It is very important to let the legs and thigh drape over the horse like a willow tree. Open the thighs from the crotch creating a big upside down U. If you create the slightest A with your legs, which would mean that you would be closing the thighs, even ever so slightly, you will begin to bounce on the horse. He then bounces you instead of you bouncing him. That is when things fall apart.
Relax the body and allow the hips to lead the shoulders and the knees. Leading with the hips balances the rider and allows the rider to mark the tempo of the stride.
The back must be strong and tall, the head must be in erect alignment over the spine so the rider can feel the weight of the head in the butt bones.
There must be no hinges in the back when you ride. The butt and legs must both be soft.
The rider needs a slight bend in the knee to soften the lower leg. Softening the lower leg also makes a way for the motion of the horse to escape through the knee. The rider must feel the motion of the trot, an up-down, up-down beat. As you feel the down beat of the trot, relax down with it allowing the motion of the horse to drop down, allowing it to drop past your seat and out the knee. If you don’t allow the motion to drop past your seat it will bounce back up through the body. So allow it to drop past your seat and shed from your body out the knee.
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