Sit in front of a mirror and practice your upper body.  Its best if you sit on a tall stool or if you have a saddle that has a stand you can sit on, that works the best.  Face to where you are looking at the side of your body.  Try to place your ears over your shoulder then balance your shoulders over your hips then bring your legs into position so that your heels are under your hips.  Now you should have a straight line from your shoulders, to your hips, to your heels.  Next work on the look and placement of your hands and arms, I can't really explain your hands without showing you but look at some magazines of top equitation riders and study not just their hands, but every detail of them, then compare the riders.  Next work on your posture but don't try to break your back!  Many people think you must have a prominent arch in your back.  You want to slightly suck in your stomach to engage your abs.  Now pull your shoulders back.  Bring your shoulders up and roll them back, then set them down.  This gives you proper placement.  Now your chest should appear wider.  Then you want to bring your ribcage up and out of your belt.  This next part is a little difficult but can be helpful:

holding your position, take a deep breath and relax to where you feel your weight sink into the chair (you want to set your feet on something for this but don’t set them straight ahead, keep them underneath you) you may have to do this a few times before you actually feel it.  Now take another deep breath, and as you inhale, lift your neck like a string is connected to the top of your head as your whole body lifts.  Now as you exhale leave your neck stretched up as if the string is tightened and let your shoulders and body sink back into position.  Do not strain your neck!  This exercise is supposed to help you relax and elongate your neck when you lift and open up your chest.

The one part of equitation that is the hardest is to stay RELAXED.  you want to hold your position but in a relaxed and calm way. One of my friends Casie Morgan Tibolet (who has won Louisville and Morgan Nationals in SS Equitation) taught me this stretching exercise to help stretch your shoulders. Take one arm and make the biggest circles you can going backwards, then switch arms. You may feel your shoulders pop, but as long as there isn't any pain, it's good.

Now after you have studied the side of your body, turn to where you are facing to front of your body (you may want a mirror on the side so you can still see the side of your body).  Get back into proper position and then look at yourself.  Study every part making sure your legs are out, heels down, etc.  Now you want to make everything even.  I have a tendency to ride with my right shoulder slightly lower than my left but now it's not noticeable.  If you’re on a saddle, make sure your legs are at an even length and that one is not away from the saddle more than another and the same with your elbows.  I also have a tendency to put more weight in my right stirrup than my left (this is why you should make sure your trainer will stand behind/in front of you while your doing trotting exercises down the middle) having uneven legs can also make your back curve.

Hilary Keller