my balance

Question
hi Shelley,

i face a problem and i think as a horse expert u would be able to help me it it..

i've been ridding for 2 years, 3 months..
from the begining it was clear that my whole legs were so weak it was like a dead part of my body when i was ridding.. but it gets much stronger than before..
i though it was strong enough!
but when i started juming higher fences (135 cm) i totally lost my balance.. although i can keep myself ON the horse..

so could u know where is the weakest point that make me lose my balance.. is it my knee?

all what i want is to have a perfect balace and to have an extremly flexible body.. how can i reach this? is there speacial sports that can help? or special exercises?

kind regards,
sara

Answer
Dear Sara:
You don't tell me why your legs are weak. Do you suffer from a disability or injury? What I can tell you is that your legs have little to do with keeping you mounted- balance is everything. The most common reasons people begin to "fall" when approaching bigger fences is beause of what their upper body is doing -either being left behind the movement of the horse or getting ahead of the movement of the horse.
Pilates are excellent strengthening exercises as is riding without stirrups (trotting poles,cavaletti)to develop balance.
Stay safe,
Shelley Evans