03/11/2026
Some rainy weather technical riding education about the canter for your reading delight! 😃
Canter is one of the most badly taught aspects of riding. Just as this lady points out in the video, many riding schools teach to trot fast and then chase the horse/pony into the canter. I can’t claim to have seen all riding instructors in action but I certainly remember being taught this way myself and I have seen video posted by other riding schools where this practice is in evidence.
I am particularly suspicious of instructors who claim to get kids cantering in a number of weeks. There is no way most children have enough body awareness and balance to canter correctly after such a short time. Can they canter and stay on top? Sure. Are they cantering well? Unlikely.
I speak from personal experience. I cantered in my very first lesson. I was taught to ride by a jokey. I remember being incredibly proud of myself for achieving this feat of equestrian excellence and I have since spent the rest of my riding career correcting this terrible introduction to cantering. Sure, I learned to hang on and developed a sticky seat but that is not correct riding.
Christina on the other hand was taught by an excellent local dressage coach and accordingly, her canter seat is excellent.
I have seen video of children “successfully” cantering after apparently only a few lessons. The riders are invariably leaning forward, just as is explained in the video and as a result are unbalanced and bounce on the horse’s back. The patient and well trained horses put up with this when they really shouldn’t have to.
Good riding cannot be rushed anymore than playing the violin can or developing excellent ball skills in soccer. Excellence takes time and because we love our equine partners who are patient enough to put up with our mistakes, it behooves us to take the time to develop balance, strength and technique.
Here at Cashmere, we don’t rush into the canter to please clients. We teach by way of a variety of strategies to become balanced and strong. As a result, some of our older riders have an exceptional canter seat and even some of our pre-canter students are so well balanced that it is a delight to observe their skills. One young lady (10 years old) this morning, riding Pearl made me beam with delight when she brought her pony to a stop in a downward transition from trot to walk simply by engaging her core and using the balance she has built over many lessons. When I asked her how much rein she used for the stop, to my delight, she said “about 1/10”.
Anyone can learn to stay on a horse but becoming a quality equestrian is a bit like fine aged wine…it takes time but in the end, the final product is a thing of beauty.
Many riders are taught to run their horses into the canter, which l...
