Scientists have proved that the riding position called the "martini-glass" or "monkey crouch" helps their horses go 7% faster.

Scientists at the Royal Veterinary College in London used GPS data and the same intertial sensors found in Wii controllers to track the movements made by the rider and horse. They found that during the course of a horses stride, the horse's body moves up and down by 15cm. Using the "martini-glass" racing position, the jockey's legs behave like elastic bands, which enable the rider to rise and fall by about 6cm during each stride. The result is that the jockey's legs take some of the work away from the horse allowing it to go faster.

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