You've been preparing for one very important competition for months; you've had countless lessons with all the big names and bought trailer loads of all the best kit; your horse is fit, chomping at the bit and ready for action: but are you as fit as your horse?
No self-respecting athlete would consider taking part in any sport without appropriate fitness training and no educated rider would expect their horse to compete unless physically fit for the event, so why is it rarer than an empty seat at a Pippa Funnell masterclass to see a rider getting themselves fit for riding?
Both horse and rider must be equally fit for the rigors of their sport if a winning team is to be created and both parties must be physically and mentally prepared if injuries are to be avoided. I've heard tales of exhaustive fitness training sessions endured by our top riders when preparing for the Olympics which, although admirable, may suggest they were less than fit when selected for the team. The importance of a gradual, progressive fittening programme for the horse is well documented so why do we generally ignore the equally important need to progressively train our own bodies for the demands of horse riding as a sport?
Fit vs. Fat
Now I'm not suggesting for a moment that a person must be stick thin in order to be fit so before the "anti-fattist police" come around to slap a custard pie in my face let me just add that neither an overweight nor an underweight person is likely to be a healthy person. Have you ever seen an underweight or an overweight horse competing at Badminton Horse Trials - neither horse would be considered a healthy horse: fact. Why should it be any different for the horse rider? Fitness in the case of the horse rider is not a question of being able to run marathons or scale mountains but simply to be fit for purpose - maybe the vet should be instructed to inspect the rider as well as the horse before he can pass either one fit for purpose! Event horses must pass vet inspections in their sport; endurance horses must pass frequent vet checks in theirs; how about compulsory fitness inspections for competition riders?
Flexibility
A common complaint amongst riders is lower back pain. This may have been caused by poor general posture or incorrect lifting technique around the yard but symptoms will certainly be exacerbated by tension in the muscles when riding. Tight hamstring muscles (back of thigh) are also known to be linked to the incidence of lower back pain and are prevalent in horse riders due to the positioning of the leg in the saddle which can lead to adaptive shortening of the muscles. Improving the flexibility of this particular muscle group will greatly reduce the risk of injuries occurring as well as improving the ability of the individual to relax into the saddle which will be of benefit to both the rider and the horse.
A simple way to gauge the current flexibility of your hamstring muscles is the "sit and reach" test. All you need is a ruler or a measuring tape and someone to check your score and then follow the guide below:
Important note: your muscles must be thoroughly warmed up before taking this test.
- Sit on a level area of ground with your legs straight out in front of you and feet positioned around shoulder width apart.
- Reach forwards along the ground between your legs by bending from your hips.
- Keep good posture in your upper body - avoid folding from your waist or rounding your shoulders.
- Continue to reach forwards slowly and then hold still at the furthest point for a count of three.
- Get someone to measure how far forwards you have managed to reach in relation to your toes.
- Three attempts are permitted and the best score is then used as the test result.
Compare your result to the table below to see how you score - note that the distance short of your toes is recorded as well as past the toes.
Test Result Rating
- 20+ cms past toes excellent
- 10 - 20 cms past toes very good
- 0 - 10 cms past toes above average
- toe line average
- 0 - 10 cms short of toes below average
- 10+ cms short of toes poor
If you score well on the "sit and reach" test then it should be your goal to maintain that level of hamstring flexibility throughout the rest of your life. If your score was not good then your goal must be to improve your current level of flexibility by embarking on a regular stretching programme. The following stretch is designed to help maintain hamstring flexibility and to improve mobility in the hip joints by stretching the surrounding muscle groups. Warm muscles are more pliable and therefore less susceptible to injury so it is important to warm up thoroughly before trying this stretch. A brisk walk out to the field to catch your horse or mucking out a stable or two should do the trick.
Lying Hamstring/Hip Stretch
- Position yourself on the floor.
- With hands clasped behind your lower leg (use a lead rope around your ankle if you are unable to reach), gradually ease your leg, keeping your knee locked straight, towards your body.
- Take care to keep both hips flat on the floor and allow your ankle (foot) to remain relaxed as you feel the stretch down the back of your leg.
- Hold the stretch for 30 seconds (ease off if a muscle shake develops).
- Clasp your hands behind your other thigh to raise both feet from the ground.
- Feel the stretch around your hip joint - at the top of your hamstring and in your gluteal muscles (bottom) - and hold for a further 30 seconds.
- Repeat the whole sequence to stretch the other leg.
