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Fit To Ride by Sylvie Quenneville |
Few equestrian professionals could claim a more hectic schedule than Newmarket’s Erin Duffy. She is one of the busiest riders on the West Coast and is off to another exceptionally successful year in the highest hunter and jumper divisions. Her second-place finish, with Lionell, at an Oaks Grand Prix this spring and her win, aboard Wendy Wilkinson’s Rumba, in the $10,000 Dearborn Stables Open Hunter Classic at the Del Mar Nationals are among her recent accomplishments. In between shows, Erin enjoys the challenges of teaching and adapting her lessons to each student and horse to maximize their learning curve. Yet no matter how busy she gets riding and giving lessons and showing, Erin always makes time for fitness. She understands the importance and benefits of being fit and training off the horse for herself and her students. Erin, who was already riding and showing successfully before adding extra fitness work to her routine, was surprised how much stronger it made her in the air over the jumps and how it improved her ability to hold her balance and not get loose. “There is no doubt that having a strong core and a good overall fitness and training regimen will improve your riding,” she says. “I have done specific exercises with Sylvie that have not only gotten me physically stronger but have triggered some new instincts and greater understanding of my position in the saddle. “It’s really important to fully understand how our body works off the horse to become an effective rider,” Erin continues. “We need to be aware of our posture, balance and center of gravity and we can also practice our position very effectively off the horse. Working with a fitness trainer that is a sport-specific professional enables us riders to train the correct muscles for our sport.” Erin has recommended several of her students to my program. “It complements the work I do with them during the lessons,” Erin explains. “The students can practice riding and get stronger without having to worry about what the horse is doing underneath them.” Mind-Body Connection Body awareness and balance are big parts of being a successful rider. “Proprioception” is the internal sense that tells you where your body parts are without your having to look at them. This internal body awareness relies on receptors in your joints, muscles, ligaments and connective tissue. They pick up information as muscles bend and stretch as well as when your body is still. Information about body position travels through the spinal cord and into parts of the brain that are not conscious. Because of this, you are rarely aware of where your body parts are unless you actively think about them. This is why is it very important for riders to spend some time working off the horse. Your horse feels every small adjustment you do with your body, whether you are aware of it or not. Working at these movements off the horse will make you actively think about it and will also develop muscle memory. Your trainer might ask you to change things during a lesson but unless you understand how to move your body accordingly, you won’t be able to produce the small adjustments needed to change your position appropriately. The secret to your success in riding is how well your brain connects with your muscles. A few natural riders never need to think about this issue but for the vast majority, it is a long, slow struggle to help our bodies achieve what the mind knows well. Doing some work off the horse can considerably accelerate the learning process. Erin has excellent company in her attitude toward the importance of supplemental fitness work. “This is a ‘team’ sport,” is one of USET show jumping coach George Morris’ favorite sayings. “Why should your horse be expected to be fit and capable if you’re not? Notice that all the top riders are generally in excellent physical condition? It’s because we are athletes, too,” George often asserts. Like Erin, George has always recognized that riders should engage in a fitness program to become better riders.
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