Judy Westlake

is a U.S. Dressage Federation (USDF) silver and gold medalist, a Certified Instructor and a Graduate Core Instructor for the Balimo Equestrian Program. She has studied with Sue Blinks, Gunnar Ostergaard and Karl Mikolka. She teaches clinics throughout the U.S. and trains out of Florida and Vermont. Her Web site is judywestlake.com.

Q: Explaining Dressage Seat Aids

I've been a jumper for the past 15 years and have recently made the transition to dressage. What confuses me the most are the seat/weight aids. Common descriptions of them seem terribly vague. When using the seat as a bending aid, it is stressed that the alignment of the body shouldn't change as one puts more weight onto one seat bone. However, when I put more weight on say, the right seat bone, this automatically tilts my pelvis to the right, too. Another technique says to "put weight in one stirrup" or "step into the stirrup." However, this actually seems to raise my seat bone from the saddle on the same side. When using the seat as a driving aid, some sources advise to push with the seat (driving seat) while others condemn it. Which is correct?

Name withheld by request

A: Judy Westlake

The seat aids are the most subtle aids in dressage. They are what we are using when one hears the comment “it looks like the rider is just sitting there doing nothing!” They are some of the most difficult aids to develop as THE RIDER NEEDS TO FOLLOW THE HORSE'S MOTION AND MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE PRSSURE AND POSITION OF THEIR SEAT WHILE STAYING IN BALANCE AND RYHTHM WITH THE HORSE.(TAKE THIS OUT ideally they require the seat to be independent from the horse’s movement) [The idea of the seat being “independent” from the horse’s movement is, of course, a correct point to make but somewhat unusual. Will you please explain this more with some reference to still being “one” with the horse?].

When dressage riders talk about “the seat,” they refer to more than only the seat bones (your seat bones are the two small bones on the bottom of your pelvis). The seat includes your entire pelvis, lower back, hip joints and thighs all the way to your knees, supporting and balancing the weight of your torso at the walk, sitting trot and canter. 

  When talking about aids—any aids—we mean an increase in pressure; in this case with our seat bones. When increasing the pressure on our seat bones—for example when shifting our weight to the left in order to turn left--we must be very careful not to lean, which is what happens if you lose your pressure in the opposite seat bone, or lifting your seat bones out of the saddle when you step into your stirrup.

Because a rider’s aids must not throw her seat out of balance, it requires independence in ones seat. This means we need to keep our body centrally balanced over the middle of the horse, OUR SPINE CENTRALLY LOCATED UPRIGHT OVER THE HORSE'S SPINE(TAKE THIS OUT like a pole), with our weight equally distributed on both sides of the horse. In the beginning, it is very common for riders to “put their weight behind” the aids (leaning backwards) or lean over the aids (leaning forwards) they are using. Horses by nature move under our weight first, away from pressure second. If, when riding a turn, I put pressure on my inside seat bone, and then lean over it, it will make the horse lean in, under my weight, losing balance. If, on the other hand, I keep my body upright and balanced over both seat bones during the turn, and increase the pressure slightly on the inside seat bone while positioning it slightly forward at the same time, the horse will yield to the pressure in my seat and bend around the turn, remaining upright and balanced. My outside seat bone stays slightly back, with pressure on it, allowing my body weight to stay upright and balanced over both seat bones.

In order to turn, you can add pressure to your stirrups, having your inside stirrup at the girth, the outside one behind the girth. Be careful again not to lean with your upper body to the inside, but keep your torso upright and centered over the middle of the horse, only adding a slight increase in pressure on your stirrup. If you lose your seat bone (you can’t feel it on the saddle), you have put too much weight down your stirrup.

To practice the seat aids for turning, sit on the edge of a chair, possibly in front of a mirror. Sit upright, with what we call a ‘neutral pelvis,’ not tipped forward (arched back) or tipped back (rounded back). Have both feet a little out in front of you, flat on the ground, about 2 ½ feet apart, the toes pointing slightly outward. Now press down on one seat bone, then the other, being careful not to tip your body. You’ll realize the action will come from your core muscles, deep within your pelvis, up to your lower ribcage. When doing this exercise, be careful not to tighten your bottom (buttock muscles) or lower back. Now position one seat bone slightly more forward, the other one slightly backward, and vice versa. Think inside leg at the girth and inside seat bone forward toward the girth, and outside leg and outside seat bone backward. Turn your ribcage slightly so you are looking in the direction of your inside seat bone. This will cause a slight twist in your waist. We also call this a “spiral seat,” or “turning seat.”

You may add pressure to your feet. Press one foot down on the ground, mostly through the ball of your foot. Be careful not to raise your heel or change the weight on your seat bones in the chair.

Now try putting pressure down your (inside) seat bone and foot at the same time. This is the pressure we may apply as a turning aid when riding that will not throw our weight off balance.

Our pelvis has a following motion when riding. Our seat bones stay in the same spot, positioned to turn/bend left, right or go straight (both seat bones pointing forward equally). Our pelvis tilts slightly back and forth above our seat bones. So while sitting on the chair, take your neutral pelvis, and again through your core muscles, slightly round your lower back, going only as far so you don't come off your seat bones, your knees pop up or collapse your upper body. Then slowly arch your spine forward, again being careful not to go so far that you come off your seat bones, fall onto the front of your pelvis or harden you back muscles. This is the motion our pelvis will have in the walk, sitting trot and canter. The pelvis motion should match the tempo of the gait we are in. While this is happening, our thighs need to be relaxed so they can follow the motion of the horse's rib cage (not be clamped on). When the top of our pelvis is slightly tipped back, this is our driving seat position, when it comes forward toward a neutral pelvic position, this is our stopping seat position. There is a little of each in every stride. We don't want to get stuck in either position as this will make our horses either stop, or be quite unhappy. Within the stride, we can accentuate our driving aids (using our lower legs) while our seat is in the driving position. Our seat itself does not do the driving. This means our seat bones should not ”pump,” “polish the saddle” or slide back and forth on the saddle as this can be quite irritating to the horse's back. Advanced horses can be trained to go forward when the seat assumes a driving position, but the rider is quick to follow the motion with her seat once the horse goes forward. Advanced horses have extremely strong back muscles and can take more pressure from the seat than younger or lower-level horses.

Does this sound challenging? It takes many hours to develop an independent seat. It is easiest to work on the lunge line, but it can be developed off the lunge line, too. As we progress up the levels, our seat aids need to go up the levels, too. It is a continual work in progress. The key is to keep the seat centered, following the motion of the horse (not more or less). This is what makes these aids invisible and makes it look like you are doing nothing!