What Is a Rising Trot and How Do UK Beginners Learn It?
If you have ever watched riders in a paddock near the North Yorkshire Moors or spotted a lesson group working around an arena at a British Horse Society approved centre in the Cotswolds, you will almost certainly have noticed that distinctive up-down, up-down rhythm that riders produce when their horse moves at a trot. That movement is called the rising trot, and for most people taking their first horse riding lessons in the UK, learning it properly is one of the most significant early milestones in the saddle.
This article explains exactly what the rising trot is, why it matters, how British riding instructors teach it, and what you can realistically expect as a beginner attending lessons at an equestrian centre in England, Scotland, or Wales.
What Is the Trot?
Before understanding the rising trot, it helps to understand the pace itself. The trot is the horse’s second pace, sitting between walk and canter in terms of speed and energy. It is a two-time pace, meaning the horse moves its legs in diagonal pairs. The right foreleg and left hindleg move forward together, then the left foreleg and right hindleg follow. This creates a bouncing, rhythmic motion that travels through the saddle and directly into the rider’s seat.
At walk, most riders find it fairly straightforward to sit quietly and follow the horse’s movement. The canter has its own rocking rhythm that, once found, many riders actually find surprisingly comfortable. The trot, however, is the awkward middle child. Without an adjustment in technique, the rider simply bounces uncomfortably on the horse’s back, which is uncomfortable for both horse and rider and does nothing for balance or communication.
The solution to this problem, developed over centuries of horsemanship, is the rising trot — also commonly called the posting trot in some countries, though in the UK and under British Horse Society teaching frameworks, the term rising trot is standard.
What Exactly Is the Rising Trot?
The rising trot is a technique in which the rider uses the movement of the horse’s diagonal footfalls to gently rise out of the saddle and then sit back down, alternating with each beat of the trot. Rather than absorbing all of the bounce through the lower back and seat bones — which is what happens in sitting trot — the rider allows one diagonal beat to lift them fractionally out of the saddle, then returns as the other diagonal comes forward.
In practice, the rider rises as the horse’s outside foreleg moves forward (in a school or arena, the outside leg is the one furthest from the fence or wall), and sits as the inside foreleg moves forward. This is referred to as being on the correct diagonal. The physical action, when done well, is subtle and almost effortless — a gentle, rhythmic movement that makes the rider appear to float just above the saddle in harmony with the horse’s natural stride.
The benefits are considerable. It reduces wear and strain on the horse’s back, makes communication between horse and rider far more effective, allows the rider to maintain better balance, and simply makes the whole experience of riding at trot far more comfortable and enjoyable.
Why Is the Rising Trot So Important for UK Beginners?
In the UK, most beginner riders first encounter the trot during their third or fourth lesson, sometimes earlier depending on the school and the ability of the individual. At BHS approved riding schools — whether that is a large equestrian centre in the Surrey Hills, a family-run yard in rural Shropshire, or an urban riding school on the outskirts of Glasgow — the rising trot is one of the core foundations that instructors build everything else upon.
The British Horse Society’s progressive riding framework, which underpins the teaching approach at approved centres across England, Scotland, and Wales, treats the rising trot as an essential early competency. Until a rider can maintain a reasonable rising trot, it is very difficult to progress with confidence to activities like pole work, light jumping, or hacking out on the countryside tracks and bridleways that make horse riding in Britain so appealing.
There is also a welfare dimension to this. The rising trot reduces the repetitive impact on the horse’s lumbar muscles during extended trotting work. In an industry that takes horse welfare seriously — and that operates under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which applies across England, Scotland, and Wales — responsible instructors at approved schools genuinely care about this aspect of riding technique, not simply as a technical nicety but as an ethical responsibility.
How Do UK Riding Instructors Teach the Rising Trot?
Step One: Establishing a Secure Position at Walk
No competent instructor at a reputable school will ask a beginner to attempt rising trot before the rider has a reasonably secure, balanced position at walk. During the first few lessons, riders are helped to find their balance without gripping with their knees, to allow their weight to drop down through a relaxed leg into the heel, and to sit upright without tension through the back and shoulders.
This preparatory work is not padding out lesson time — it is genuinely foundational. A rider who tenses their hips, grips with the knee, or leans forward will find rising trot almost impossible to perform correctly, because the technique depends on the rider’s hip joints being free to move forward and back in rhythm with the horse.
Step Two: Understanding the Rhythm Before Rising
Most experienced UK instructors will ask beginners to sit the trot initially — even briefly and with plenty of support — simply to feel the rhythm of the diagonal footfalls before trying to rise with them. This might be done on the lunge, which is a particularly valuable teaching tool used at many BHS approved schools. In a lunge lesson, the horse moves in a circle controlled by the instructor, and the rider can focus entirely on their position and movement without needing to steer or manage pace.
The instructor might say something like, “Can you count the beats? One-two, one-two.” This simple exercise helps the rider’s brain connect with the horse’s movement before introducing the rising action.
Step Three: Introducing the Rise
The classic method used by British instructors involves asking the rider to allow their hips to be pushed forward and up by the saddle rather than actively standing up. This distinction matters enormously. Beginners who try to push themselves up tend to use their knees as a pivot point, stand too high, lose their lower leg position, and fall behind the movement. Those who understand they are responding to the horse’s push rather than initiating movement themselves tend to pick it up far more naturally.
A helpful instruction often used in UK schools is: “Think forward and up, not straight up.” The hips move forward over the hands as the rider rises, then return to the saddle as the opposite diagonal comes through. The seat should barely leave the leather — it is not a vigorous stand-up-sit-down exercise but rather a gentle, flowing motion.
Step Four: Using Counting and Verbal Cues
The rhythmic call of “up-down, up-down” is so familiar to anyone who has ever had lessons at a British riding school that it has become almost a cultural institution. Instructors across the country — from centres in the Peak District to yards near the Brecon Beacons in Wales to equestrian schools serving the commuter belt around London — use this verbal cue to help riders find their rising trot rhythm.
Some instructors prefer “rise-and-sit” or “rise-and-fall” as alternatives, and a few use more musical cues, tapping out a rhythm on the fence post or clapping hands. The exact words matter less than the consistent beat they provide to a nervous beginner trying to synchronise their body with a moving animal for the first time.
Step Five: Checking the Diagonal
Once a rider can maintain a basic rising trot without losing balance or pulling on the reins, the instructor introduces the concept of the correct diagonal. This involves the rider learning to glance down briefly at the horse’s outside shoulder. If the shoulder is moving forward as the rider rises, they are on the correct diagonal. If the shoulder is moving back as the rider rises, they need to sit for one extra beat — called “bumping” — to change diagonal.
Learning to change diagonal is a skill that many beginners find genuinely challenging at first, primarily because it requires doing several things at once: maintaining rising trot rhythm, keeping the reins soft and even, staying balanced, and processing the visual information about the shoulder. Most instructors reassure pupils that this clicks into place naturally over time, and it almost always does.
What Makes UK Riding Schools Good at Teaching This?
The United Kingdom has a proud tradition of structured, progressive equestrian education that is envied in many parts of the world. The British Horse Society, founded in 1947 and based in Kenilworth in Warwickshire, operates an approval scheme for riding schools that sets standards for horse welfare, yard management, and the quality of instruction. When you choose a BHS approved riding school, you are choosing a centre that has been assessed against those standards.
Approved schools are required to use instructors who hold recognised qualifications — the BHS Coaching qualification pathway being the most widely respected in the UK — and to provide horses and ponies that are suitable for the level of rider they are carrying. Both of these factors matter greatly for the experience of learning to rise trot. A calm, well-schooled horse with a regular, rhythmic trot is infinitely easier to learn on than an inconsistent, erratic one. A qualified, patient instructor who understands the common mistakes beginners make and knows how to address them clearly is worth their weight in gold.
Pony Club centres, many of which operate through schools and affiliated clubs across England, Scotland, and Wales, also have a strong tradition of teaching rising trot to young riders. The Pony Club, with its roots going back to 1929 and its strong presence at county shows and events from the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh to county shows in Kent and Somerset, uses a structured curriculum that aligns well with BHS teaching approaches.
Moving Forward
Once you have the fundamentals in place, the possibilities open up considerably. The UK offers fantastic opportunities for anyone interested in this hobby, and with the right foundation you will be well placed to make the most of them.