holding the reins while trotting

Question
hello. may i know how to hold the reins english style while trotting a horse. i mean, hand closed together or the way this lady holding the reins in the video link i have attached?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq0Q7lIXw8c

Answer
Rohit,

The rider's hands are supposed to be vertical, not bent at the wrists with the thumbs pointing at each other the way she is holding them.  You don't want to close your hand on the reins, your thumb holds the rein against your forefinger with the rein running up from between your 3rd and little finger through your palm.  You want to be able to let the reins slide through your hands, controlling that with your thumb.  Closing the hand freezes the rider's hands so that the reins cannot be readily adjusted as far as contact with the horse's mouth.  The bit is one of the ways you communicate with your horse so you don't want to make your hands unresponsive by closing them on the reins.  

Hope this answers your question.  Other than the positioning of her hands as far as being turned in versus vertical she's holding the reins correctly and keeping proper contact with her horse's mouth.