14/ AUGUST 2011 THE RIDER Fitness for Riders: Reduce Competition Stress
While many riders are head- ed off to competitions this season, approximately 80% of Canada’s riders do not compete on a regular basis. Heading out for the sum- mer riding season, all riders face challenges: time, new experiences you want to have with your horse, new experiences your horse cre- ates (spook, working through injury together etc…)
Whether you are entered in competitions this year, are sup- porting someone who is, or your big competition is the weekly obstacle course of events and responsibilities that threaten your ability to take advantage of the long summer days for more riding time- you are likely very busy. Busy riders cumulate mental stress through the week, and take it into their work with their horse. This month’s article will give you six easy steps for creating the bal- ance you want to bring to your time with your horse.
Support the competitors you know- competition spurs partici- pants and inspires recreational riders to better horsemanship. If you are supporting someone who competes, remember to encourage the competitors you know, including yourself. Every- one’s milestone is important to
them and represents countless hours of dedicated hard work. After all, competition isn’t about how high you go- it’s about how you get there because the thou- sands of hours that get you are, make you the horseperson that you become.
Competition is also about building the sport. Competition sets standards for riding, which makes coaching and training bet- ter, which should make riding bet- ter—which ultimately comes down to making horses happier, and everyone safer. The ribbons and trophies get dust on them, but you come home to your horse’s eye that says ‘yes I’m ready to work’, and to yourself- who you’ve become and what you’ve learned by preparing for and tak- ing on a new challenge.
If you compete, think about your competition choices. Picking the
right level and type of event for you and your horse will have a big impact on your training and stress levels. (Even if you do not com- pete, going to an event where you have to trailer and prepare a little differently than every normal day will be an excellent opportunity for you and your horse to over- come stressful conditions.) When you think of competi- tion as part of a process that makes better horsepeople, it can help with decisions about which shows to go to, at what level. One of my coaches always said ‘better a year late than a year early’, because when you ‘overfence’ yourself and your horse, you open a door to tension (not good for your ride) and possibly injury (strain he wasn’t ready for, or more serious injury if you are doing fences).
Prepare seriously, compete with a
smile. You’re not in control of who else shows up who may be better than you, but you can influence the team- work that gets you there. Remember that all a moment in competition does, is show what you’ve been doing (or not doing) for months at home. Many riders already know that the purpose of a competition is to enhance and inspire their training experience- the majority of riders who com- pete in Canada, do so ‘recreationally’.
As part of a process, the challenge of competition isn’t so much about who places over who, as it is a personal challenge: can you be dedicated and disciplined enough to forego some things, so you can do the work you need to do before and during competitive season? Can you juggle all your other responsibilities such as family, job, personal crisis etc… and battle fatigue, inconvenience, lost social opportunities and so on, to bring your best self to your partnership with your horse? To help your horse be ready?
At such a busy time of year, here are six easy ways to squeeze the fitness elements that help you ride better into your life:
1. Practice breathing. Deep breathing relaxes your mus- cles and signals calm to your horse. Being able to use breath strategically at a competition will really help both of you. Especially at in-gates or at ‘x’. If you are not practiced at using breath to centre and relax yourself and get tension out of your muscles at a moments’ notice, you will not be able to magically develop this ability on the show grounds. So, practice breathing deeply into your abdomen and relaxing your shoulders in ‘down’ moments like when you are driving to work/barn, when you need a mini-break at work, or during your warmup and ride at home.
2. Sit tall. Slouching all day cannot be undone magically when you have thousands of other thoughts going through your mind at competition. If you are desk bound for most of your day, or sit down at any point during your day, practice sitting tall with a long neck, and seat bones directly under you. Engage your core, and hold the engagement for a few seconds. Your spine will like the ease of pressure, and you will get in some core work at the same time. You will also be teaching your body to memorize straight, so that it comes more easily in the sad- dle.
3. Stand on one leg. Ever get stuck waiting in line, wait- ing for a kettle/microwave or just pausing between activi- ties? Standing on one leg (do both for balance) will help strengthen your hip stabilizers, and improve your posture and balance. If you think you have great balance on the horse but it’s not so great on the ground- don’t be fooled. Balance you don’t have on the ground, you don’t have on the horse either. Feeling like you do comes from a false perception: your body will engage in all kinds of compen- sating patterns which effectively make your horse com- pensate for your lack of balance. 4. Stretch. All the time everywhere. If you have a desk job, getting up to stretch regularly will help prevent the muscle shortening that happens from sitting all the time, and which is counterproductive to your riding. Personal- ly, I think spontaneous acts of stretching should be more prevalent than they are: I’d rather be knot and tension free, and not have to pay lots of money for massage or other therapy, than worry about what people think. Keep- ing your muscles and joints supple will be one of the biggest factors in keeping tension out of your ride, and helping keep your horse sound as you move freely with his motion. Joint mobility is one of the biggest factors in balance.
5. Visualize. Take micro-moments such as when you are driving, warming up, or just taking a sip of tea or water in the middle of your day to visualize you and your horse doing something perfectly. See it, feel it, remember it. You are actually helping your body develop muscle mem- ory.
6. Re-allocate non-riding days. Don’t just throw them overboard. If you have a day you just don’t have enough time to get your ride in, then re-allocate some of that time so that it still contributes to your riding: set aside twenty minutes for a long stretch to address issues, some core work to give you better posture, or a quick walk to mobi- lize your hips. Then go guilt free for the ride you missed, knowing you were still contributing to the process.
By Heather Sansom,
Equifitt.com Equestrian Fitness – Balanced Training for Better Riding. Equifitt specializes in helping riders achieve clearer aids and better posture, for better riding in any discipline.
Heather is a certified personal trainer, and Level 1 Certified Centered Riding Instructor. Equifitt offers a FREE monthly rider fitness tips newsletter you can sign up for at
www.equifitt.com . If you are really keen on improving your fitness and posture as a rider, Equifitt also offers clinics and workshops, individual coaching (mounted and unmounted), and ‘online’ services for busy people who might not have a clinic near them, or be close enough to Ottawa for one on one coaching.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68