Please watch the below video by James Beim advice the best riding position for polo, while explaining the importance of good balance and working with the horse rather than against it, underneath the video you will find summary information and the transcript from the video. This information will help you complete the knowledge check to complete this course.
Hi, I'm James Beim.
If you imagine sitting on someone's shoulders and trying to steer them around, if you're sitting in the middle of their back and making your weight really heavy, they're going to be like that, not wanting to do anything. If you're on their point of balance, a horse, which is above the wither, they do everything a lot easier because they're balanced and they're not feeling any weight.
So the main thing with the riding position is to get up onto the wither and be strong in your legs and keep your position as still as possible in every move you make. A lot of guys will be forward, be back, be pulling, you know, be out of time with the horse basically. And then imagine the horse is trying to do things for you, but it's, you know, the aids are all wrong. So it gets worse and worse. Obviously the better horses are the easier, it is to do that.
But as young guys, I can't tell them enough, but to keep working on their riding is the most important thing. Because in your career you need a lot of help all the way up and if you're a good rider and people like the way you ride then they'll always give you horses and you'll always have a leg up if you're hard on horses, if you're too strong in the hands then the guys never want to mount you and the whole process becomes a lot, lot harder. So it's mainly, you know, being strong in the legs.
And having good feel in your hands, you know, knowing when to not pull the horse anymore or when to pull a bit harder.
Below is a brief summary to act as a reminder of the key points; however, by reading the transcript, you will be able to understand the important and often subtle messages from this course.
The Technique:
Here is the description of the techniques
- Get up onto the horse’s withers.
- Be strong in your legs.
- Keep your position as still as possible in every move you make.
Key Teaching Points:
Here are the key teaching points:
- A horse is balanced and not feeling any weight when the rider is sitting above the withers.
- If the rider is not in time with the horse then the aids are all wrong.
- Young players should keep working on their riding as much as possible in order to encourage others to mount them.
- Being strong in the legs.
- Having good feel in your hands is very important.
Common Mistakes made by the Players Include:
- Not sitting above the withers.
- Not staying as still as possible on the horse.
- Being out of time with the horse’s actions.
In Conclusion:
- If the rider is above the withers then the horse is more balanced.
- The rider needs to use strong legs and be in sync with the horse.
- The rider needs to stay as still as possible and have a good feel in their hands.
