What very odd choices.
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I listened to it and think they made some great comments and addressed controversial topics head on. After listening to it, it occurred to me how ironic this topic is as the hunters are also judged on manners, of which many people commenting seem to have few.
I agree with the point that people need to find kindness, as the impact on social media is so huge. “We are all someone’s child.” That about sums it up.
Perhaps it’s time for us to all channel our inner hunter and proceed through life (and our online presence) with grace, class and elegance just as we attempt to do in the ring.
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Well-said.
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I’m an adult re-rider and have definitely been out of the hunter game for a while. I was wondering if that, “Pushed up butts with sway backs (the rider) laying on the neck, hands buried under their stomach in the mane,” thing was some odd trend or what???!!
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Can you post or link us to a picture of yourself over a fence?
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Uh-oh now you’ve done it. All the people that believe it’s done because the riders and horses are so much better than days of yore will be nipping at your heels.
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Joined this board over 20 years ago, this same topic comes up every single year-why do others ride bad. Tiresome.
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Agreed - nothing new to rehash here and boy does it always dissolve into “better than thou” nonsense. I’m all for biomechanics discussion but that’s never the case with these threads.
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I am so far removed from the world of A/AA professionals that I don’t even have an opinion. I have no idea what the top level hunters feel like to ride and jump, so I feel like it’s impossible for me to judge.
I know how I want to look and ride and my plan is to continue to toddle along here in “tiny jump” land, doing the add on my nice, quiet quarter horse, trying to consistently achieve my mental vision for myself. What the pros are doing doesn’t really have much bearing on that.
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I’ll bite. I’m proud of my position and my horse jumps well. JF has ridden this horse and complimented her form. I find the ducking very distracting from an otherwise lovely jumping horse. But it seems if it doesn’t negatively impact how they jump 
it’s all kind of a moot argument.
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Nice horse.
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Agreed - I think the far more interesting discussion is the biomechanics of the different positions used across different disciplines. This past year I’ve done one horse in hunters, jumpers, and eventing. And the photos and videos from cross country vs jumpers vs hunters all show different positions (as they should). A cross-discipline conversation about the biomechanical differences and their benefits/drawbacks would be genuinely interesting especially compared to the constant harping about ducking.
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I’m not capable of contributing to any such discussion, but I would definitely read it with great interest.
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I agree! I used to ride the hunters and was encouraged to bend over and enjoy it 
Once I moved to the jumpers that had to change. There’s a big difference between jumping 3’3 with a gap and ton of ground line and to taking off much closer to the jump with a much steeper upward ascent over a bigger obstacle.
I’m 6’ tall with a very long torso. Since I’ve moved to the jumpers, I’ve had to really work on holding my upper body because all that extra weight on the front of the horse makes it harder to jump clean. It’s taken a lot of pilates to get strong enough and half the battle is probably keeping my hips back.
I do think people with a shorter torso have a lower center of gravity that’s father back and they have more wiggle room on what they can do in terms of their upper body. I think that’s also why you see some of the tall European guys with a more rounded back, it feels like they’re trying to get as much their own weight behind the pommel.
For sure if my shoulders are lower than my bum, I will be in trouble on landing regardless of discipline .
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Ohhhh, what a good boy. He’s a keeper for sure.
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Great examples! I am the opposite body type at 5’1’’ with a short torso, and agree I can probably get away with a bit more especially on a bigger horse. That said, I definitely still notice how my body influences his jump, both negatively and positively.
Cross country - Coming out of water where he was backed off to a brush fence he was taking a peak at, I’m in a much more defensive position and not really out of the tack much.
Jumpers - Cantering around the 1.0m jumpers, notably less defensive and what I think is a pretty neutral position overall. I find with my short t-rex arms, if I’m too open with my body I don’t have the reach for an appropriate release if he makes a bigger effort.
Hunters - Low quality still from a video in the 3ft hunters, and harder to tell here, but no room between my chest and his neck and a longer, very generous release. He’s not the most snappy knees to nose jumper (especially over this height) but the generous release and more exaggerated press across the ground definitely got a bit of a rounder jump with more reach through his neck.
These were all from competitions within months of each other on the same horse, so not a reflection on change in riding style over the years. Just different disciplines/moments and what was most appropriate.
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Yes, I also had to learn to hold my upper body once I went to the jumpers. It takes a lot of strength and control for sure! But if I didn’t do it, my horse just got stronger, flatter, and wronger.
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