Rocky Springs Ranch

09/12/2026

09/12/2026

09/12/2026

Hanging out with the crowd.

09/12/2026

Yesterday evening watching the cows and babies.

09/01/2026

As you can see we've been busy at the farm this summer. Then Claudia had cataract eye surgery as well. So we have not posted much.

09/01/2026

😍😍😍

09/01/2026

Before Italian Cavalry Captain Fredirico Caprilli introduced the Forward Seat in the early 20th century horses were ridden in what many call the Chair Seat that harkened back to the Knights in shining armor.

Most people who have heard this history believe that Caprilli only changed how we jump horses, but what he really changed was how a rider balances on a horse under all circumstances.

When we compare the Chair Seat in a jump to Caprilli's "Forward Seat" jump the difference is most obvious. In the Chair seat the rider remains seated in the saddle over the jump. With the Caprilli Forward Seat the rider gets up out of the saddle over a jump. The Forward Seat permits riders to have their own independent balance when jumping that frees the horse to exercise their optimum balance over a jump.

However, this change in jumping position is only one element of Caprilli's entire innovation that was truly a very new way for riders to balance when riding as seen in the walk images. Caprilli completely changed how we balance both in and out of the saddle to a more centered balance riding method.

When we evaluate the red lines through the Chair Seat rider's bodies, we see a position that is static, not fluid like the Forward Seat. The legs are bent at the knee as they would be when sitting in a chair. Chair Seat riders remain in a fixed seated position in the saddle when riding or jumping, which does not allow the rider to move as effectively with their horse.

The pictured Forward Seat positions of US Cavalry Col. Kitts at the walk and Capt. Caprilli himself jumping shows us how Caprilli's balanced method centers the rider's body mass much more effectively in unity with the horse's balance and movement that results in a more secure ride or jump, which at the time was a huge advance in military riding on the battlefield. Cavalries around the world copied it soon after it became public.