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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 878
  
Location: "...way down south in the Everglades..." | 2hearts1dream...the sitting deep is about the turns not referring to between barrels. It basically (among other things) is the biggest (IMO) cue to get your to set and rate so he/she is able to get under themself and turn effectively. You will still ride more jockey-like on the straight but even then, I feel it's more like a 3 point rather than full 2 point.
Welcome to both of you...I'm a converted A circuit H/J gal too (primarily too because of finances and I was sick of the politics in the hunter world) and I completely love the switch. I still miss jumpers, but I do not miss the hunters one bit. Hoping one day I get another jumper to play with.
But yes, the seat was the hardest thing for me to change and to this day I still find I have a bad tendency to get too far forward every now and then. I've also had to get over my "fear" of not having my heels down 24/7 & having absolutely perfect equitation...it's certainly not Eq. O/F but I do think the overall background of riding H/J is a huge help for body control, timing, rate and distances.
All the advice is great IMO. The only comment I tend to disagree with is that one that said the OP would like a ratey or push type horse. I personally like a free runner but maybe I've had too many crazy ponies back in the day. I don't think that choice is a one shoe fits all. It's a personal fit I believe.
Find a great mentor and good luck and have fun!!
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 Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
 
Location: Oklahoma | Welcome fellow convert! My biggest challenge was not riding with an equitation style and really learning to sit on my seat bones. Another challenge was letting my horses work and not always having to have that feel of their mouths. |
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 Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | Speedy Buckeye Girl - 2015-09-04 8:33 AM 2hearts1dream...the sitting deep is about the turns not referring to between barrels. It basically (among other things) is the biggest (IMO) cue to get your to set and rate so he/she is able to get under themself and turn effectively. You will still ride more jockey-like on the straight but even then, I feel it's more like a 3 point rather than full 2 point.
Welcome to both of you...I'm a converted A circuit H/J gal too (primarily too because of finances and I was sick of the politics in the hunter world) and I completely love the switch. I still miss jumpers, but I do not miss the hunters one bit. Hoping one day I get another jumper to play with.
But yes, the seat was the hardest thing for me to change and to this day I still find I have a bad tendency to get too far forward every now and then. I've also had to get over my "fear" of not having my heels down 24/7 & having absolutely perfect equitation...it's certainly not Eq. O/F but I do think the overall background of riding H/J is a huge help for body control, timing, rate and distances.
All the advice is great IMO. The only comment I tend to disagree with is that one that said the OP would like a ratey or push type horse. I personally like a free runner but maybe I've had too many crazy ponies back in the day. I don't think that choice is a one shoe fits all. It's a personal fit I believe.
Find a great mentor and good luck and have fun!!
Wow ^^ You sound so much like me. I have no desire to ride another hunter, but if I hit the lotto.....back to the jumper pen I go. I just can't do it financially.
I have to disagree on the ratey horse as well, currently I'm riding my first super ratey one.....I love her, but it will always be much more natural for me to ride a free runner. I can do it, and I believe in adapting to the horse you've got if you're going to get tougher.
The body control you have from riding H/J is a huge help. You just have to adapt a few things. I didn't ever have that difficult of a time with sitting, to me it's very simlar to how you sit some horses to drive them up under themselves at a fence. WrapSnap does some great explanations. I did spend many many many hours loping/trotting circles one handed. My trainer made me hold the saddle horn to get used to driving one handed.
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Veteran
Posts: 120
| 2hearts1dream - 2015-09-04 6:57 AM
Sorry to drag up an older thread but I was doing a search for something else and this popped up. I'm in the same situation! I'm a hunter/jumper trainer that is getting burned out and I need something fun for me to do! I barrel raced a little bit at some NBHA and IBRA shows in my early twenties but after having kids I couldn't do the English stuff and run barrels so I stayed with the English since I had a clientele. After reading through all of this great advice the one question I had is why do you want to sit more then in English? Are you talking about sitting the whole run or just when turning the barrel? If the whole run I was wondering the reasoning behind that because wouldn't your horse be able to run better if you were up off his back? (thinking of jockeys on race horses).
Sit in your turns......HARD....lol...or your going one way while your horse goes the other. Most good barrel racers ride forward between the barrels, but you won't see one coming up out of the saddle. We spend years trying to stay in the saddle so we don't get behind our horses. That could cause you to loose 2/tenths hehe |
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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9992
Location: Kansas | WELCOME! |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 929
| 2hearts1dream - 2015-09-04 4:57 AM
Sorry to drag up an older thread but I was doing a search for something else and this popped up. I'm in the same situation! I'm a hunter/jumper trainer that is getting burned out and I need something fun for me to do! I barrel raced a little bit at some NBHA and IBRA shows in my early twenties but after having kids I couldn't do the English stuff and run barrels so I stayed with the English since I had a clientele. After reading through all of this great advice the one question I had is why do you want to sit more then in English? Are you talking about sitting the whole run or just when turning the barrel? If the whole run I was wondering the reasoning behind that because wouldn't your horse be able to run better if you were up off his back? (thinking of jockeys on race horses).
As another former convert...I let the horses run through the pattern, get up and literally "hunt" the barrel, but find that I am over their shoulders and forcing them on the forehand when going though the turn. This causes the infamous "dropping in" (no, we are not surfing, we are barrel racing!) and either potentially shouldering the barrel or not having their weight (and mine) in the hindquarters to they can't dig in and leave hard because all the weight is loading them down in front. (See avatar for reference.) And if I stopped this and sat through my turns I could peotentially move out of the 4/3D to the 2D. Hope this helps! |
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boon
Posts: 3
| Thank you everyone for the welcome and clarification/ advice!! I'm so excited to be back at it!! I'm ready for the change of pace and friendly atmosphere!! |
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