The past couple of weeks have seen the eventing season restart & get back underway & what amazing results my riders have had! Between online coaching clients & 121 personal training clients (who have kept up their PT sessions on zoom during lockdown) they have picked up 1sts, 2nds & a whole host of double clears.
The best part of my job is seeing clients work hard & achieve their goals; ultimately winning their events! It is amazing to see the improvements in their results and how much training has positively impacted their riding & performance.
Between professional event riders, working pupils & those riders who work full time to compete their horses they have smashed the restarted season!
Helen Bates picked up a win at Aston Le Walls last week riding her own 6-year-old Cascorson Z, finishing on a score of 30.6. This was Casper's first novice & he only went and won it! Helen has been training with me for over a year now. Originally she was struggling with lower back pain, felt unbalanced riding & felt like she wasn't doing her horses justice. Through her training, we have focused on building her posterior strength to help offload her back as well as focusing on improving core stability so she now has the strength she needs to maintain a good posture in the saddle. She used to find after an event her back pain was really bad the day after going cross country & now shes back to competing her horses with no pain the following day! Hurrah! Her training has hugely impacted her position & strength and ultimately has allowed her to get back riding pain-free which is amazing plus getting the results she knew the horses and her could! It is incredible as a trainer to see her out winning & no longer suffering with any pain.
Alice Kneen from Springtime Equestrian started training through the Event Rider Fitness 121 online coaching programme in lockdown & her goal was to get fitter & stronger in order to improve her position when riding & the effectiveness of her aids. She works full time as a vet so struggles to fit in getting to the gym or long training sessions after a long shift and has already hugely improved her movement & fitness. All whilst training from home Alice has already seen big benefits and her first event back at Barbury in the Novice saw her take 2nd place with Dazzling Springtime on a very impressive score of 26.3. Dressage was previously the phase she felt like she needed to work on her position the most so to see her going out at the first event and posting dressage marks like this is fantastic!
Thomas Heffernan Ho has continued his training with me through lockdown through our 121 sessions. Tom originally came to train at the beginning of last year after the winter break. He realised he needed to be fitter & stronger and do more work off the horses in order to improve his results at events & help him achieve his lifetime goal of competing at Tokyo Olympics. Mobility & balance has been a key aspect of the focus of Tom's training alongside helping him to even out his imbalances so he feels more balanced & in a better position in the saddle. He knew his aids could be more effective & could feel he was riding slightly wonky so really wanted to focus on improving his balance. Through lots of core stability & single limb training, Tom has really strengthened himself as well as improved his awareness of being even through both sides of the body both in the saddle & in training sessions. At Barbury Tom had his first run back with Rose Amigo in the Novice doing a 30 dressage & jumping a double clear, followed by Tayberry & Shannondale Vintage both jumping double clears in the Intermediate at Aston Le Walls before Fly the Flag II came 8th in a competitive BE100 posting an impressive dressage of 28.5. Previously Tom found he was exhausted after events & felt his dressage needed to improve, having had all 4 horses out both weekends he has certainly improved his fitness & his training has given him huge adaptions to the demands of competitions, including some great dressage marks!
Safia Woodward started training through the Event Rider Fitness 121 online coaching programme at the start of lockdown. She knew this was the perfect opportunity to get started with her fitness journey & get ready for the delayed season. Using the time to work on improving her movement out of the saddle has given her huge benefits! Moonbeg Boy was having his first run back at Tweseldown after 2 years off due to an injury. Safia posted a 32.3 dressage followed up by a very classy double clear in a super competitive section to finish 3rd. She said after the event she definitely felt like she was riding better especially when she went cross country she noticed how much her position after drop fences had improved! Safia's training focuses on improving leg & core strength using single limb training, core stability exercises & upper body movements all done from home with the use of bodyweight & resistance bands. Being a working pupil Safia doesn't have much time but has committed to fitting her training in & what fantastic improvements already!
All of my clients are on different journeys with their fitness and all have very different personal & riding goals. But one thing they all have in common?
They knew they could be doing better & knew they needed to work on themselves. Eventing is a partnership and without a strong rider, the horse will never be able to fulfil his true ability. Training yourself out of the saddle is just as important as your horse's weekly work & every rider could do more to help improve your eventing results. You don't need to be great to start but you do have to start to be great! Might sound corny but it is true and these guys results have certainly proved that.
I am so proud of each and every one of them for their dedication & hard work and it gives me so much joy to see them going out and getting the fantastic results they deserve and have worked so hard for. You can always be better & challenge yourself and training is all about improving you so you can benefit your horse. Their results have all certainly shown how much training yourself can lead you to win more events & get better results. Well done to everyone!
If you are reading this and thinking, yes I know I could be doing better then fill out the form below. I have 5 spaces open for the 90-day Event Rider Fitness 121 online coaching programme for July and am looking for riders who are ready to go now and work on improving their riding! At the bottom of the form book your free call with me & we can have a chat to see if I can help you.
Heres to the rest of a fantastic shortened season!