I was going to ditto the saddle fit. When you have a saddle that fits you well then you don’t have to struggle with your position. It would be helpful to see you sitting in the saddle…seeing it on Sydney is only half the equation.
Also, try standing really tall and engaging your abs when walking. It is good strength training and builds body awareness.
Jumping on the saddle fit bandwagon as you will have a terrible time fighting a saddle that doesn’t fit you correctly. I am guilty of (previously) saying “oh its the way you sit if you have pain/can’t sit up, etc.” because I had ridden in a huge range of saddles - dressage, roping, endurance, jumping - without pain ever and able to adapt. So I was pretty sure all these people complaining about pain were just sitting wrong. Oops.
THEN I met my nemesis with some sort of wintec on a lesson horse. It wasn’t too small. I have no idea what the problem was, but it just about destroyed my “nether regions”, canter being the worst. I begged for mercy and my trainer let me borrow her saddle - problem solved. Round 2 with some sort of german dressage saddle. No pain, but I could not feel my seat bones no matter what I did. I couldn’t even tell what I was sitting on - it was like I had no butt… Weirdest experience ever. I actually couldn’t tell where my upper body was in space, or how I was being supported. It was almost worse than riding in the crotch killer.
Can you try other saddles, even if it means riding other horses? Might be enlightening.
Editing to add I looked at the saddle pic - to my eye it looks pretty deep with a steeper rise (although I prefer a flatter saddle so my eye might be off) - in a deeper saddle make sure it is big enough or the rise will get you.
I don’t get it, these pictures are in a western saddle?
@Draftmare does Western Dressage I believe. For this particular question you may get better answers in the Western Forum. Even if most of the people who hang out in the forum don’t do Western Dressage they probably have better insights about your saddle fit than we do.
Yes, I posted the pics because somebody earlier in this thread said that seeing pictures of me mounted would help. The concept of sitting up is the same in regular dressage as it is in western dressage, or at least I think it would be. I lean forward in both saddles. I school in a dressage saddle to save the wear on my considerably more expensive saddle…and it’s a lot heavier and kinda a pain to get in and out of my tack locker. Sorry if that was confusing!
See, I don’t think you look like you’re leaning that far forward in the western saddle. Maybe a little more in the last photo, but I didn’t find it to be overly egregious. Make sure you keep your eyes up and looking forward - that’ll bring your chin up and will also help keep you sitting up straighter. Our heads weigh a lot! When we’re not mindful of that fact and of what angle we tend to carry them, it can throw everything out of whack. I’ve had to remind myself that I’m NOT a jumper rider - there’s no need for me to be turning my head to a 45-degree angle to look around a circle for the next jump! You also look like you suffer from the same “short arm syndrome” that I suffer from which is the bane of my dressage existence. Well, that and feeling as though I’m incapable of using enough inside leg. :winkgrin: Although in the 3rd photo, you might be just a smidge more forward than I’d like and your elbows should be closer to your sides, your horse looks relaxed and is obviously listening to you. You’re also doing a good job of keeping your inside shoulder forward…just remember to keep looking up! Also, your horse is precious…I want to kiss that adorable white nose. 
I certainly don’t know anything about Western saddles or western disciplines…but I can tell you that you are fighting a losing battle in that dressage saddle. While it may be fitted better to the horse now, that stirrup bar is too far forward.
The balance in your dressage saddle and western saddle is likely VERY different, especially since what I’m seeing in your photos is not leaning of the upper body, but a tendency to tip forward on your pelvis and stick your seat bones out behind. The seat on your western saddle is likely wider all the way through than your dressage saddle, and helps keep you rocked back a bit (though the first pic posted definitely looks like you’re “perched” forward in your pelvis).
I have the same issue, and have to remind myself to keep my seat bones scooped down into the seat of the saddle. Frequently I have to think “hips forward” to achieve this. When I get it right, it fixes my leg as well–when I’m perched, my legs are stuck too far back and I can only use a portion of my leg, but if I get my hips where they belong, I can suddenly use my whole leg independently and (gasp) at the girth where it belongs! To help make sure I’m in the right place, I also sometimes practice picking my whole leg straight up off the saddle, without moving my seat. This really works as a good double-check that I’m actually sitting and not perching.
I asked for a photo of you in the saddle. Sitting up Should be sitting up, but it really does depend on the saddle. You don’t look bad in the western saddle…the saddles are not interchangeable though, so I still would want to see you in the dressage saddle.
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