I’m somewhat new to eventing and have always struggled with my upper body balance since I have a fairly long torso, 5’9" tall, and about 130 lbs. I have the world’s best trainer yet she’s only 5’2" and hasn’t experienced the struggle lol. Does anyone know of any professional female riders that are my height and build? I’d love to watch some youtube videos on them. Also, if you’re a fellow tall-ish female, please feel free to share your experience and tips! Thanks in advance!
Lucy Jackson is very tall. she is based in England and rides for New Zealand. there should be a lot of video of her. She has ridden at Rolex, Pau, etc. and been on the Kiwi high performance squads.
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Meghan O’Donoghue is quite tall in her upper body. There’s plenty of youtube videos of her riding and she’s brilliant to watch.
I think Lauren Kieffer is pretty tall. I think she is about 5’10.
I’m 5’9 and used to be as thin as you (unfortunately no longer). But while not long in my upper body I’m not short either. For me it is all about core strength. I need my core strong to stay soft, tall but quiet with my upper body (otherwise I tend to tip my shoulders too forward)…especially on smaller light horses. I competed on 15.3 hand TB mare to Prelim and jumped 4’ courses on her. It was critical that I didn’t move my upper body around and stayed in the middle of her…she taught me a ton but I find all my horses like me to ride that way. Good luck. There are quite a few nice tall and quiet riders out there to watch.
eta- you need not only good core strength but also a good lower leg.
I’m about 5’10-5’11. IIRC Lauren Kieffer was pretty much exactly my height when I was standing up next to her last, and I believe I remember reading in an interview that Maya Black is almost 6’ tall.
I don’t think you have to limit yourself to watching just female riders though. WFP is very tall and has a very long upper body in relation to his legs but compensates for it very well and rides with a very short stirrup. So it is really what makes you feel comfortable. Taller riders need to be very careful with their upper bodies, but there isn’t one way or one style to do that, you just have to find the balance that works for you. I had a male SJ coach who was about 6’3 and he liked to ride with a longer stirrup to feel like he balanced out his upper body. Will Coleman is very tall (about 6’3 as well) and he has a very good upper body and helped me with my gallop position when I started eventing. Thinking about sliding my hips back was helpful as I wanted to stay a bit too vertical all the time. I, personally, don’t like to ride with an extremely short stirrup, even when galloping.
The biggest thing that is going to help, in my opinion, is fitness. You need to have the core strength, back strength, and leg strength to keep you balanced in the saddle and hold everything where it should be. As a tall rider, I don’t think anything has more of a positive effect on my riding and balance in the saddle than time spent in the gym, especially as an adult with an office job and not as much saddle time as I’d like. Weight lifting is your friend!
I can’t see being taller being an overall hindrance. If you are fit it will make you much stronger than a short person. So get fit and especially abs and back.
I’m 5 foot 5 and in my observation about 5 foot 7 or 8 and slim is the ideal for competitive riders, slightly tall women and slightly small men 
Obviously everyone has to make do with what they’ve got, but except for race track jockeys being shorter than average is not an advantage except for schooling naughty ponies.
So embrace the advantages of being taller.
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Spoken by someone not dealing with it. When you Body is taller…it is easier to get pulled out of position or collapse at waist. When you are taller in the body…you influence the horse more with any movement. So you get a fraction of a second ahead…it absolutely impacts the horse more in a negative manner.
There are pros and cons to everything. But taller riders have a lot to focus on too.
short torsos and long legs have always been considered more ideal body types for riding just because of these issues.
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Ok, I admit it, I’ve always wanted to be a couple inches taller!
Lol. I like my height…except dating sucked as most of the tall guys dated shorter women;)…and I struggle to find slacks that fit…but so do my shorter friends. But no kidding…pros and cons to everything!!
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Totally agree!!
Another 5’11’’-er here and another suggestions for FITNESS! Your core must be so strong - and not just your abs. Focus on lats, hip flexors, etc. as well.
Somebody on here once suggested practicing the “rider’s push-up” which really helped me with upper body awareness/control. Basically, starting at the halt, shift your hips backkkk and bring your torso down so that your chest hits the pommel of the saddle, then sit up. Don’t use your hands at all - only core. Once you get good at that, do it at the walk and trot. Really hard. Really effective.
I like watching Will Coleman for inspiration.
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I’m only 5’9" but have also found core strength to be key. Tonight, I will try these push-ups.
I’m 6’ 1.5". Luckily other than a long femur, I’m pretty well proportioned. BUT straight upper body is still very hard for me. Excited to try the rider push ups! While riding with “the cube” is a love/hate relationship, it is definitely a good reminder to stretch up and use core. I love watching all the pros who are tall as well - very inspirational.
A well-fitting saddle is key - I’m currently in one that I’m constantly fighting to keep my position in, and it’s very difficult to hold my leg in place (on an extremely narrow TB, as well!).
(Although WFP can somehow ride with his knees over the flap and still look great… but he’s not human. :p)
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If (at 6’4") have balance or center issues, it’s that much worse with all that weight up there. Being closer to my horse’s center of mass would keep things from going awry as quickly.
On the other hand, on a horse I’m going well with when we’re on the same page and I can use my weight to help him balance around ridiculous corners in a jump-off or save us both wiping out when the footing is bad, it’s almost magical. I’ve sure eaten a lot of dirt too, though.
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You guys are all singing the song of my people :lol: My first “galloping position” lesson with my coach (who is 5’4 with a short upper body as compared to my 5’9+, long-torsoed frame) was enlightening. She told me to “stand straight up with your hands resting on his neck.” I promptly stood in my irons and my hands were 5" away from my gelding’s neck. We had to re-evaluate 
But in all seriousness, being tall does bring its own set of issues. I have a horrible tendency to canter down to a jump in a perfect canter, see a beautiful distance, and then I relax and wait…but I relax my core and my position/balance/riding goes to crap. So I’m currently trying to be mindful of that, because my core is (rightly so) helping my horse to keep that nice canter and then I just throw him to the wolves 4-5 strides out. Not cool.
I like to watch Will Coleman ride too. He had some video on Instagram a few days ago that I watched several times…he is so stinking balanced and in control of his body. I watch WFP as well, although I’m not nearly so tall. And I love to watch Dorothy Crowell ride XC…I’ve seen videos and have seen her ride in person at KHP and it’s amazing. She’s fairly tall and just has this way of using her body to rebalance the horse from a gallop that is seamless.
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Mark Todd.
Charisma.
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I totally used to do the same thing…I had to change the word in my brain. Instead of thinking oh good, do nothing, or sit quiet…I had to make myself think “maintain”. Might not work for you as well but it really helped me a ton.
Weelll I’m certainly not a pro, but I am 6’0 tall, ~150lbs, and ride a fairly petite TB mare We only play in the sandbox though - she isn’t an eventer. I have stupidly long legs, and I have to consciously work to keep them long and relaxed, rather than scrunching them up when I use them.
Also - get a saddle/saddles that fit you properly. Game changer.
Other than that - buy stirrup leathers that fit you properly, godspeed finding boots (become good friends with your local saddler/leather guy :lol:) and have fun! I love being tall - I can reach everything and mount from the ground in a pinch!
