The majority of my blogs are all about providing you guys with lots of information about fitness, nutrition & how to help your riding, answering the questions that you’re wondering but today I thought I would do something a little different & introduce one of the riders I train!
I’m going to share Helen’s story with you all, a little bit about why she came to me to help her initially & how she has found the whole coaching experience has helped her & her horses! Enjoy.
1; Can you tell us a little about what it is you do for a living?
I ride full time; I work for myself & run my own yard based in Gloucestershire where I produce young event horses & compete! My team of horses consists of 3-year-olds up to my top horse who is aiming for 4*.
2; Why did you start training with Katie?
I knew I wasn’t doing my horses the justice I should or could be doing them.
I felt my riding needed to be better & I constantly felt sluggish & tired. Not a good combination when you’re on the go all day! I struggled with lower back pain as well, especially after competing or going cross country & having previously tried a Joe Wicks programme I knew that training would help me to strengthen my lower back & core again but I just wasn’t sure where to start or what I should be doing.
I found it pretty hard to find a coach who was Equestrian specific & actually understood the demands of the sport & the horsey lifestyle. When I did the previous programme I just found it didn’t benefit or improve my riding at all so finding someone sport-specific was most important for me.
3; What’s been the best thing about training with Katie for you?
Since training together I’ve had far less lower back pain; I always used to be sore after competing a couple on the same day or galloping but now I rarely suffer from back pain which is a huge win for me.
One great thing for me when I am so busy each day riding & on the yard is having the flexibility of doing my training as & when it suits me from home, its fits into my schedule much better as everyday is different & means I can really make the most of my training.
I feel stronger in the places I need to be for my riding; my core, glutes & shoulders all feel so much stronger & I am now much more aware of my body which in turn has meant my posture & balance has improved & I am able to notice weaknesses in myself which in turn helps me to know what I need to be working on with the horses.
I feel stronger and am able to ride my horses better & definitely feel like I am now doing my horses justice which for me is a great feeling. When I am spending my life & time producing & competing horses this is what it is all about for me!
I’ve found my training has also really helped me mentally, I come away from my training sessions feeling positive and ready to crack on with training the horses & feel far less stressed. The way I look & my physique has also changed; finally, I have some abs!!
Even my posture has improved hugely which I am happy with and want to continue to work on, so there's been lots of great things & positives from my coaching experience!
4; What are your fitness & horsey goals for this year?
So I am actually doing a triathlon in September at Blenheim, it’s my first time doing a triathlon & is a sprint tri which I am really looking forward to. My ultimate goal for next season with the horses (Covid dependent) is to get my top horse, Carpe Diem V to Blenheim 4* long. Hopefully this year we will do a 4* short. I thought it would be pretty awesome to say that we’ve both competed & run round Blenheim!
With the younger horses I am aiming to get them started with their eventing careers this season & get my 7yo to the young horse championships at the end of the year at Osberton. Fitness wise I just want to generally stay strong & fit in myself so I can get the most out of my horses!
5; What would you say to anyone considering working with Katie and would you recommend her coaching?
Katie is really practical & flexible with our sessions, she is incredibly understanding of the demanding nature of our sport and how days can change at short notice.
She tailors your training to your individual needs and will adapt it for any reason such as injuries so that you still get the work done & train hard. Mostly she is really good at listening to what the client wants to achieve & works really hard with me to make it happen.
I think the biggest thing for me & the most important is that she understands our sport so the training is focused on Equestrian specific training-which I’ve found is rare. She is always motivating & positive & wants to help me reach my goals & pushes me beyond them.
I would definitely say go for it; if you’re prepared to work hard we can all be better & improve ourselves for our horses sake as well as our own!
Check out Helen's page here to keep up to date with all her latest competition news & what her team is up to! If you're stuck with your fitness & don't know where to start then hit the link here & book a free 10 minute call to have a chat with me about your fitness!
Comments