62/ MARCH/APRIL 2018 THE RIDER


Riders Fitness: Cross Body Coordination


By Heather Sansom Spring is in the air in the North-


ern Hemisphere. That means your main riding season is around the cor- ner. Time to kick it up a notch with your workout! This month’s tip is all about sharpening your ability to con- trol your aids, rhythm and balance by cross body training. I like to start my own training


and get clients back on track by mak- ing it fun. Sometimes, working out longer or harder is not going to get you the change that you’re looking for. You know the old ‘work smart not harder’


adage? In rider fitness, this means changing things up a bit for your mind-body connections. I’m not talking this month about mindfulness or all those wonderful things. I’m talking about the neuroscience behind what helps you with rhythm, co-ordi- nation and balance on your horse. You can develop your ‘movement vocabulary’ (the ability


of your brain to signal your body parts to multi-task, or be pre- cise), by taking some time to do exercises that work across your body. I’ve picked a variety of exercises this month that are also a bit of a workout for your left and right brain. When you’re doing cross body work, everything is in


your form and precision. Don’t be sloppy: be as exact as you can be. Also, you may notice that you don’t work the same way on both sides. If that happens, slow it down and give time for your more awkward side to catch up. Watch out for ‘cheating’. You got this far in life with very successful compensating pat- terns. If you go too fast, you will reinforce them. You want to retrain instead. When you are riding, you have different input to your


brain from all four ‘corners’ of your horse, and you are moving in all three planes. So, whether you ride in an English or West- ern style, you can improve your aid accuracy and ability to fol- low your horses motion, by improving how well your body and brain can work together to multi-task. Ideally, they are multi- tasking even when you are consciously focused on one aspect. I would aim at approximately 10 repetitions to start.


When you can do 20 easily, you’re ready to move on to a new brain scrambling challenge.


Exercise 1 This is a second classic chestnut that I love to turn into a


more complicated exercise for riders. You can use a stable sur- face (raised is easier), or a balance challenge (hardest format). Once in the plank position, do a variety of arm or leg exercises that introduce weights, or movement from different direc- tions—without losing your rock solid plank. While the pictures here show the basic starting positions,


here are some links to videos I found online showing move- ment variations:


Exercise Three: Agility Drills Consider agility drills cavaletti for riders! They aren’t ex-


actly cross-body work, but they do require rhythm and fast switching across both sides of your body. You can have a lot of fun with them. You can do a web search on a whole variety of agility


drills. Don’t fall prey to going too fast. (or, if reading this on- line, go HERE.) As a rider, you need to be concerned about consistent rhythm. If rhythm (on both reins) has ever been an issue for you (or your horse..which means it’s you), then its possible that you need to train your inner metronome because you’re not always aware of when you have good rhythm. You might want to do the agility drills to a clear rhythm.


Exercise one: Bird dog with opposite limb raises. Consider this one your warm-


up. Start with single limbs, then pairs, then add weights or a balance challenge such as a balance board, cushion, or BOSU, then add more movement. The more you can do to try and scramble your brain, the better. The goal is to hold good form through the core no matter what, and to do the exercise without twisting, compensating, swinging or other com- pensations. Do the movements with a steady rhythm so that you can use loss of


Use something external like music or an actual metronome (or app) to help you with that, until you have improved. Rhythm improvement on both sides with switches is one of the best thing you can do to improve your transitions, direction changes and lead changes.


Happy Riding and Training!


You have more potential than you realise. Happy riding and training!


© Heather R. Sansom, www.equifitt.com Fitness, biomechanics and riding instruction. Online Coaching Available Check out the 9 week rider fitness plan book- available in print or as a download!: www.equifitt.com/fit2ride/


Show starts at 10:00 AM


legacy is a supplement specifically designed for senior horses. compounds proven to support the joint, connective tissue and soft tissue are featured in legacy. Glucosamine hci, MSM, chondroitin Sulfate, and Yucca are key ingredients for healthy joint support. Ester-c and Vitamin E have been also added as antioxidants. Made was Stabilized rice Bran and pelleted for easy administration. legacy is a cost effective way to care for your horse whether it's an old friend or a seasoned athlete. Features & Benefits: MSM, Glucosamine and chondroitin Sulfate for Joint Support, Ester-c and Vitamin E as antioxidants. pelleted with Yeast culture and rice Bran Based for palatability


Port Colborne Saddle Club May 27, June 10, July 8, July 22, August 12. All shows start at 9:30 am. Shows are held at the Humberstone Centennial Park. Club website is www.portcolbornesaddle- clubinc.bravesites.com, Email: portcolbor- nesaddleclub@gmail.com


Conestoga CADORA All shows this year will be held at Corner- stone Equestrian. May 27, June 24, July 29, Aug. 26. www.conestogacadora.com


Rockton Agricultural Society 2018 Events April 5-7 and Apr 12-14, 2018 - Mystery Dinner Theatre Oct. 5-8, 2018 - Rockton World’s Fair For more information visit www.rockton- worldsfair.com


For More Information Contact: A. L. Distributing Limited 1-888-345-2351 www.aldistributing.com info@aldistributing.com


or stop by your Tack Or Feed Store


Angelstone Tournaments Spring Tour 1/ The Erin CSI1* - June 6-10 2/ The Headwaters Cup CSI2* - June 13- 17 Summer Tour 1/ The Champions CSI2* - August 15-19 2/ The National CSI3* - August 22-26 3/ The International CSI2* - August 29- Sept. 2. For more information visit: http://angel- stone.ca/tournaments/


Ontario Cutting Horse Association April 28-29 - Minshall Farms May 19-20 - Minshall Farms May 21 - Possible Clinic-Minshall Farms June 9-10 - Walkers Farm July - OCHA FUN DAY to be determined Aug 11-12 - Location to be determined Aug 31 - Paris Fair Sept 1-2 - Fletcher’s Horseworld Sept 8-9 - Russell Fair September 22-23 - Minshall Farms SHOW TIMES Saturday Shows- Horses on the grounds at 10:00 am- Show starts at 11:00 am Sunday Shows- Horses on the grounds at 9:00- Show starts at 10:00 am


Rusty Gaits Saddle Club April 14 Trader Days Tack Sale, April 28 Share our Knowledge Clinic, Shows May 20, June 17, July 15, August 19. For more information please see our Facebook page or call Sherry Black 519-200-9475


Western Ontario Region Pony Club Regional Prince Philip Games - July 7 at the Centre Wellington Community Sport- splex in Fergus, ON Regional Dressage - July 14th at Twisted Pine Farm Regional Show Jumping - July 15th at Cornerstone Stables Regional Tetrathlon - August 11th (Guelph, ON) & August 12th (Caledon Riding Club) Regional D Rally - August 12th at the Caledon Riding Club National Show Jumping - August 23rd - 26th at the Iron Horse Equestrian Complex http://canadianponyclub.org/WesternOn- tario/


Rockton Saddle Club Show Dates 2018 May 12, June 9, July 14, Aug 11, Sept 8 Rain Dates June 16, August 18.


Welsh Pony and Cob Association of Ontario WPCAO Educational Clinic:April 28th, 2018 at Royal Canadian Riding Academy, Newmarket, Ontario at 1:00 PM The Welsh Summer Classic: July 14th at TLC Quarter Horses, Hillsburg, Ontario The Canadian All Welsh Championship and Sport Pony Show - August 5th at Pickering Horse Centre, Pickering On- tario Other Welsh Pony & Cob high points shows are held at the following locations: Caledon: June 10 - www.caledonfair.ca Sutton Fair:August 12 - www.sutton- fair.com Arthur Fall Fair: September 8 - www.arthurfallfair.com Brampton Fall Fair: September 16 - www.bramptonfair.com The Great North Exhibition: September 21 - www.greatnorthernex.com Lindsay Exhibition: September 22 - https://lindsayex.com Markham Fair: September 29 - www.markhamfair.ca Erin Fall Fair: October 7 - www.erin- fair.com


For more information about


welsh shows, please check out: wpcao.com/events Visit wpcao.com . Contact welshponyand- cobontario@gmail.com


Send in all your 2018 Show Dates! Deadline April 21st!


rhythm as an indicator of which side needs more work. Exercise Two: Side plank.


Exercise 2


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