How This Rider Fixed Her Forward-Tipping Posture Using Visual Feedback & the SymmFit Top

Finding That Goldilocks Position

This rider came to a rider physio session on the simulator after struggling for ages with a common issue: a constantly tipping forward posture in the saddle.

Despite endless reminders to “sit up,” “lean back,” or “shoulders back,” she just couldn’t seem to fix it. And that’s because, like so many riders, she didn’t truly understand what her body was actually doing- until she could see it.

Using the SymmFit training top during her session, we were able to give her immediate visual feedback on her pelvis position and postural alignment. And the transformation was incredible.

📸 The Progression from forward tipping posture to neutral and upright

Three-position comparison of a rider’s posture on a simulator: left shows forward tipping with anterior pelvic tilt, middle shows corrected pelvis but leaning back, and right shows ideal alignment using the SymmFit training top as a visual guide.

• Left photo: She’s tipping forward- her pink side panel and bottom blue pelvic line are both facing forward. This is her natural position before any input.

  I didn’t give her any corrections or verbal cues at this point- I just showed her the phot and let her try to figure it out for herself.

• Middle photo: She improved her pelvic position- the blue line is straighter and the pelvis is closer to neutral. But now she’s leaning back, overcorrecting, because she doesn’t yet know how to fully control her body.

  However, once she saw this photo, she understood the issue. She used the mirror on the simulator and the pink lines on the top to help guide herself. Now that she knew what to look for, her awareness improved immediately.

• Right photo: This is her “Goldilocks” position. The blue line is level, the pink side panels are facing up, and both front and back alignment lines are visible. She’s upright, neutral, and finally in shoulder-hip-heel alignment.

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🎯 Why It Worked

This was all done at halt- just sitting statically on the simulator. But as I often say, if you don’t know where the right position is at a halt, you probably won’t find it when you’re moving.

What made the biggest difference? Not just telling her what to do or saying meaningless phrases to her - but giving her visual feedback she could actually understand and use. Once she had the image in her mind of what “correct” looked like, she could reproduce it.

So when she did start to tip later in the session, I could simply say:

“Pink side panel is facing forward.”

Or:

“Pink lines are pointing backwards.”

That was enough. She corrected it without needing to be told to “sit up straight”- because she now had a reference that made sense in her own body. She could now take that understanding with her to her horse riding lessons and when in the arena on her own.

🧠 The Power of External Cues

This is a great example of how external cues (like “lines on your shirt”) are often more effective than internal ones (like “engage your core” or “tilt your pelvis”).

Research in motor learning shows that:

External focus of attention- like watching a line on your clothing or using a mirror- leads to better coordination, body awareness, and movement retention compared to focusing internally on muscle activity or joint angles.→ Click here to view the research article by Wulf (2013) on external focus and motor learning.

The SymmFit training top turns these external cues into something practical and consistent. It helps riders see the difference between leaning forward, leaning back, and being upright- so they can feel it and repeat it.

💬 In Summary

Finding that Goldilocks position is hard- especially when you’re not sure what “just right” actually looks like. The SymmFit training top doesn’t just support rider biomechanics- it gives you real-time feedback on your posture, alignment, and balance.

For this rider, it was the breakthrough she needed. And once she saw it, she could start to own it.

If you’re a coach or instructor, tools like the SymmFit training top can make your job significantly easier. Instead of repeating “shoulders back” or “sit tall” a hundred times, you can give your rider a clear external reference they can see and understand.

It helps take the pressure off verbal cues- and reduces confusion for the rider. You’re no longer just telling them what to fix, they can actually see it for themselves. That means quicker corrections, more productive sessions, and ultimately, riders who become more independent and aware in the saddle.

It’s a small shift that leads to big breakthroughs.