KINEMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE EQUESTRIAN - WALK, POSTING TROT AND SITTINGTROT

The purpose of this study was to determine if significant differences existed between skill levels of riders at selected gaits. A high-speed video system analyzed the relative angles of the shoulder, hip and kn ee and the absolute angles of the upper arm, trunk, thigh and lower le g of 63 subjects at three levels of expertise; beginning, intermediate and advanced. Subjects per-formed at three gaits; walk, posting trot and sitting trot. Significant differences were found between the level s of riders for all angles, except the knee (p < 0.05). Significant di fferences were also found between all gaits for all angles, except the shoulder (p < 0.05). Descriptive statistics determined that the advan ced rider positioned the upper body closest to the vertical and carrie d the upper arm furthest from the trunk.