06/06/2026
While I don’t spend much time on social media, the recent post on Noëlle Floyd titled “Dispelling the myth of "the perfect position,"” with Karl Cook, as well as McLain Ward’s well-reasoned response managed to reach me early this morning. It’s one of the few times I’ve seen something on social media that I thought deserved a comment from me.
I worry Karl’s statements can be interpreted by young or inexperienced riders to mean working hard to create a good position isn’t necessary, when I believe it is the most important fundamental of learning to ride. I worry he missed the “why” of correct position.
The entire point of classical position is not about the right look or winning. It is about safety and clear communication. Safety for rider and, in my opinion most importantly, safety for the horse.
Around JMS, I’m known for saying “the best way to win consistently, is to consistently do things properly.” Winning can mean success in the ring, but winning can also mean a long, safe, healthy partnership for horse and rider.
Every aspect of horsemanship must be based on sound fundamentals. There are far fewer true accidents than people would like to admit. Everything we do in the barn to care for the horses properly is based on safety and what we do in the saddle is the same. If you fall off your horse because of bad position, you’re not going to be able to keep them safe as they gallop off without you. Just like if you don’t do everything properly in the stable, you are risking illness or injury.
Our riders are always working hard to improve their position. Beezie is often held up to be one of the epitomes of classical equitation and she still works with a personal trainer, takes lessons, spends hours maintaining her position. So much of what we do in our sport and with horses is out of our control. One’s position is something we CAN control. I can’t fathom good horsepeople being dismissive of striving for excellence in one’s position, if they truly understand position’s relationship with both safety and effective communication.
Correct position minimizes mistakes. It keeps the rider from falling back and catching the horse in the mouth or crushing the horse’s back or keeps a leg from inadvertently abusing the horse’s side. In the best-case scenario, it gives the horse the ability to jump its best without impingement from the rider. In the worst-case scenario, it puts the rider in a place to be most effective when something goes wrong. A perfectly balanced and positioned rider is much more effective at helping a horse out of a stumble or misstep on landing than one that is incorrect. Correct position should never be confused with stiffness. Correct means supple, balanced, and empathetic. Poor position causes stiffness and imbalance.
Classic position minimizes falls and injuries. Classic position ensures clear communication. Classic position must be MASTERED before any “artistic license” with position can and should be employed.
Straying from the classical position, thinking of Beezie taking the famous flyer to the last fence of the jump off at the National Horse Show with Cortes years ago, would be an example of good use of artistic license. That was a calculated risk with full mastery of her position and complete confidence in the training of the horse underneath her.
Without mastery of the proper position, and all her tools, and training, the same decision would amount to reckless endangerment of the horse.
While perfection is impossible, we are striving for it because it’s our responsibility to the horse, to do our part to help keep them safe in this sport. One must first be safe to achieve the ethical partnership between horse and rider for the betterment of both.
-John Madden
