Military historians regard the invention of the stirrup as a major development in the art of warfare. If you were involved in mounted warfare and were trying to whack some guy on the head, it really helped to have the stability and security that stirrups provide. Fortunately, society has stopped using horses for warfare; equally fortunately, the stirrup has stayed with us. It is fortunate because, for a rider, the stirrups are the ground.
Because I want you to be well “grounded” in your technique, I always make this point about the role of your stirrups. But stirrups or no stirrups, if you don’t have a good lower-leg position, you literally don’t have a leg to stand on. I have been teaching people to ride over fences for quite a while now, and I am firmly convinced that you cannot overstate the importance of lower-leg position.
Anything of importance is built from the foundation up—including the lower-leg position. We are talking about the jumping lower-leg position, so we have to adjust our stirrup leathers correctly for jumping. I want my riders to have about a 90-degree angle behind their knees when
