Centered Riding is a method of riding and riding instruction that is based on the idea of having the rider seated in the most effective position. It combines elements of martial arts, yoga, and T'ai chi ch'uan with knowledge of horsemanship to create a system where the rider is centered and balanced in the saddle. Originally developed by the late Sally Swift, since her death, Centered Riding has been trademarked by a non-profit educational organization that promotes awareness and teaches the principles of Centered Riding internationally. The widespread acceptance of the method marked a significant shift in horsemanship from rote, military-style instruction to a more psychological approach.
The basic components of the centered riding system are "soft eyes", breathing, balance or building blocks, and centering. Soft Eyes is a concept used in many sports in order to relax the athlete and expand their peripheral vision. Swift recommended that riders relax their visual acuity and direct more attention to the tactile interaction between horse and rider. This action alone tends to relax the rider and soften their cues. Breathing techniques are used in all sports. Breathing from your diaphragm relaxes the rider and makes them more athletically capable. For example some athletes add breathing exercises to their daily training routine. Balance or building blocks uses ideas from martial arts and tai chi in order to sit the rider deeper in the saddle which makes them more effective and able to move with their horse.
Centering is a process also done in T'ai chi ch'uan that helps the rider to find their center of balance. This allows the rider to remain centered no matter how the horse moves underneath them.
Read more about Centered Riding: History
Famous quotes containing the words centered and/or riding:
“The difference between style and taste is never easy to define, but style tends to be centered on the social, and taste upon the individual. Style then works along axes of similarity to identify group membership, to relate to the social order; taste works within style to differentiate and construct the individual. Style speaks about social factors such as class, age, and other more flexible, less definable social formations; taste talks of the individual inflection of the social.”
—John Fiske (b. 1939)
“Sometimes a musical phrase would perfectly sum up
The mood of a moment. One of those lovelorn sonatas
For wind instruments was riding past on a solemn white horse.
Everybody wondered who the new arrival was.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)