‘I became fitter and leaner than I’ve ever been’
Journalist and leisure rider Sarah Moore was inspired to try rowing after spectating at the London 2012 Olympics, writes Aimi Clark. A week later, she enrolled at her local rowing club and was soon training on and off the water four times a week.
“A few months later, while riding cross-country, I realised my keen and strong horse didn’t make my arms ache anymore and I wasn’t puffing when we crossed the finish line,” says
Sarah, whose training schedule involves lifting weights, circuits and rowing machine workouts, as well as rowing on the water.
“I’d never lifted weights before but found I was good at it — I think years of carrying feed bags and hay bales gave me an advantage — and I enjoyed it. I quickly became fitter and leaner than I’ve ever previously been in my adult life. That it helped me become a better, more consistent rider was a bonus.”
Sarah found that her riding experience benefitted rowing too.
“My posture in the boat was naturally good: I sat up tall and straight, which is really important when you’re tired, and I was already used to being outside on cold, wet days,” she adds. “I welcomed feedback and criticism from coaches too, something years of riding lessons had prepared me for.”
MARCH
Similarly, Alex feels his mindset has benefited from taking part in both sports.
“When you go into a big competition, whether it’s on the rugby pitch or in the arena of a main event, there’s a great deal of pressure. Your mental strength that you build from sport will help you in any one of those circumstances,” he says.
“I had a decision-making role in rugby, so I learnt you don’t keep doing the same thing, you find a way to overcome a problem and find a solution to what you’re trying to achieve, whether that’s scoring a try, or winning at Badminton.”
Different physiques
Although it’s important to ensure you maintain a healthy weight and are the correct size for your horse (as featured in Your Horse, February 2021), it can be hard to lose weight through riding alone.
Alex adjusted his workouts to change his rugby player physique and make it more suitable for eventing. He swapped weight training for different exercises, such as kick-boxing style workouts.
“I was two-and-a-half stone heavier because of bulk and muscle,” he says. “That didn’t look the most elegant going up the centre line. I was like a silverback gorilla trying to do dressage, my elbows were stuck out because I had so much muscle and it was hard to be graceful.
“Over the years, my physique has refined a bit and I’ve lost weight which is better for the horses, when they’re doing long three-day events especially. I’ve still maintained the fitness, just tailored it for event riding rather than rugby.”
Alex does stretching exercises every morning to ensure he uses his full range of muscles.
“If you’re riding so many horses in a day you’re sat in the same way all that time, and your hip flexor muscles and lower back can get really tight,” he says.
“I wouldn’t say I do Pilates or yoga, but it is that style of stretching and I religiously do it every morning. Building up to Badminton I will go on an exercise bike too, which makes you a little bit leaner.”
He stressed the importance of maintaining a good diet, something which his rugby career ingrained in him.
“Fitness and diet are as important for us as they are for our horses. Their diet really affects their wellbeing and performance, and it is the same for us as athletes.
“Just because we’re horse riders doesn’t mean we should be stood in the queue for Mcdonalds every day.”
Similarly, professional rugby player turned jockey George Prince says changing his physique was one of the toughest challenges he faced when he swapped sports.
George rode as a child until he was 14, but then focused on rugby until he was 21.
“When I first started riding again, I was hit with the reality I would have to lose
MARCH quite a bit of muscle mass,” he says.
“In rugby we would be weighed every morning and if you weren’t heavier than you were the day before then you would have to go and eat breakfast again and you wouldn’t be allowed to play until you were equally as heavy or heavier.
“But as a rider you still have to try to eat the right things to get that energy.”
He said rugby stood him in good stead for race riding in other ways, such as excellent fitness, strength and balance.
Taking on new challenges
Former gymnast and vaulter Safia Woodward now events and has been
“Our bodies have a shelf-life and how we use them has an impact on our own comfort and longevity as well”
“With riding, you’re trusting
yourself and your horse, and
in wrestling the golden rule is that you have
to trust and look after the person you’re
wrestling”
Leanne Withington
involved in sport since she was three.
She says taking part in different sports has given her a positive attitude when it comes to aiming for different goals.
“I used to juggle 24 hours a week of gymnastics with riding,” she says. “I took up vaulting at 10 or 11 and went to the European Championships at 12.
“It’s helped me be used to being busy, and the structure of gym training has helped hugely [with training for eventing]. I was always taught to smile whatever happens, and it’s the same in dressage; you have to stay positive.”
Safia says learning to trust her body has also helped her riding confidence.
“Running at a vault or doing things on the beam, you have to trust your body to do it,” she says. “It’s similar with a horse, you do your best to get them to the best place and you have to let what happens, happen. You have to trust they know what they’re doing like your own body.”
She says gymnastics has helped her
riding physically too, with strength and conditioning allowing her to feel naturally strong, and giving her flexibility, balance and core stability, which were also advantageous for vaulting. She continues to practise conditioning routines to maintain this physical advantage.
Brian Leung is also no newcomer to sport, competing in triathlons from the age of 12 to 23, but he only took to the saddle three years ago.
Despite this, he is already on the eventing circuit and he says his ambitious attitude is thanks to his triathlon background.
“I’ve always been sporty and competitive, and because of that I have mental resilience,” he says. “I’ve gone from nothing to riding school, to schoolmaster to a four-year-old. I respond well to suitable motivation and I’m not fazed [by being pushed by trainers] thanks to my background.”
Meanwhile Leanne Withington says her new hobby has given her unexpected advantages in the saddle. She recently took up pro-wrestling and says the sport has boosted her confidence with her horse, My Guy.
“You do a lot of strength, gym work, a lot of lifting and you need to be able to move fast,” she says. “There’s a trust factor as well. When riding, you’re trusting yourself and your horse, and in wrestling the golden rule is that you have to trust and look after the person you’re wrestling.
“That confidence has translated to My Guy, who responds to that change in me. I must come across a lot calmer. For instance, if I see a carrier bag floating past when I’m hacking, I’m okay with that and if something happens, I’ll deal with it.”
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