Improving my jumping seat

Practise plenty in both a standing light seat and a deeper light seat. In the light seat, think about:

• Keeping your eyes up ahead of you, over the horse's ears
• Keeping your hands in front of you with your elbows slightly bent
• Feeling whether you have the same pressure in both stirrups
• Checking that your foot sits under your hip. The foot often ends up in front of the hip because many saddles have the stirrup bars set too far forward, which loses the support and tips you easily into a chair seat

You can challenge your balance by holding the reins in one hand and stretching the other arm straight out while you stand up in the light seat. If your horse is reliable, you can even drop both reins and hold both arms straight out.