Taking the driving
seat, with Daisy Berkeley
Our ambassador rider, eventer Daisy Berkeley, has
had a busy spring, taking out her rising seven year olds NPS Devon, Electoral
Role and Caroline to some high profile horse trials events. She has a promising
string of youngsters that she is currently producing, and landed a rewarding
first place in the BE100 with Electoral Role at Tweseldown earlier this month.
Daisy is an incredibly experienced eventer, having contested
many world class events, and being a former British Open Champion and winner at
the prestigious Blenheim horse trials. A British eventing team stalwart, Daisy
has medals in all three colours from the European and World Championships, as
well as the Olympics.
So we asked her, as a
Derriere Equestrian Ambassador, to share with our friends, customers and
followers the essence of the event rider’s secret weapon - the driving seat.
“The riding seat can be used to amplify the horse’s own motion,” Daisy explains. “By adding your riding seat to the horse's motion, you
can influence his speed, especially ‘up the gears’. The driving seat asks for
more stride, and more impulsion - immeasurably useful for covering ground to
make up time, reaching a finish line, or helping the horse ‘lock on’ to a fence
with impulsion, if your pace has been more ‘pedestrian’, due to the terrain or
the getaway from the previous fence,” Daisy explains.
“You are essentially using your riding seat in a forward
motion, sitting in the saddle (as opposed to using a light seat), and rotating
the pelvic forward in a circle that matches the horse’s rhythm. The key is to
‘catch’ the horse’s rhythm, so your seat encourages him forward just as one of
his forelegs appears to come back, just before it lifts from the ground; easily
seen by his shoulder rotating. I say ‘one
of’ the limbs, without mentioning a leading leg, assuming that we are
considering a wide-open cross country course - if you’re seeking impulsion in
an arena, try to catch the inside foreleg as it comes back, as the outside hind
can then be influenced in the canter stride. Think of your seat as bringing the
hind end of the horse forward with a longer stride underneath its rib cage. Remember,
we don’t want to be excessively kicking and demanding with our legs, so the
seat can be a really useful aid, allowing for more subtle leg aids.”
Daisy says that a key part of understanding this aid is to
also know when to ‘stop’ driving. “When you need to ‘hold’ the horse’s pace and
impulsion, you can strengthen your stomach muscles and straighten your back a
little, lifting the shoulders at the same time - this has the effect of slowing
the pace, even for a moment.”
Remember that when the rider is comfortable within the
saddle, they can move more easily with the horse’s gait. Comfortable underwear
and breeches are a must.
“Derriere underwear is fabulous; discreet and verycomfortable,” Daisy says. “The breeches are extremely smart and very
flattering. Bear in mind also that a good sports bra is essential, in order to both carry and open the shoulders, and not focus on
any discomfort caused by breast movement,” Daisy concludes.
Look out for our
forthcoming blog on female body shape and riding!
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