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When he is seated, whether on the bare back or on the cloth, we would not have him sit as if he were on his chair,1 but as though he were standing upright with his legs astride. For thus he will get a better grip of his horse with his thighs, and the erect position will enable him, if need be, to throw his spear and deliver a blow on horseback with more force.
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1 In the jockey mode. “I think that those critics are in error who understand that X. meant that the rider should take the extreme `fork' seat; for not only would such a position be very insecure upon the simple saddles of the Greeks, but it is inconsistent with the graceful and firm position exhibited by the marbles.” E. L. Anderson inRiding (Badminton series).
Xenophon. Xenophon in Seven Volumes, 7. E. C. Marchant, G. W. Bowersock, tr. Constitution of the Athenians. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA; William Heinemann, Ltd., London. 1925.
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