Efficient cross-country riding is all about being able to tackle any terrain. While many of us typically train in arenas or flat fields, it’s crucial that both horse and rider develop the balance and strength to negotiate hills, being able to canter and jump fences both up and down slopes. In this exclusive article for H&H subscribers, Olympian Nicola Wilson and top coach Cameron Beer explain how you can boost these skills
Riding up and down hills across country is an integral part of tackling terrain for all eventers, but it’s a skill that many of us neglect to practise. How do you build rider feel and horse strength for downhill balance and uphill impulsion? Should we be practising jumping and galloping downhill? We ask former European eventing champion, Nicola Wilson, and BE UKCC level 3 accredited coach Cameron Beer for the answers.
For a horse and rider to successfully tackle terrain, they need to ensure they have a strong core and good balance for a good cross-country position.
“Riders can improve their core through squats, Pilates, or by generally getting fitter and stronger,” says Olympian Nicola who is also a BHSI and Level 3 coach. “Stand on the ground in a squat position – that’s the balance and posture you need when riding uphill or downhill. You need to be able to engage your core consistently.”
Squats are good practice for cross-country riding, developing the rider’s balance and posture for when you are in the saddle.
(Image credit: Alamy)
“The same applies to the horse. If they don’t do any hillwork they won’t develop their own core strength or balance.
“Riding uphill requires a light seat – out of the saddle, slightly leaning forward – while maintaining a strong position and engaged core. If we took you off the horse, you should be able to stand and balance in that same position.
“That means carrying yourself with an independent seat and not relying on the reins or the horse’s mouth for balance. Your core stays engaged, your body stays over your feet and over the horse’s centre of balance.”
When riding downhill you want your horse to go down as quickly as possible while also maintaining balance.
“Bring your shoulders up so you’re in a gentle squat,” advises Nicola. “Some people say you should be able to hold an egg between you and the saddle; I prefer the image of polishing the saddle with your breeches. You’re neither sitting nor standing – you’re carrying yourself.
“Engage your stomach muscles and your seat. Your shoulders should come back more towards the horse’s hips. Tucking your seat underneath you helps engage your core. You’re encouraging the horse to take more weight on the hindlegs, which lightens the front end and the rein contact.”
Whether you’re leaning slightly forward uphill or bringing your shoulders back downhill, your position must always be in balance with the horse, you should not be balanced on their mouth. Always use your leg to support the horse.
“It’s crucial the rider maintains their own balance when cantering downhill so the reins can remain light. You don’t want to use the reins for support, as that causes the horse to lean, putting more weight on the front legs, which increases the risk of injury or stumbling and makes the ride less efficient,” adds Nicola.
How to improve your cross-country riding up and down hills
Before attempting gradients, Cameron suggests riding in an arena or a flat field to ensure both horse and rider have adequate self-carriage.
“It’s important that we can go from a big canter to a small canter and in that small canter, we can give and retake the reins for, say, four strides, while we’re sitting down and on our seat, so that the horse is in self-carriage and we’re in self-carriage,” says Cameron.
“If you can’t do that, then you’re always going to struggle cantering down a hill because downhill is asking: ‘are you both leaning on each other, or can you both balance yourselves separately?’”
To practise this, Cameron recommends cantering around the arena for six or seven minutes putting in some gear changes while imagining you’re riding up and downhill.
“I would be thinking, ‘I’m coming down a hill so I’m going to release my rein slightly, sit back, put my leg down.’ Then I would pretend I’m going uphill and lean forwards, put my hands up a little bit more towards the neck so I’m practising those different body positions and the feeling of self-carriage within the arena and within gear changes,” says Cameron.
Take your skills on to the hills
Once you are competent at riding in self-carriage in an arena, you can take those skills onto the hills. Nicola recommends riding either a 100m circle or a straight line on a hill in a working or showjumping canter. This exercise improves strength and balance for both horse and rider.
“When you’re going uphill encourage the horse to stretch down and work over their back and the base of their neck to develop the topline and core,” Nicola says.
“Tilt slightly forward in a lighter seat, your leg keeps the horse’s back and the saddle up under you, and you’re encouraging them to work from their tail to their poll. Riding uphill will require a little more pace or impulsion.
“At the top of the hill, bring your shoulders up, engage more lower leg, and encourage the horse to compress the canter by bringing their hocks underneath them, lifting their withers and shoulders, and moving into more of a dressage self-carriage frame. Maintain self-carriage and a light contact.
“At the bottom of the hill, stretch the horse down again and repeat maybe four times on each rein.”
“When I take a young horse out, that first cross-country schooling session is less about jumping and more about tackling terrain so we might spend most of our session going up and down hills and working on rebalance,” reveals Cameron.
“Feel that you’re setting them up in balance, releasing the reins, setting them up, and releasing again. At first, maybe you can only release for one stride before balancing again, but gradually you will feel you could go down that hill in a collected canter, releasing the rein for, say, four strides at a time.
“Of course, in a cross-country course you’re not going to go down with loose reins, but at least you and the horse feel you have elements of self-carriage going down that hill, which should give you confidence,” adds Cameron.
Troubleshooting downhill fences
When you’re preparing to tackle jumps downhill it’s important to remember that horses may take a stride out or could go on a deeper distance than expected.
“Your body has to stay back, ready for anything and because you’re going to land more downhill than you started,” Cameron advises. “I tell everyone to lengthen the reins – not drop them – two or three strides before the fence so the horse has freedom of the head and neck over the fence.
“That way, mid-flight, you’re already tall rather than planning to release on take-off. If the horse takes a stride out and you haven’t prepared, you end up pulled forward with the reins and land on top of the horse and then it gallops off out of balance. Stay tall, be ready for landing, and then gather your reins gradually on landing.”
Lengthen the reins when jumping downhill fences to give the horse freedom to use his head and neck.
(Image credit: Alamy)
Cameron also advises that whenever you’re jumping a single fence downhill, you should train with the mindset that one day there will be another jump after it.
“As quick as you can after landing in training, gather up and imagine there’s a B or C element four strides away. In competition, if you want to make time, you can roll on after the fence but in training, always prepare for a combination,” concludes Cameron.
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Working on a freelance basis, Emily has attended a wide range of horse shows and events as Horse & Hound’s onsite reporter, as well as writing features for both the magazine and website since 2004. Emily assisted the British Horse Society with the launch of its national equestrian awards initiative, and also plays a key role in the press teams for major sporting events including Wimbledon and the London Marathon.
