The world of amateur equestrian sport is full of people in their 30’s to 50’s who are fulfilling a lifetime dream of owning and doing riding with their horses. Many of these people have built successful careers and have more time to pursue their childhood dreams of being with horses and riding. Middle aged equestrians often tend to be driven, goal-oriented, high achievers who approach their chosen sport with the same determination that made them successful in their careers. One common problem among middle aged riders who are fulfilling their childhood dream of horse ownership is that while they feel like they’re young boys and girls again, blissfully happy on the back of a horse, their bodies have aged and they don’t have the natural balance or athletic ability they once did.
Learning to ride a horse (really ride a horse, not just sitting on the back of an old laid back pony as a passenger) is a fantastically difficult endeavour. Muscles are used in equestrian sports that are rarely used in normal day to day activities. Riding well requires a tremendous amount of core strength, both to balance one’s upper body and to influence the horse subtly through shifts in weight that are imperceptible to the observer on the ground. A rider has to learn to isolate various body parts; for example, keeping the hands still and quiet while the pelvis moves with the motion of the horse. Riding well demands balance, strength and agility. It is by no means as easy as the good riders make it look.
Many people who begin riding or come back to riding in middle age find progress slow and daunting. Often this is because the rider has adopted a sedentary lifestyle (sitting in the car and then at a desk for hours). Perhaps health problems contributed to weight gain and loss of fitness, but whatever the cause, a task that is already difficult becomes more so thanks to the rider’s low level of athleticism. Riding is hard enough without the added problem of being out of shape!
Please hear me when I say that I am not passing judgement on middle aged riders, and specifically on women. I would simply like to advocate for viewing equestrian activities like any other sport. Marathon runners, triathletes, boxers, basketball and soccer players all train hard for their sports and change their diets to reflect their self-identification as athletes. I believe that if riders approached learning to ride the same way they would approach training for a marathon, they would obtain more success in a shorter time frame.
When viewed as an athletic undertaking rather than a leisure activity, riding takes on a new level of significance. For example, most beginning dressage riders find it difficult to sit the trot. It’s not easy to sit still when the thing underneath you is bouncing. Many people practice and practice, but never really excel at the sitting trot because they lack the muscle control necessary to follow the horse’s motion quietly without getting bounced around. Instead of thinking, “I’ll practice my sitting trot for 5 minutes every ride,” a better approach would be to do core exercises while off the horse so that the 5 minutes of trot work at the next ride is building on a better established foundation of muscle strength. Riding is definitely a workout, but for the average rider who is unable to ride every day, the off days should be filled with an exercise program that continues to build athleticism. Becoming a better athlete will no doubt result in becoming a better rider.
Most riders’ primary concern is the health and happiness of the horse. We all want our horses to enjoy their work; we want them to know that they have done well. This is why after every clear round or every well performed dressage test, the rider pats the horse, rubs his neck and says loudly for everyone to hear, “Good boy!”
A fit rider understands that his or her level of athleticism makes the horse’s job exponentially easier.
The rider who has balance and finesse in the saddle frees up the horse to move well, jump higher, stretch long and low, or whatever is the goal of his particular discipline. Riders who are tired, huffing and puffing and pinching with their knees because the muscles in their thighs and calves have worn out is forcing the horse to compensate for their lack of ability. They are asking the horse to perform his best when they have not prepared to do theirs. It’s not fair to the horse.
When we talk about rider fitness, we are not simply talking about fat or thin. We are talking about athletic ability, muscle tone, core strength, balance, reaction time and cardiovascular health.
A fit person with muscle tone may weigh more than a skinny person with flab and no muscle, but the fit person will no doubt be the better rider. The fit person will learn faster, build muscle memory more quickly and learn to make subtle changes in their seat and weight more easily than a person who is out of shape.
In closing, please do not feel that I look disdainfully at riders who are out of shape and doing their best to ride well. In fact, I’m sure there are plenty of riders in worse physical shape than me who still ride better than me because they’ve been at it longer! My point is simply that increased athleticism will make a good rider better, and put frustrated riders on a faster track to success. Cheers to the sport we love and to doing our best to excel!
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