Colleen Kelly - Rider Biomechanics

LaPrincipessa · Colleen Kelly - Rider Biomechanics

I finally had the chance to hear Colleen lecture. A friend of mine has been raving about her for some time. Colleen was up around Nashville doing a clinic and we went last Friday to hear her lecture.

The same friend is also certified to teach Colleen's methods and I took a lesson with her this past Wednesday. All I can say is WOW!

The premise is simple - correct use of the rider's body allows for correct use of the horse's body. Everything Colleen teaches is based on the FEI rule book. In fact her lecture took one rule and broke it down, showing how these simple things impacted the rider and thus the horse.

Kathy (friend and teacher) worked with me on position and engagement of my thigh, engagement of core and deep postural muscles and then how to work with weight aids to influence the bend of the horse.

This is NOTHING like what Linda is teaching from Janice Dulak. While my thigh was engaged, my glutes were relatively soft. My lower leg was completely stable (compared to Linda's leg on the latest SC Change of Direction DVD) and my weight was dropped so nicely into my stirrup with no force at all.

I felt very much in harmony with my horse, able to ride her with more balance. This in turn caused Cricket to feel more balanced.

I cannot wait to explore this further. Just wondering if anyone else had experience with instruction in rider biomechanics . . .

FYI - Colleen's website is http://www.colleenkelly.net (not the best site but some interesting stuff).

Shelby

Please tell us more - both what you learnt from Colleen and the thigh engagement

LaPrincipessa

The lecture was not really a "how to" but rather the framework for Colleen's approach to teaching. She bases everything she does on the FEI rulebook (her bio is on her website) because what is described therein is just good riding. It's not about looking pretty and doing fancy things in an arena, these rules developed from the form and function it took for mounted soldiers to survive in battle. So Colleen took one of the rules and broke it down into "Ten Commandments" and talked about the effect on the rider and the horse.

One of the first things Kathy, my friend and instructor, had me do was stand in my stirrups. With my "normal" posture, it was quite easy to tip me off balance. Kathy helped me adjust my leg - from the hip joint - and roll my thigh more on my saddle. Then, standing, to sort of "hug" my saddle with my inner thigh. Upon standing, it was quite difficult for Kathy to get me to tip. From Pilates, I know that this inner thigh engagement supports the deep postural muscles and it helps you go deep into your core stability muscles. Very cool!

So with this, we did standing and sitting work at the walk. When we moved to the trot, keeping the same mindfulness of my inner thigh, my lower leg was completely stable and rising to Cricket's rhythm was totally effortless. Of course it was more like an aerobic workout but in a good way. It also kept me more in harmony during downward transitions - something with which we've been struggling.

What I loved about the feeling was that even with my inner thigh engaged, my leg was relatively relaxed. No tension in my calf, quads, hamstring or glutes. Using the correct deep core/postural support muscles frees the other muscle groups to fire only when required. Your body knows what to do if you can just balance and get out of the way. My weight was heavy in my stirrups without any brace in my joints. It just felt stable.

Julie

Thats what Sally swift has been teaching for years - see centred riding - fab book

LaPrincipessa

Yep, Colleen referenced Sally Swift in her lecture.

I look at it as part of the "checks and balances" systems of the universe. When you start reading the same thing from different sources, you start thinking "hmm, maybe there really is something to this."

Colleen goes further than Sally Swift because I think she takes into further consideration the development of the horse. What little I've read of Centered Riding (just starting to explore, reading Wendy Murdoch right now), the focus is on correcting the rider and timing the influence on the horse. Colleen seems to be more active on the biomechanics of the rider and then the biomechanics of the horse. I could be wrong - I've just started my learning journey on this one.

AlythLong

I'm finding this very interesting as I am just starting to investigaed centered riding here in NZ. I have audited an intro session, and now I am looking forward to repeating that with my horse and doing another session the next day to advance it. But I have to wait until the end of May....!!! Alyth