OK Cindy! Glad you finally got the pictures up, because that really helps to see! He is such a pretty horse.
(Side note on contact for beaker too) With western bits especially, you can't ride with constant contact. But in this case he looks like he's being ridden in a snaffle? Is that right Cindy? In a snaffle, you ~should~ have steady contact, but it still can't be your handle.
In any event, I would say your reins are too long, which is why you end up bringing them all the way to your chest before you can feel contact at the end. Need to shorten them to more contact without also using them for balance. I want to recommend some excercises that will really help.
The best way I think to learn quiet hands is with no reins at all, on the lunge line in the round pen. There, you can focus on your position and your hands without the added complication of trying to steer him too in an open area. In the round pen, have someone lunge him as quiet as possible, ie, no radical cues that will make him lurch on ya, and drop the reins to his neck. Practice riding it (just sit the trot no posting) while holding your hands down at your sides. This will teach you balance that doesn't rely on your hands. Then ride, still on the lunge, while raising your arms slowly straight out and over your head, and then back down to teach you to hold that balance while being flexible moving. Then finally ride it, still in the round pen on the lunge, with your hands in the proper position without the reins being there. You'll know in those excercises how much you've been using your hands for balance. If it comes easy, then just do it one day, and return to it only as needed if you can feel yourself hanging on with the reins. If it comes hard, then keep riding it that way until it matters not what is in your hands, your balance is in your seat.
Clear as mud?