Which Two Horses Would George Love to Ride?
1 Over the years, the only other person I’ve known to be as obsessed about stirrup-iron position as I is Helen Crabtree, the doyenne of saddle-seat equitation about 40 years ago. She said, “George, it starts with the stirrup iron.” It’s such a trivial-appearing thing, but in my own experience, it’s critical because it is the foundation of position and balance.
With that in mind, I want this very nice rider to twist her iron so that the outside branch is a little ahead of the inside. This puts the iron perpendicular to the girth, which allows for a suppler leg. Otherwise, her leg is excellent: Her toes are turned out, her heels are down, her ankles are flexed and there is even distribution of contact between her thigh, inner knee bone and calf.
This is how a rider’s base of support must look: The thrust of the horse’s jumping
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