James Avery and One of a Kind II navigate Bramham’s hills. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
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For the first decade of my riding career, I competed in the hunters and dabbled in show jumping. The most riding I ever did outside of the arena was the occasional trail ride around the property (note: don’t be me). When I decided to make the switch to eventing, learning how to ride across terrain was intimidating, but crucial. Now, it’s something that I truly enjoy. There’s no better feeling than moving out across a big open field on top of your favorite horse.
While longtime eventers seem to trot and gallop up and down hills without even thinking, recovering hunter riders, like me, or new riders will have to think about it a little bit more. Because I love concrete step-by-step instruction, I’ve broken down the nuances of riding up and down hills to hopefully make it a little more attainable for new eventers.
Note: I feel woefully under-qualified to give someone else instruction about how to ride terrain. So, I’ve turned to my bible, Training the Three-Day Event Horse and Rider, by the late, great Jimmy Wofford for support.
Training over hills isn’t just good practice when it comes to your own fitness and position. It’s one of the best things you can do for any horse – even a dressage horse! Jimmy wrote in his book, “Working over undulating terrain, practicing lengthenings uphill, practicing collections downhill, doing a medium walk on the bit while going down a steep hill, lateral work across slight inclines – all are useful. The horse finds it difficult to resist when his topline is continually changing attitude and shape” (68).
Before we get started on the nitty-gritty details of how to ride over hills, first you have to have the right equipment. Particularly with green horses, you’ll want to protect your horse’s legs to provide some padding from interference. When they’re first learning how to use themselves over terrain properly, they’re more likely to bang their legs against one another. I’d recommend a full coverage boot, like this one.
Another essential piece of equipment are gloves. While gloves are always a good idea, they’re particularly useful when you’re trying to get your horse to sit back as you ride down a hill. If your horse is built downhill conformationally, they’re more likely to lean on your hands and use you to balance themselves. Gloves will help prevent the reins being pulled through your grip.
Getting out of the ring and out into the country is good for your horse physically and mentally. And, for me, it feels like the under-saddle equivalent of soul food. However, it does take a little practice. According to Jimmy Wofford, concentrate on maintaining a vertical stirrup leather while moving out over terrain in a two-point position. “This will provide a base of support for you as you either push your upper body forward going up the slopes, or allow your upper body to get behind the stirrup, with the stirrup leather in front of the girth, when going down a slope or landing over drops” (91).
Of course, here Jimmy is discussing steep degrees of elevation, such as landing over a drop. For the beginner eventer, these principles still apply, just more subtly.
Mélody Johner and Toubleu du Rueire climb the hill from 17 to 18 at the Pratoni test event last May. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
When moving up a hill at either the trot or canter, think about softening your position. Let your arms flow forward with the horse. If you’re posting, think about pushing your thumbs towards the horse’s ears every time you’re out of the saddle.
Close your hip angle as the horse moves up the hill. I’m purposefully avoiding saying “lean forward” here as this can lead to riders jumping up their horse’s neck. Closing your hip angle, instead of leaning forward, allows you to keep your weight centered in the saddle and back. Don’t arch your back or slump your shoulders as you close that angle. Think about keeping your spine in a neutral position and keep your chest open with your shoulders back.
Allow the horse to use their body freely by posting the trot or sitting in a half seat or light seat at the canter. You should feel their stride lengthen slightly, their back engage, and the hind end push underneath their body to power up the hill.
Have you ever been told to think about a marionette string or pole that runs through your spine and out the top of your head? Many instructors use this visual to help their students stack their spine and sit up tall. Go back to this visual to help you sit extra tall and long as you go down a hill.
Tuck your tummy and pull your belly button back to your spine. It should almost feel like a crunch. Your goal is to use your core to support yourself and your horse down the hill, keeping them straight and encouraging them to use their hind end and shift their weight back instead of plowing down the hill on their front end.
If you have a horse who really likes to shove themselves on their front end and rush down the hill, a good neck strap can really come in handy. Going down the hill, reach forward and grab the neck strap while still keeping your body back. Gently pull upwards on the strap to apply pressure at the base of the horse’s neck and remind them to sit back. Use it like a half halt. Don’t just haul on your horse’s neck, but apply pressure briefly and release.
Being able to balance the gallop, and moderate energy use, down hills is crucial for an economic round at Pratoni. Emiliano Portale heads down to fence 8 with Aracne dell’Esercita Italiano. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Despite crunching your abs, your legs and hands should be soft. You don’t want to feel like you’re braced against your horse’s mouth, as this will create tension and stiffness in their body. As a matter of fact, you should strive to always maintain a soft lower leg position, even when galloping on the flat. On the topic of maintaining a two-point position while galloping, Jimmy writes, “Do not stiffen your knee or straighten your leg and take up the shock of the horse’s gallop stride by waving your upper body at the horse. This causes you to work out of rhythm with the horse’s stride and to unbalance the horse by continually moving from slightly in front of the motion to slightly behind the motion” (97).
There’s a lot of nuances to riding up and down hills. When it comes to eventing, riding up and down hills becomes a lot more difficult than the classic trail riding rule of ‘lean forward going up a hill and lean back going down a hill.’ And, like most things when it comes to horse sports, those nuances make all the difference.
The best advice my trainer, Carly Nelson of Stoneleigh Equine, gave me was to work on your position and these skills for two or three rides and then let your position come naturally up and down the hills. After all, every rider is built differently and has different conformation. Everyone will have their own way of moving with their horse over terrain.
And remember: perfection is an impossible goal.
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