Every year I write an end-of-year blog and this year is no different! I can’t quite believe that this is the 4th Christmas blog I’ll be writing as the founder and head coach of the Event Rider Fitness.
I knew when I started this business & coaching community both were here to stay but equally as all small business owners now it's a hard graft growing your business year on year & keeping it expanding.
I say it every year, but it’s been a phenomenal year! I’m definitely going to take some time over the Christmas break to sit down and reflect on everything that has happened for me personally, in the business, with my clients, and with my own fitness and riding over the year. I love the festive break because I feel like it's the only time of the year where everybody closes shop and has a proper bit of downtime and for me it's a really nice time to reflect.
This year, I’ve helped so many more riders of all disciplines from all around the world including polo-crosse, polo, dressage, eventing, showjumping, as well as leisure riders, improve their health, mental & physical wellness, get stronger and take their riding to the next level.
Some of the ladies in the coaching community have had the most incredible year and honestly, it’s the most rewarding thing to hear people saying that embarking on the coaching programme was the best thing they’ve done in their life!! To hear that is honestly, the most rewarding thing as a coach, especially when I put so much effort and energy into every client, and I'm genuinely passionate about seeing them succeed.
The majority of my clients are aged between mid 20's-60s, my oldest client currently is 67! Everyone has different expectations & ambitions they want to achieve and it’s always a privilege to help them learn how to do that & see them achieve those goals.
The biggest thing I’m passionate about is educating riders on how to achieve those changes in their fitness and riding lives so that they have the tools to sustain the results for a lifetime. That's the key!
It’s been fantastic supporting my long-standing clients, I’ve got a good handful that have been in my coaching programme for over 3 years now and I want to thank them for their continued support and commitment. When you think about the bigger picture it’s amazing thinking that I met these ladies in lockdown, and together, we’ve created something really special in their lives and allowed them to feel more confident, be more active, feel stronger and enjoy their horses to the full because they’re finally fit & confident enough to do so.
Event Fitness is growing bigger and better than ever, and when I started the business in lockdown my ultimate mission was to help equestrian females achieve their goals and help them to understand how they got those results so they had the knowledge for the long term. Education is the biggest part of the process and you don’t know what you don’t know right. So helping them to understand the logic behind the method provides a lot of independence and seeing them continue making progress in all walks of their life is just so rewarding.
I’ve got clients from all over the world now, which is incredible and crazy to say! This year we’ve got riders from Hong Kong, Argentina, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland, America, Netherlands, and of course from England!
It’s crazy to think where Event Rider Fitness started (at the kichten table literally) to where it is now, and I want to thank all of my clients old and new for entrusting me to help you on your journeys. Honestly, it's why I do this coaching game and it's such a privilege so thank you to you all.
Through 2023 there’s been a lot of change for me personally and with the horses. It’s been the year I fully embarked on adult life and bought my first house which is terrifying, everybody keeps telling me it will get exciting at some point! I’ve gone back to being single and that’s given me a lot of time back to invest in the things I enjoy doing and am passionate about & as the years gone on it's been really positive.
I’m really finding what makes me as an individual happy & I do believe at the grand old age of 30 now it takes time & experiments to find that! But I'm getting there. With the horses, it’s been another turbulent year as always, but thanks to lockdown and my life moving back to Devon. I’m very grateful that I’m now able to be here at home through the busy eventing and breeding season, and see my family's string of horses ever growing and achieving great things. It never gets old seeing another superstar born in the spring! But as we all know all yards, breeding and competing come with their many ups and downs.
I urge you all over your downtime at Christmas to reflect on 2023 and think about what it’s given you. On Thursday, we all jumped on the final team call of the year and chatted through all of our wins and successes of the year as well as discussing the struggles and challenges people had individually faced.
The biggest thing that stuck out for me was that it’s definitely been the year of health. Many of my clients have struggled with injuries and health issues and in my own family. there’s been some worrying times. At the end of the day, the only option we all have is to keep going and move forward and hopefully 2024 will be a more positive year for us all. If you’ve struggled with illness and injury this year please don’t feel like you’re alone because there are many going through the same thing.
My advice to you is the same as it was to those of my clients who have had a tough year, to go and enjoy their break, get some real downtime and evaluate the year. Reflect on everything that’s happened that has been good and positive and equally take time to reflect on the not so good bits as often we can learn from these things and move forward in a more positive light. I really hope that next year is going to be a very positive and healthy year for us all and I can’t wait to help my team get even better and stronger and crack on into 2024 with themselves & of course their horses!
Today has been a mammoth one, but I think I can say I am finally there. All clients are set with the programmes for Christmas and it’s fantastic this year that everybody is on the same page in terms of they want to continue training and moving their bodies over Christmas and keeping good routines. I’ll be doing the same but I’ll definitely be enjoying a few more ciders and some extra cheese!
I hope you have found all the content I’ve shared on the blog this year has helped your own fitness & riding journeys. A lot of my time as an online fitness coach goes into creating content, thinking of new ideas to bring you guys and it’s hugely rewarding to hear when you read the blogs and have taken something away from them. So I hope you continue doing that in 2024.
Christmas for me, looks like spending time with family, getting lots of big dog walks in and enjoying a bit more riding than usual and just having fun whilst I take some time away from coaching & work. I hope you're all able to do the same & have some proper switch off time with your family & friends & I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year and I’m very excited to move into 2024.
Enjoy spending time with your family and friends. That’s what this time of year is all about and coaching doors will be back open in January to help even more of you!
Have the most fantastic break
Katie