MAY 2014 THE RIDER /23 Fitness For Riders: Connect Through Your Core


your seat and shoulders some- times do not work together, or you are often reminded to fix a shoulder that is falling back, or shift your weight- this month’s tip is for you.


By Heather Sansom If you are a rider that finds


Emily forward lunge with weights


is like straightness in your horse. It does not mean being rigid, but it does mean avoiding the type- writer or rag doll effects which can happen when a rider’s hips collapse, and they lean with their shoulders to compensate. What happens next is that the line of your backbone becomes ‘bro- ken’. You start to look very ‘busy’ on the horse, sit less deeply in the saddle and find yourself using more driving aids to try and correct the weight and hand aids you have used to block your


horse’s


motion. If this has happened to you, you may have also had a coach comment that you need to sit deeper, work on your core, or be quieter in your shoulders. C o r e


strength that helps straighten a rider with a shoulder


falls back, or provide stability for a rider whose shoulders and hips sometimes seem to be riding different horses involves work- ing muscle chains which cross and wrap around


that


torso. The irony of a disconnect- ed rider is that it is not very effec- tive for that rider to try too hard to ‘engage their core’ while they are riding. More often than not, the rider has a tendency to also pinch with knees or


is to use your torso as much as a single unit as possible without collapsing your spine, and riding quietly and accurately, no matter what discipline. It’s a lot to ask of your trunk stabilizing muscles when you are sitting on a surface that moves constantly, and in multiple planes. To keep your centre of balance, it’s essential to keep the hips and shoulders ‘square’ with each other. That does not necessarily mean main-


Ideally, the goal of a rider


body has developed a pattern of finding stability through those other muscles instead of the core. Another common reaction of a rider trying to ‘fight’ a prob- lem shoulder or hip, is overcom- pensation or busy-ness with con- stant adjustment. I like to get these riders doing exercises which introduce lack of stability across the body, so that the rider is forced to maintain a neutral spine and squared up shoulders


shoulders and arms when they are ‘trying hard’ because their


tense up your


taining parallel alignment, depending on what you are doing. For example, shoulders and hips swivel and are on dif- ferent lines for lateral move- ments, as the horse’s are, even though for a circle maintaining alignment helps your femur and hip shape the horse’s ribcage around the circle. Being square in your body


and hips in spite of disturbance. Then, when they are in the sad- dle later, their body has devel- oped more of a habit (muscle fir- ing patterns) of stabilizing through core engagement instead of leg or shoulder muscles. It becomes easier to correct busy compensations and sit more deeply and quietly while staying focused on the training of the horse.


you can use to create a more uni- fied torso and easier hip and shoulder control are:


Three very easy exercises 4


1. Wall lean. This is basically a side plank on a wall or other high surface. Stand several feet away from a wall with your feet together. Tip over supporting yourself on the wall with a hand roughly at shoulder height. Do everything you can to keep a straight body and spine. When the lean is easily held for at least 30 seconds, introduce instability by raising the outside leg and moving it around- without losing the straightness and stillness through your torso. It is better to do this exercise with someone or a mirror so that you can monitor straightness. Another way to introduce instability is to lean against a person who moves slightly while you try and main- tain straightness. Do the lean on both sides.


board…virtually anything that will be slightly wobbly) you will have to work a lot harder to keep a neutral and straight spine in the plank position. Hold each varia- tion for 20-30 seconds.


www.equifitt.com/fitness.html )which is also great cross train- ing for riding or other sports.


www.equifitt.com/resources.htm l), or the slightly more advanced Killer Core Workout for Runners (available


at


© Heather R. Sansom About Equifitt and Heather: Equifitt training draws on multi- ple sport and fitness disciplines to help riders of all ages and types balance their bodies and reach their riding and fitness goals. Heather is a certified per-


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done so, you may be interested in downloading my core training ebooks: Complete Core Workout for Riders


Happy Riding and Training! If you have not already


(available at


each end will stimulate your core differently, and mimic different challenges you face riding, such as need to adjust your hips or shoulders independently from one another. By placing your hands (or elbows) and later your feet on an unstable surface (teeter totter, exercise ball, hay bale, Bosu™,


balance


2. Plank variations with insta- bility a. from the upper body, and b. from the lower body. Introducing instability from


2 1 3


5


sonal trainer, Level 1 Centered Riding® Instructor and Equine Canada Competition Coach. Heather does rider fitness coaching with clients around the world via Skype- bring the trainer to you.


1/ Plank with straight arms 2/ Side lunge stretch


3/ Upper back extend 4/ Upper back flex 5/ Side bend right


Ionson's Saddlery


& Continental Saddles Parnter With Fletcher's


At Canadian Reining Classic


Roy and Joan Ionson are icons of the Canadian Horse Industry and their support brings another level of Prestige to Ontario’s Premier


Reining Event. L to R Kerri Marsolais, John Fletcher, Sharon Fletcher, Roy Ionson, Joan Ionson, Dan Fletcher, Berenice Fletcher, Gary Marsolais, & Bruce Ionson


www.ionsonsaddlery.com • www.fletchershorseworld.com


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