WE’VE all had those days when we skip up to the photography van to find, gasp, our lower leg has swung so far back you can hardly see it. While our ego may take a little knock, does this swinging leg really matter?
Top eventing coach, Caroline Moore, says that “while the ideal is that the stirrup leather stays vertical to the ground, everyone will have a slightly different lower-leg position”. And it’s true. If you take a look at the top riders, in both showjumping and eventing, they have eclectic styles. Even at the top level, lower legs can move around a fair bit.
So just how important is the lower leg?
Top showjumper Nick Skelton admits “my leg was definitely not the most artistic, perfect leg position – I used to ride where I felt comfortable.
“Growing up I just had a pony and no teachers, but it was about getting the job done, not how you looked,” he