JANUARY 2011 THE RIDER /33 Fitness for Riders: Be Kind To Yourself By Heather Sansom.


Fitness for Riders: Strategies to Stay on Track


Last month we talked about how important it is to cut yourself some slack: be kind to yourself, by writing down realistic goals in small chunks, that you can fit into your busy schedule.


Staying on track when there are external pulls on you from multiple directions can be a real challenge. Probably the number one excuse I hear for not main- taining a happy level of wellness is time. For busy riders, it’s just too easy to give all our available time to the horses, without so much thought about the self we are asking our horses to deal with.


It’s tempting to think in terms of New Years’ reso- lutions, but most of us are so


conditioned by media and the diet and fitness industry to a series of ‘shoulds’ that are not productive at this time of year. For example, most peo- ple will wail that they don’t do every- thing they should. At this time of year, confessions of eating too much or the wrong thing come out too. Or they bury themselves in busy- ness- always a good excuse, especially if it’s work, fami- ly or barn related. Last I checked my agenda, almost everything in it fell into these categories.


If you commute to work and run a farm proper- ty as well, there certainly are challenges to finding time to take care of yourself. Put your riding goal first in your mind: you want self carriage and stamina to get the most out of your riding, and to keep your horse sound and healthy. It all comes down to doing the right thing for your horse.


In today’s relatively sedentary culture, we do a lot of sitting and stressing. The We allow our bodies to marinate in stress-related chemicals, food processing chemicals, and fermentation from too many carbs and not


enough digestive movement. Ew. And we wonder why we feel slug- gish, affected by moods, and compelled to reach for more sugar for a pick-me-up. We are also not in the kind of shape that helps when working around horses. Think of your 5-20 minute shots of deliberate acts of exercise as your cheapest stress-relieving move that will make you better able to carry your part of the bar- gain with your horse.


I find it really helpful to remember three things at this time of year:


1. You’re meant to move and fuel movement, not sit and eat.


2. It’s ALWAYS busy this time of year, so everyone is in the same boat- and to use an old say- ing my mother used to quote ‘that’s what separates the men from the boys’ folks (what you do to stay your course in adverse cli- mate).


3. Even Olympic athletes have built-in relative downtime in their yearly training calendar. Cut yourself a little slack. In fact, build it into your week, but also remember that repetitious motions like choring and riding, wear the body down over time. They do not give you the strength reserves to perform those tasks, without injury. Eventually it will catch up with you. So a little daily attention now, will give you back hours and hours in the sad-


Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame’s Milestones for 2011


Anniversary of the Birth of Northern Dance


Northern Dancer was born 50 years ago this upcoming May 27, at Windfields Farm, Oshawa, ON The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the year of birth of Canada’s most famous racehorse: Northern Dancer. No other racehorse in Canada’s illustrious his- tory captured the imagination of a country like the son of the Canadian-owned bay colt by Nearctic and Natalma. A small muscular, chunky horse, and a late foal in the spring of 1961, the Dancer did not attract a buyer willing to invest $25,000, his reserve bid, at the annual pre-priced sale of yearlings at Windfields’ Wil- lowdale site on Bayview Avenue. He was the smallest horse in the 1962 sales, which was the main reason why his owner and breeder, E.P. Taylor, was able to retain the world’s ultimate racing bargain, a horse that estab- lished himself as the most influential sire of the 20th century.


famous sons include Nijinsky II, Storm Bird, Danzig, Sadler’s Wells, Nureyev, Lyphard and Vice Regent.


The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame is proud to recognize the racing and breeding feats of Canada’s most famous and successful thoroughbred and a member of the inaugural class of horses to be inducted into the Canada’s Hall of Fame in 1976.


dle and working around your horses.


You do not have to feel guilty for enjoying holiday feast- ing representing time with the friends and family you do all that hard work for all year.


So here’s what you do, now that you’re at the beginning of a brand new year: you make a SMART plan- specific, measure- able, achievable, realistic and timebound goals. Realistic for you might be 5 minutes a day of stretching to start. Then in a few weeks, you may see your way clear to building in walking because it helps you have stamina in the saddle, and mobile hips. As a rider, write down what your exercise activities and health commitments are giving you for your riding. It will help you stick to your goals when you know every day how the activity con- tributes to your riding.


Here are some sample SMART goals:


1. Move at least 15 minutes a day doing something that isn’t your regular chores. Your muscles really need to move in different ways to keep strong neuro-muscu- lar connections, and to keep you supple. As a rider, this means you stay in better control of your body, and you can move with your horse more easily. If all you do is ride, you are in danger of creating strain injuries in muscles and tendons that do not get an opportunity to stretch to their full range.


2. Eat 6-8 fruits and vegetables


daily. They’re easy to have on hand, V-8 counts and doing so will help cut cravings, keep your blood sugar constant (for better decision-making), and you’ll make healthier eating choices all around.


3. Have a healthy snack in the hour before riding or a social event. Snacking regularly helps you make good decisions about food opportunities. How you fuel yourself has a big impact on your riding. Having some juice or something to eat in the hour before you ride will help your core stay strong. When you ride on an empty stomach, your body cannot engage your core muscles properly, and this compromises your posture and aids.


4. Have a fruit fast the morning after and the morning of a big huge holiday meal. You’ll be right as rain in 24 hours and not carrying any guilt around into the new year.


5. Do one fun activity you don’t normally do on a regular basis. Doing so will keep things fresh, new and fun. This could be a half day skiing with family, a big long dog walk, a trip to the gym. A trip to a gym where you pay the


day fee once in a while is well worth it, as part of your overall regular commitment to exercise. Many people don’t realize that if you do things outside the gym, visiting the gym once a week or less is still valuable. Get away from the ‘all or nothing’ 3-4x a week message gyms throw out there at this time of year. That’s their message because that’s how they make money, and how many people like to exercise. If you like to be outdoors, you can take a class or go to the gym occasional- ly just to add variety to your pro- gram or keep you inspired, with- out worrying that it’s a ‘throw away’.


By Heather Sansom, Equifitt.com Equestrian Fitness Heather is a certified personal trainer, and Level 1 Certified Centered Riding Instructor. Sign up for a FREE subscription to monthly rider fittips, or download rider fitness ebooks at www.equifitt.com. Equifitt is based in the Ottawa area, but offers clinics and workshops, and ‘online’ personal coaching any- where you have access to a phone/internet.


At age two in 1963, Northern Dancer won seven of nine starts in Canada and the United States. In his debut in the United States, he beat his nearest foe by eight lengths, then captured the Remsen Stakes at Aque- duct and was named Canada’s champion two-year-old. The following year he exhibited his greatness against the leading three-year-olds in North America, winning the Kentucky Derby record time, two minutes flat, and later the Preakness Stakes. Earlier he had won the Flori- da Derby, Flamingo and Blue Grass Stakes. Northern Dancer triumphantly returned to Canada to win the Queen’s Plate – the only horse to win the Derby and the Plate - before retiring to stud. He won 14 of his 18 starts and was never worse than third.


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In the breeding shed, Northern Dancer became the most successful thoroughbred sire of the 20th centu- ry, and one of the most influential sires of all time. His 1980’s era breeding fee of $1 million dollar has never been equalled. He sired a yearling that sold for a record $10.2 million and another that was syndicated for $40 million. A check of the pedigrees one year of the 17 starters in the Prix de l’Arc Triomphe at Lonchamp in Paris revealed that ever horse in Europe’s most famous race carried the blood of Northern Dancer. His most


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