International Event Rider Daisy Berkeley talks stickability
Our ambassador event rider Daisy Berkeley has had a busy
summer, with top ten placings for her youngsters at BE100, including the seven
year olds Caroline and Electoral Role, and a second placing with the nine year
old Midsummer Picnic at the prestigious Novice Regionals. Meanwhile, the eight
year old Ballinteskin Cooper S placed twelfth and eleventh at Barbury and
Rockingham two-stars respectively, showing great promise.
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.
She says that the importance of your position and seat
cannot be over-estimated as an event rider. “As riders, we are often put in a
difficult situation such as the horse stumbling, spooking or jumping a fence
awkwardly; usually he won’t be intentionally unbalancing you, but you are still
compromised. Ultimately, we must be able to stay in the saddle for our own and
his safety,” Daisy tells us.
“You must learn to acquire your own ‘Safety Seat’ - the deeper the seat, the less likely you are to part company, so this must be
established as your most basic tool to be able to use whenever needed. An
excellent method is to have lunge lessons with your instructor; this will allow
you to be able to ride without reins so that you can focus solely on your seat
and position and not worry about steering or pace.
“For more novice riders, try to pull the pommel of the
saddle up into your body with both hands, pushing your seat downwards - the
purpose is to give you a very secure feeling and a real insight into how you
should be riding into his movement. It is particularly helpful in improving
your sitting trot. More advanced riders should be able to cross their arms on
the lunge and obtain the same result. Lunge work is the safest environment to
learn to work without stirrups, and eventually be able to slip your feet in and
out as required in trot and canter.
Throughout your sessions, you must remain
in the centre of balance, i.e. not tipping left, right, forward or backward. Do
not hollow your back, but ensure it remains as straight as possible; however
remember that your pelvis needs to move with the movement of the horse; it is a
common mistake to be too rigid - aim for flexibility and allow the movement to
be absorbed up through your pelvis. This is the art of the deep seat!” Daisy
continues.
“You must be able to go into your ‘Safety Seat’ at any given
moment, whether you are cantering across country in a forward light seat or
jumping, or even relaxed out hacking. It can be automatic to tilt forwards in
moments of danger, but you really must learn to sit ‘up and deep’ when needed. It
is very important to build your inner core strength and flexibility of the
body.
“A good ‘off horse’ exercise is to work with a giant Swiss
ball, such as can be found in gyms, and literally practise your deep seat
position, learning to balance on the ball without it rolling around. Play
around with it by tilting slightly left, right, forwards and backwards to
simulate loss of balance and learn to get back to the centre of gravity. Other
simple inner strength gym workouts include planking and squats.
Don’t forget to
invest in good quality breeches and undergarments to allow you to focus on your
training and riding - obviously Derriere Equestrian offers a comprehensive range
of products,” concludes Daisy.
“Derriere underwear is fabulous; discreet and very comfortable,” Daisy says. “The breeches are extremely smart and very flattering. Excitingly, I have started to get into yoga. When I heard that Mark Todd is quite a follower, and remains supple at his age, I thought I would give it a go! It has made a great difference to my core strength, balance and flexibility. When I combine this with my wonderful Derriere clothing, I hope to have that edge we are all looking for, so roll on next season!”
Daisy says “Derriere underwear is fabulous; discreet and very comfortable and I love the Derriere Equestrian Performance Padded Panty and Padded Shorty options” 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.
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