Horse Riding Styles - English Riding versus Western Riding

There are two major ways to ride a horse. These two styles are called Western style and English style. You will need to choose the right style for you. How are these styles different, you ask? Read on.

English style riding and Western style riding are two very different methods of riding, but they have one common trait. You will have to practice a lot to ride either style successfully. If you want to be in competitions, both the English and Western styles will take a lot of patience and practice. If you want to learn to be a good rider in a shorter period of time, you might want to look into Western style riding. This is a great way to learn how to ride for pleasure since it’s a more relaxed version and easier for beginners to pick up on.

English style riding is important if you want to learn how to jump or learn dressage with your horse. Western, on the other hand, will deal with barrel racing and rodeo events. Endurance and eventing competions are all handled by Western riders.

Which style do you think you should learn? In a way, it will depend on the trainers around you and also how your personality is. Are you easygoing and relaxed? Do you hate to sit up straight in a chair? You might want to think about Western riding. Western riders enjoy a more laidback approach to horses and riding. They are actually even expected to lean back a little bit in their saddles. They are often seen wearing jeans, even when competing in events. Of course, English style is much more formal with stricter wardrobe and perfect posture in the saddle.

There are other differences to these two styles of riding than just how you sit in the saddle. You will see that the English riders hold their bridle reins with both hands, while Western riders only have them in one hand. Also, English riders have much shorter stirrups than their Western counterparts.

Western riding basically looks the same no matter what event you are competing in. English is not this way at all. English style riding has different variations for each event. You will need to decide between the hunt seat style and the saddle seat style when you first begin to ride. You will not want a hunt seat style if you plan on jumping with your horse. If you want to ride down relaxing trails or even compete in saddle seat shows, you will need the saddle seat style. Later on, if you wish, you can choose the dressage saddle for the dressage events.

No matter which style you choose, you will need to make sure you have on protective gear. You will want helmets to protect your head in case you fall.

         

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