When my current FEI horse was at 2nd level he was still not really through in the medium/extended trot every time. So I would post if I didn’t have his back because there is no point in bouncing on his back to hurt him and unbalance me. Usually it was just the first line, and I would say that judges missed it maybe 50% of the time. I didn’t do it to get away with anything, just figured I’d take my -2 and keep plugging at it at home (and of course, now at I-1 he can sit and elevate his back and it’s easier to sit the extended trot than post, frankly). Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!
@Pony Fixer, there is nothing wrong to do what is necessary to better ride the horse.
You knew what you were doing and why. You knew you could lose points but made a fair training choice for your horse’s best interest.
Judges usually won’t condemn that…
Problem with the « Second OP » is that s/he was not aware of the rule and didn’t decide to lose point on purpose. 
I learned that way too! And now have a double whammy of learning to sit properly just at the same time my horse is learning to carry himself better and his gaits have gotten WAY bigger. My trainer wants me to show him Second next spring so I’ll be spending the winter learning how to sit the medium trot.
1 Like
