10/ MAY 2024 THE RIDER
Pro and Non-Pro Reiner Article Series Functional Fitness for you and your horse
As show season is
almost upon us, many of us are dreaming of the hot summer days and hoping the wet and damp and mud season of winter is past us (although you never know). When the weather is good we can start riding outside again and – even look forward to the humidity – until it happens that is...
all the manoeuvres deftly, with the grace and agility that can only come from being in peak physical condition. Forcing a horse to spin at speed or gallop into a sliding stop when they’re not a peak fitness can cause injury and put them out of ac- tion for the entire show season. Building up strength and stamina
Photo by Tom von Kapherr Photography
If you have a sea-
soned show horse, you may have given them the winter off and you’re now working on getting them fit again. If you have a horse in training, then it’s likely to have been ridden over the win- ter too – the workouts may start to get longer and more challenging as the horse is readied for competition. Your horse needs to
be fit enough to handle
takes time and planning. In this partnership,
the horse is the athlete; you, the rider, the com- petitor. So your horse is fit,
but what about you? It’s equally impor-
tant for the rider to be as fit as they can be – I’ve seen people who after finishing a run are huff- ing and puffing – out of breath. When you’re out of breath how can you possibly ride your best?
Photo by Tom von Kapherr Photography
I’ve seen other riders who clearly don’t have the strength in their legs and others without strength in their upper
body to sit properly. Notwi thstanding
any health or physical reason that makes it diffi- cult for you as the rider to
Shari Irwin
2024 Judges Committee (905) 440-5941 email:
shari_irwin@hotmail.com
Kelly Lehman Secretary: Kit Bartle 2024 Sr. Judges
Cally Jo Fritz 21 Taylor Blvd., Elliot Lake, ON P5A 3H5 H: (226) 289-8563, C: (519) 280-8169 Email:
callygene@gmail.com
Shari Irwin 166 Gleasons Corner Road, Castleton, ON K0K 1M0 Cell (905) 440-5941
shari_irwin@hotmail.com
Kelly Lehman 895893 Oxford Rd. 3, Drumbo, ON N0J 1G0 C: (519) 807-2660. E:
maddavery@gmail.com
Anne Marinacci 65 Swayze Court, Smithville, ON L0R 2A0 905-957-5619 Email:
annemarinacci@hotmail.com
(519) 807-2660 email:
maddavery@gmail.com (519) 732-0263 email:
drumbolady@hotmail.ca
Website:
www.whao.org
Erin O’Drowski 253 James St. N., PO Box 2767, St. Mary’s ON N4X 1A5 C: (226) 377-0244 Email:
eodrowsk@gmail.com
Kris Simpson 711 Middletown Rd., RR #1, Waterdown, ON L8B 1P7 Cell: (519) 831-7299, email:
richlandshowhorses@gmail.com
Don Stauffer 104 - 44 Ferndale Dr. S., Barrie, ON L4N 2V1 Cell (519) 604-8864
thestauffers48@gmail.com
Robyn Storey 6-120 Dudhope Ave., Cambridge, ON N1R 4T7 (519) 620-9015, Cell: (519) 841-3934,
gatorrocks@hotmail.com
Brenda Thompson 284 Whitmore Dr.,Waterloo, ON N2K 2N5 (519) 884-4050, Cell (519) 577-7320
bmctearnen@yahoo.ca
Mike Tucker 1581 Maple St. N., R.R. #4, Fenwick, ON L0S 1C0 (905) 892-5610, Cell (905) 984-1581 Email:
m.tucker1378@gmail.com
Jr. Judges
Dave Black 94 Concession 4 Road, Fisherville, ON N0A 1G0 C: (905) 921-0359 Email:
diamondbquarterhorses@gmail.com
Judy Gaspardy 196 Churchill Rd. S., Action, ON L7J 2J7 (c) 905-875-9534 Email:
sunfireminis@yahoo.ca
Anne Turnbull PO Box 131, Gores Landing, ON K0K 2E0 P: (905) 376-4807 Email:
1anna.turnbull@gmail.com
Celebrating 71 Years!
be in the best shape you can be, then you owe it to your team – you and the horse – to be as fit as they are. (OK maybe not quite as fit as the horse, I’m never going to be able to gallop fast circles with something weighing up to one quarter of my body weight on my back..) Riding in and of it-
self if done regularly will help with developing strong glute muscles but for everything else, the rider needs to consider other forms of activity.
Jen: Three important areas that I see for the rider for functional fit- ness include body imbal- ance – one side of our body is weaker than the other. Flexibility – tight- ness of muscles that would make our body more
ridged. Core
strength – weakness that would cause our body to collapse with no center of balance. All these issues would inhibit our func- tionally riding. A regular routine of strength train- ing, stretching and core exercises definitely im- proves our riding.
Sharon: I’d been a gym rat many years ago, but let that slip when I started riding horses again. By 2022, I knew I wasn’t as strong overall as I had been back then, and my body was out of align- ment riding. In 2023 I saw an ad for cross fit and thought heck… why not…could be fun… so I started cross fit and over the course of a few weeks, saw and felt re-
sults – I am now an avid cross-fitter. My strength has im-
proved: I can easily hoist the saddle on my horse, my riding has improved as I have better core strength and body align- ment, and I don’t get out of breath when going to catch my horse in his massive field! I think my horse also benefits from me being able to ride him better as I can carry my- self stronger in my seat.
Bottom line: both athlete and competitor need to be fit to give the team the best possible chance in the show pen! —————
Pro and Non-Pro
articles written by Jen Jonas of Jonas Perform- ance Horses (Pro) and Sharon Jones of Be A Better You (Non-Pro). Together, they are J&J Reining Inc. Both
Jen you’re not growing. and
Sharon are believers in continual learning – if you’re not
learning
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