Team GB physio

Chartered sports physio Kate Davis on the similarities between ballet dancers and riders, being bucked off daily and delivering under Olympic pressure

I’m currently the physiotherapist with the England Rugby men’s senior team.

We’re in the middle of the Six Nations campaign and I’m with them through to the World Cup next autumn. There are loads of crossovers with the horse world, from muscle bruising and joint and cartilage problems to working on strength and flexibility and similar injuries.

My clients vary from rugby to the Birmingham Royal Ballet, the British equestrian team for the 2016 Rio Olympics and the Japanese equestrian team for Tokyo 2020.

Pain is so subjective; a two out of 10 level for one person is a 10 for another.

With injuries, there’s the biological side, which is the healing, and the psychological – the effects on family, friends and the work team and earning money, which is a big thing for riders if they’re self-employed.

There’s no difference between rugby, ballet or riding in the athletes who are prepared to leave no stone unturned and go to mentally and physically very uncomfortable places.

The world-class athletes are the ones who will train smart, be curious and not just flog themselves. Performance is the heart of all of it.

With equestrians, there are two athletes – the horse and the rider.

Often, riders have a blind spot around their own preparation, as so much focus goes into the horse – although they are becoming more aware of the importance of looking after their own bodies in order to help their horse.

When I work with any athlete, I talk about getting on the bus.

On this bus, they have to be in charge of their own journey and take control of where they want to get to. They have to have the physical attributes, be fit and well to train and perform. They have to be physically and mentally right and surrounded by the right people and skill set to support them. And they have to be smart enough to ask the right questions, then have good habits and drive that process.

I used to event, up to the equivalent of intermediate.

Highlights were riding at Blair Castle and lows were falling in the water at Weston Park. My challenge was juggling work as a physiotherapist and being away a lot, and competing while only being able to ride a few times a week. I still have one eventer, but he hasn’t been out for two years, and three children and ponies. The ponies have taken over!

I grew up on a farm and begged my parents for a pony. My childhood friends can’t believe I kept riding; I had such naughty ponies and I’d get bucked off several times a day. I definitely learnt the hard way.

I was at Pony Club with the now retired champion jockey Richard Johnson.

I’d sometimes put him on my naughty ponies – he’d hop on and sort them out for me. We reconnected and I worked with him for the last years of his career.

What set him apart was his curiosity for anything he could do to help him perform better. He had such good habits – he could have ridden five races in one day, with the car waiting to drive him home and he’d do his 20-minute exercise routine. That discipline for me is what sets apart the best in the world from the tier below.

I always had a passion for riding and equestrian codes and I went to the Rio Olympics as head of the sports science and medicine for the British team.

It was a privileged position, being backstage but able to grab a seat and watch. Highs were Charlotte Dujardin winning gold in the dressage and watching Nick Skelton win his individual showjumping gold; and the lows were the eventers not doing as well as they wanted.

In my role, you train yourself and you have to be a constant. You’re feeling the emotion but it doesn’t show, you’re there to do a job and be in control. I can deliver under pressure because I can stay in the moment. When I get back from a campaign, I can reflect and enjoy it.

“The worldclass athletes are the ones who will train smart, not just flog themselves. Performance is the heart of all of it”