No stirrups, bend, lengthening and riding out

Whichever part you are riding, four requirements apply to every Galop 5 rider: be steady without stirrups, look for bend, lengthen the stride without hurrying it, and ride out over varied ground in all three gaits.

In the exam programme

Be steady and relaxed without stirrups in all three gaits.Specific part
Look for your horse’s bend on curves.Specific part
Lengthen the stride progressively while keeping an even cadence.Specific part
Be able to ride out over varied ground in all three gaits.Specific part

Steady and relaxed without stirrups

Without stirrups, you can no longer rescue your balance by pushing on your feet: only your seat keeps you on. The aim is not to grip but to stay relaxed — the pelvis following the movement, the legs hanging long, the upper body upright — at walk, sitting trot and canter.

Cross your stirrups over the withers, with the buckle of the leather pulled down a few centimetres so it doesn’t make a lump under your thigh.
Sit on both seat bones, thighs flat, legs relaxed: if your ankles are supple, your heels will drop by themselves.
Start with a slow trot, on a calm horse, a few minutes at a time, and build the sessions up over the weeks.
Don’t grip with your knees: they act as a pivot and make you bounce. To steady yourself, hold the pommel or a neck strap, never the reins.

A word from the instructor

Riding without stirrups has one little-known benefit: it gives you a whole new appreciation of stirrups.

Looking for bend

In Galop 4, you learned that a curve is ridden with flexion at the poll, and that bend curves the horse from poll to tail along the line it is following. In Galop 5, you look for it on every curve: the horse wraps itself round your inside leg and its hind feet follow in the tracks of its forefeet.

The right rein asks for the flexion
The right leg, on the girth: the horse bends round it
From poll to tail, the horse follows the curve
The left leg, a little behind: the quarters do not swing out
The left rein supports and holds the shoulder

Fig. 5.13The aids for bend on the right rein

The rider’s eyes and shoulders follow the curve.
The inside rein asks for flexion with a soft action of the fingers.
The outside rein supports: it limits the flexion, holds the outside shoulder and controls the speed.
The inside leg, at the girth, keeps the horse active; the horse bends round it.
The outside leg, a little behind the girth, stops the quarters from skidding out.
Your weight sinks a little more into the inside seat bone, without you leaning.

Common mistake

Bending only the neck. The horse looks in but escapes through its outside shoulder, and its quarters skid out: it isn’t bent, it’s twisted. Less inside rein, more inside leg and outside rein.

Lengthening, step by step

To lengthen a gait is to lengthen the strides — to gain reach — without quickening them: the cadence, that is the tempo of the strides, does not change. In Galop 4, you varied the length of stride in rising trot and canter; in Galop 5, the lengthening is progressive: it builds over several strides and comes back the same way.

Prepare on a curve, then ask on a straight line: a long side or a diagonal.
Your legs ask for longer strides; your hands let the neck lengthen a little, without losing the contact.
Count the rhythm under your breath: if it speeds up, the horse is running rather than lengthening. Come back and ask again, more gently.
Come back to the working gait gradually, before the corner.

Riding out over varied ground

Out hacking, in all three gaits, you adapt your balance to the ground and stay in control of the speed. The safety rules from Galop 4 remain the foundation.

Uphill: in balance over your stirrups, upper body inclined forward, hands moving forward to let the neck work; take a handful of mane if you need to.
Downhill: at the walk, the horse straight down the slope, your upper body upright, your weight in your heels, your hands following without pulling.
According to the going: slow down on hard, slippery, stony or unfamiliar ground; canter only where you can see a long way ahead and the going is good.
In a group: keep your distance, don’t overtake without warning, and it is the ride leader who decides when to canter.

Ekidemy

The Galops^®, from the first step to Galop 7