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Equestrian dressage is the ultimate test of the rider’s ability to train the horse. The aim of this thesis was to present several methods to analyse the dynamic technique of dressage riders and horse-rider coordination. Competitive dressage riders were assessed on a riding simulator. The considerations for analysis included comparing markers affixed to skin or tight-fitting trousers. The rider’s sagittal pelvic posture at halt and between walk, trot and canter were assessed. There was no significant correlation between static and dynamic pelvic tilt, therefore, the rider must be assessed with dynamic methods of analysis. The influence of competition level was assessed for measures of the rider’s pelvic posture and simulator-rider coordination and coordination variability. No measure was significantly related to the rider’s competition level, which suggests that in the controlled environment of the riding simulator, competition level does not influence the rider’s kinematics. Analysis of the rider’s intersegmental coordination variability indicate how riders achieve an independent seat, and how they adapt to greater anterior-posterior displacement from medium to extended trot. The characteristics of the continuous relative phase in medium and extended trot shows how riders can achieve similarly in-phase coordination with varying features that likely relate to their physical characteristics. As none of these measures were related to competition level, another method of grouping riders’ kinematics was sought. Self-organising maps and k-means clustering were applied to riders’ trunk and pelvis pitch in medium trot. Riders were assigned to one of three functional groups by the relative timing of their peak posterior trunk and pelvis pitch and then segmented further to eight clusters that revealed a diverse range of rider strategies. These strategies reflect a range of techniques used to achieve harmony, and for the first time, a range of strategies based on factors aside from competition level. |
