210 THE AMERICAN HORSEWOMAN. 



knee should be pressed against the second pom- 

 mel, and the left foot lean lightly upon the stir- 

 rup, the left foot and instep being kept yielding 

 and flexible with the descent, and the body and 

 right leg bearing 1 a little to the right. The 

 descent should be made just in time to catch 

 the next impetus of the horse's movement, so 

 that the saddle will be hardly touched before 

 the rider's body will again be thrown upward to 

 make the rise. 



It presents a very comical and inelegant ap- 

 pearance for a rider, whether man or woman, 

 when attempting the rising trot, to elevate and 

 protrude the shoulders, curve the back out so 

 as to round it, lean forward toward the horse's 

 ears, with elbows sticking out from the rider's 

 sides and flopping like the wings of a restless 

 bird, while the body is bobbing up and down 

 like a dancing-jack, out of all time with the 

 movements of the animal. One reason why 

 some persons are so awkward in the rise is that 

 they sit too far back upon the saddle. This 

 obliges them to sustain themselves upon the 

 stirrup obliquely, thus causing them to lean too 



1 By "bearing to the right " is not meant an inclination of 

 the body to this side, but a resistance sufficient to keep the body 

 from inclining toward the left. As hereafter stated, trotting in 

 a circle to the right will be found an excellent exercise to teach 

 one this bearing. 



