POSTING DIAGONALS AT THE TROT

Transcription

1 POSTING DIAGONALS AT THE TROT Instructor Club/Center Region Year Topic: Ride on the correct diagonal Certification Level: D-2 Class Size: 2-6 Arena Size Needed: At least a small dressage ring, enclosed Time: 20 min Objective: D-2 Riding: Ride at the trot on correct diagonal, performing simple turns and large circles with proper bend. Equipment Needed: bright tape; 1 or 2 polo wraps of different color References: USPC D Manual, 2 nd Edition, pp Safety Concerns: Calm experienced pony, confident student with no prior scary incident Safety Check: Medical armband/bracelet. Before riding: bridle fit/safety, girth tight/stitching, leathers stitching/bars, helmet fit/approved, horse boots fit/attachments. For a more complete list refer to the USPC D Manual, 2 nd Edition, p. 27 and , Pony Club Safety Book, and Pony Club Horse Management Handbook Lesson Procedure 1. Introduction of Self/Students Hello, my name is and I am member from Pony Club or Riding Center. Let s go around the room and you can tell me your name, certification, and your horse s name. Allow the students to do this and give each one a name tag. (Do Safety check. Everyone should be lined up in the middle, facing you.) 2. Verbalize Objective of Lesson Today we are going to learn how to ride on the correct diagonal at the trot." 3. Ask Prior Knowledge of Topic Can anyone tell me what it means when I say post? Can anyone tell me what we mean by the correct diagonal? Can someone explain how I know if I am on the correct diagonal?

2 4. Demonstration/Discussion: Sometimes you see riders going up and down at the trot and that is called posting or rising. You post one way going left and a different way going right, because it is easier for you to ride and easier for your pony. Let me explain. First, when your pony trots it is a 2-beat rhythm: or up down, up down, up down. The pony does this with diagonal pairs. It means he moves his right front and left hind at the same time and then moves his left front and his right hind at the same time. (You stand, walk and model this, and then say up-down-up-down). When your post or rise, you go up and down with one of the diagonal pairs or one side. You should post on the outside diagonal. This means that when you are riding to the right, you rise when the left front and right hind legs go up, and you sit when they go down. (When you ride to the left, you rise when the right front and left hind legs go up, and sit when they go down.) Here s how to tell which diagonal you are posting on. Start a steady posting trot along the rail. As you sit, quickly glance down at the pony s outside shoulder. Take a quick peek each time you sit, but don t ride along staring at the shoulder for a long time. If the outside shoulder is back when you sit, you are on the correct diagonal. If you find the shoulder is forward when you sit, you are on the wrong diagonal. You can also watch the inside shoulder instead, and then when it is forward, you should be sitting. Either shoulder can be watched, but the up and down will be different. Learning the correct diagonal or way to post is difficult and may take a while to become accurate, so, today we are just learning a new skill and you will need practice with someone helping you to let you know if you are right or wrong. Could I have a volunteer to help us with this? Great. I am going to put some tape on the inside shoulder of your horse so that we are better able to see it move. I am also going to put a bandage on the inside leg so we can watch that as well. (You can also put two different color ones on the front leg.) Now, would you walk your pony out to the rail tracking to the left at the walk please? While the rider is walking let s see if we can watch the front inside leg and when it moves forward we will say STEP. (Practice this just a bit as it is a slower pace, but not a 2-beat). Now let s have our rider trot slowly for us and we will do the same thing, say STEP when the inside front leg reached forward for a step. (Practice a bit and it doesn t matter what diagonal the rider is on at this point.) You can look at the leg and now let s try just watching the shoulder and see if we can tell when the horse steps forward. Any questions? Great. Now we are going to see if our rider is on the correct diagonal. When the horse steps forward with the inside leg our rider should be sitting. When the inside front leg steps forward let s say SIT instead of step. Is she correct? you can walk for a moment please. Let s say she is on the wrong diagonal and needs to change, or she wants to change directions and needs to change the diagonal. There are different ways to change diagonals, but I am going to tell you the simplest way: As you post to the trot, say Up, down, up, down as you rise and sit with the rhythm of the trot. Remember this is a 2-beat. To change diagonals, say Up, down, up, down, down, up. You sit down for one extra

3 beat, two downs, and then go on posting. If you sit for two beats instead of the normal one, you will change diagonals. If you accidentally sit for three beats, you will stay on the same diagonal. Let s have our volunteer trot and post again please and let s watch the inside leg and shoulder. When it steps forward let s say SIT. (Do that until they have it. You can even call on them one at a time.) Now if we see she is wrong she would change, so she would sit twice. Up-sit-sit-up-sit-upsit. (See if she can change or have her change directions and have her change). Some riders watch the inside shoulder/leg and some watch the outside shoulder/leg. Either way is OK, as long as you are going up and down correctly. 5. Application of the activity: I am going to put a piece of colored tape on the bottom of your pony s shoulder because it might make it easier for you to see when the shoulder and leg move forward and back. When the outside shoulder is forward you are up, when it is back then you sit. You can think of it as posting with the outside shoulder. (If you put the tape on the right shoulder then have them track to the left so the tape is on the outside shoulder to start.) Let s all go out to the rail and track left, which means our left hand is to the inside. Who can tell me how many beats in the trot? (2) Good. So that means when we trot it is up-down-updown. Keep your distance and watch where you are going please. When I have you trot in a minute I want you to watch the outside shoulder and tell me when your pony takes a step with the outside leg. You will say UP when they step forward with the outside leg. Don t worry if you are posting correctly or not. I just want to hear you really loud saying up, up, up to start. Quietly let s all trot, watch the outside let and shoulder and say UP each time your pony steps forward with the outside leg. (Watch, listen, and offer any assistance as they trot around. Once you think everyone has the rhythm you can then ask them if they are on the correct diagonal. If not you can coach them through how to change diagonals sit two beats). Just listen now. As you are trotting and you say up, you should be up out of the saddle. See if you are correct. If you are-great. If you are not then you will need to sit two beats and change the diagonal. (You could continue with this, change directions, make large circles, walk and trot so each time they have to find the diagonal again.) Please remember that learning the correct diagonal is difficult and it takes all of us a long time to consistently get it correct. As you get better you will look down less and less. Eventually you may just be able to feel it. 6. Additional Ideas if time allows: You can have them do large circles on the correct diagonal and then the wrong diagonal and see if they can feel the difference. On some horses it is very obvious, while not so on others. Practice circles and turns with the correct bend and diagonal. 7. Conclusion: Who can tell me why it is important to post on the correct diagonal? (It is easier for you to ride,

4 easier for your pony, and you are both better balanced). How many beats to the trot? (2) Can anyone explain how the legs move at the trot? (diagonal pairs: RF and LH, then LF and RH) What do I do if I am on the wrong diagonal? (Sit for 2 beats instead of one). If I am watching my horse s outside shoulder how do I know if I am on the correct diagonal? (Right shoulder forward and I am up). Are diagonals easy or hard to learn? You will need to practice this a lot and with someone watching who can help you. You made good progress. Thank you for coming today. Photo permission USPC from Susan Harris

5 The United States Pony Clubs, Inc. The Kentucky Horse Park, 4041 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, KY / (PONY) Fax 859/ Copying permitted for internal use by and for members and volunteers of The United States Pony Clubs only.