exaggerated version of the two-point and it’s the position a rider is in when they’re between fences. It’s more upright, and you’re a bit closer to the tack with your seat, but it looks something like this:

[x]

(Eric Lamaze and Hickstead again)

Your butt can be even closer to the saddle than that, but the goal is to get your weight off the horse’s back. Usually you’d have your shoulders back more and be a bit more upright in the head/neck area, but the main thing is getting your weight off their backs.

He’s jumping on a much larger scale that you will be, but the idea is the same and he’s awesome so I figured I’d use him as a reference.

I hope this helps!

-Anna

I'll jump in here and add some of my own photos over smaller fences, as well as mention three-point, because it's an incredibly useful tool as well.

This is me and my warmblood. Two-point is exactly what Anna said- your jump position. However, to get there, it's not just standing in your stirrups. You want a straight line between your hip and your heel, a flat back, eyes up between your horse's ears, and your leg really wrapping around the barrel of your horse to give you stability. If you just stand in your stirrups, you're bracing against the motion, and can be left behind if your horse takes a funny step, or you miss your distance. When you're just starting to jump, I always suggest grabbing mane, or a neck strap/martingale so that you avoid hitting your horse in the mouth.

In contrast, your flat position in a jump saddle should have a more open hip angle, and in my opinion, stirrups a hole or two longer than your jumping length. There is almost a straight line between my shoulder, hip and heel in this photo, so this isn't three-point either. (Three point is where your legs and a light seat provide three points of contact on the saddle versus two point, which is just your legs, and your butt out of the tack)

This is about the only picture I could find of me in a three-point, so its a little hard to tell. I'm still thinking forward and jump, but my bum is in the tack to give my horse that extra motivation through the water that he needed to keep going. My hip angle is closed, I'm still over my leg, my heel is down, my leg is wrapped and stable, but I'm lightly sitting in the tack rather than out of it.

Practice a lot between the two, and if you don't have a coach, take lots of video of yourself and compare it to other riders or send it to someone you trust to ask for their opinion. You can also think of two-point as the air-time of your posting the trot, the "up-beat," if that makes sense. Hope this helps!

-Kels

#jumping #position #two point #half seat