Riders often forget about their own fitness

A RECENT showjumping session not only left me red-faced, sweating and panting for breath, but flat on my back looking up at the sky. But it wasn't the fact I'd fallen at what was only a smallish fence that bothered me most, but my level of fitness. A brief attempt at dressage had similarly left me in somewhat of an exhausted state, and the next day, my back and leg muscles ached.

All this got me thinking - and it being New Year and all - I really needed to do something about my general level of fitness. Not only might it make me feel less 'bulky', but it might just help me stay in the saddle.

We might think we're fit, we spend hours and hours mucking out stables, pushing wheelbarrows, and filling endless numbers of hay nets. We groom our horses, we clean our tack, and we can spend hours traipsing around fields searching for our horses, and all of this before we actually get on and ride, which, let's face it, can be for a bit of a rest. But we're not really fit, are we?

Now, I have been doing yoga for some years now. Nothing too obsessive, just ten minutes or so most days doing some basic "salutes to the sun", "downward dogs" and other stretches. What this has succeeded in doing is making me quite flexible. I can reach down and open gates, without overbalancing and topping off, and I am fairly supple in the saddle, but my cardiovascular strength is seriously wanting.

A quick look at the fitness regimes of professional riders reveals a different story, of course. Both horse and rider need to be in the peak of physical fitness, which for the rider will mean a lot of extra work, out of the saddle. For all disciplines, and I'm not including racing here, a combination of strength, flexibility and stamina, is needed. Some event riders run, swim and row in order to improve their stamina, while some dressage riders swear by pilates as a way of developing good core muscles.

However, just a few minutes set aside every day could quickly result in an improved fitness, and can be carried out at home, even in front of the television. Stretching exercises can even be carried out in an office chair, and will help the old body from seizing up, and when grooming, make it into an exercise routine, stretch a bit more, anything to get the heart beating more quickly. Skipping is excellent for getting the heart pumping, or just running and jumping on the spot. Squats or lunges, progressing to with weights, will help build up core muscles and strengthen legs and thighs.

The plank, where you hold your weight for as long as possible while resting on elbows and toes, is also fantastic for core and back muscles, and does wonders for flabby bottoms.

Joanna Baxter, head of animal and equine studies at Craven College and a British Horse Society Intermediate Instructor, with degrees in equine science and sports and exercise, says: "Horse riding can be a very physically demanding sport and has been recently quoted within the top ten most difficult sports, with some of us arguing the most difficult."

And she believes additional 'keep fit' activities can boost posture and balance and so help prevent injury.

"Many of us know how important core strength is when riding, so undertaking a pilates or yoga class or even practising at home, can assist with riding balance through developing core stability," she says.

"While many of us focus on maintaining our horse’s fitness, we sometimes forget our own, with the demands of certain levels of equestrian disciplines conditioning our cardiovascular system can be important.

"This may be through a gentle walk or swimming, or for the more ambitious of us an exercise programme based upon conditioning and strengthening.

"By undertaking some exercise other than horse riding it can give us that extra stamina and strength to achieve greater results, and reach our goals."

Trainer and saddle-fitter Claire Fitzmaurice, who was a professional event rider in Germany, is dismayed by the level of fitness she finds in many riders.

Claire, who is currently training two young dressage horses at her yard in Silsden, says many a time does she come across people at saddle fittings, up and down the country, who talk about their intention to get fit by riding.

Claire, who started running late on in life and now regularly runs more than 20 miles a week, says it's all about finding the right exercise routine for you, but adds riders should not be lazy and be prepared to put in some effort to reap the results.

In addition to her All Saddle Solutions saddle fitting business, Claire runs cross country sessions at Craven Country Ride, Coniston Cold, as an introduction to those wanting to tackle the course.

"Some people are naturally fit, but others aren't. The most common reason I hear for people not getting fit is the lack of time and that they're at work all day. But if you've not got time to run, you can swim, or just do anything that'll help you get fitter."

Bruce Dinsmore, Craven District Council's sports development officer, says staff at Craven Pool and Fitness Centre will happily create an exercise routine focusing on the key areas needed by riders.

"The centre offers a wide range of exercise activities that would help improve fitness for riding and instructors at the fitness would be able to create a tailored programme for you and swimming is an all-round fitness that would help too," he says.

There are a wide range of exercise classes also that would also offer riders specific training such as Pilates that would help with core strength and flexibility, spinning that would improve leg and back strength and aerobic capacity," he says.