[nuevaburro]

I know you are supposed to ride with a straight line from shoulders to heel yadda yadda, but why is that? Chair seat used to be how everyone rode, as far as I can tell from old photos.

[Petstorejunkie]

No, they rode in a shoulder hip heel alignment. That said, the aid for lengthening through the shoulder is to bring the leg slightly forward, so many riders appear chair seated in photos of extended trot.
SHH is for even weight distribution down the thigh and into the stirrup. When the femur is correctly rotated in for maximum surface area, the lower leg will hang further underneath the body.
What you see incorrect sometimes now is a shoulder, hip, toe alignment which typically weakens the lower back into a hunter type perch and the pubic bone drops.

[Velvet]

When? Where? Who? Pictures/proof, please.

[Carol O]

If you are in a "chair" seat you are sitting on your tush, and cannot connect with your seat bones, and your seat bones are where all the magic happens.

[ideayoda]

A chair seat is not merely that the lower leg is not aligned, it is that the thigh is too high (even braced against a roll) and it tends to contract the butt if extreme. When that happens the rider is likely to end up left btv and behind the motion and holding on with the hands.

A seat aligned ear/shoulder/hip/back of heel is more likely to stay with the motion. For the bottom part, it also means that the heel is stretched down which helps also allows the hip and knee to be more elastic/lower/elastic as well. If is the easiest in which to keep the pelvis level and ease in collection. Light seat (slightly ifv) or two point is done with shorter stirrups to allow movement at speed/etc.

[mbm]

the best reason to ride in the classically correct seat is that you are balanced and centered over the horses center of gravity and your own.

if you think about it - why don't humans walk in a chair seat? because you can not easily do so and stay in balance and effective. same with sitting on a horse.

IMO the horse can carry the rider much easier if the rider is balanced over one "spot" and that spot is close to the withers - not have the bum back behind the COG, and landing more or less heavily on the horses lower back.

In the end it is all about efficiency of movement and physics.

[Velvet]

I'm still waiting for something from the OP that shows how everyone used to ride in a chair seat--when riding dressage.

[Equibrit]

You CANNOT keep your body in balance unless it is aligned correctly from bottom to top. Weight can only be supported properly in a vertical fashion. Deviation from vertical alignment results in serious problems.

For an explanation in pictures read Sally Swift.

Velvet; I'm sure OP could supply a multitude of pictures af a chair seat. She/he is not however, obliged to put up with your beligerence. Jump back in your crater.

[LarkspurCO]

Well, she did say that "chair seat used to be how everyone rode" ...


Meow!

[fairtheewell]

Try posting down up up, and see how far you get in a chair seat...that will answer your question. lol

[alibi_18]

I know you are supposed to ride with a straight line from shoulders to heel yadda yadda, but why is that? Chair seat used to be how everyone rode, as far as I can tell from old photos.

No matter if it is accurate or not for dressage. Why would it be wrong to go with your time and ride according to today's standard?

People used to jump like THIS and like THIS

and this one is pretty impressive : Cadre Noir de Saumur

ETA: it was meant to save the horse's front legs from to much pressure in the landing phase.

Ah the good old time... fortunately, after Caprilli, they all changed their techniques and are now more in sync with the horses.

[Equibrit]

Well, she did say that "chair seat used to be how everyone rode" ...


Meow!

Everyone in who's world ? There is the possibility that "everyone" in the OP's world is very few. I'm pretty sure that he/she is not familiar with every single rider in the world.

[LarkspurCO]

Everyone in who's world ? There is the possibility that "everyone" in the OP's world is very few. I'm pretty sure that he/she is not familiar with every single rider in the world.

Sounds like a question for none other than ... nuevaburro!

[Velvet]

Thank you, to everyone who replied to equibeyatching. From what I can tell in your replies, I'm very glad she's still on my ignore list.

Once again, to the OP, if you're going to post such statements, you need to show examples. It could even be you do not know what a true chair seat looks like or that you're using examples of very poor riders and extrapolating from there that everyone at a certain time rode that way.

We have no point of reference for a complete answer to your OP.

[billiebob]

I'm just a lower-level putterer, so take my reply for what it's worth. I used to ride in a slight chair seat, and learning how to open up my hip made the single biggest difference in my riding that I've found. In a chair seat, along with being unbalanced and not being able to truly have independent aids, it's very hard to use your seat and thigh correctly. It's been probably about 10 years since I really had to work on my chair seat, and it still amazes me when I stop my horse using only aids from my weight and inner thigh.

[Bogie]

No matter if it is accurate or not for dressage. Why would it be wrong to go with your time and ride according to today's standard?

People used to jump like THIS and like THIS

and this one is pretty impressive : Cadre Noir de Saumur

ETA: it was meant to save the horse's front legs from to much pressure in the landing phase.

Ah the good old time... fortunately, after Caprilli, they all changed their techniques and are now more in sync with the horses.

In the Cadre Noir photo the rider is actually staying out of the horse's way and his seat is with the motion of the horse. When jumping, getting too far forward is just as bad as being too far behind the motion.

[Carol O]

No matter if it is accurate or not for dressage. Why would it be wrong to go with your time and ride according to today's standard?

People used to jump like THIS and like THIS

and this one is pretty impressive : Cadre Noir de Saumur

ETA: it was meant to save the horse's front legs from to much pressure in the landing phase.

Ah the good old time... fortunately, after Caprilli, they all changed their techniques and are now more in sync with the horses.

Those photos are painful to look at!

[Carol O]

In the Cadre Noir photo the rider is actually staying out of the horse's way and his seat is with the motion of the horse. When jumping, getting too far forward is just as bad as being too far behind the motion.

I hope the rider in the last shot had a good chiropractor!

[Freebird!]

Personally - and this is coming from a hunter/jumper/retired racehorse rider - I find that aligning your heels to your shoulder and hips, placed the leg too far back, which makes the upper body tip forward. Instead of alligning my heels to my hips, I look at the stirrup leathers, to see if they are perpendicular to the ground, which, IMHO, keeps the order much more balanced.

[Foxtrot's]

Take another look at the Cadre Noire photo, the middle fellow is riding for the jump rider!

And - Velvet, the OP did add, as far as she could tell from old photos.
Honestly .... who cares.