The glutes play a major role in stabilising the pelvis, and keeping our legs, pelvis and torso aligned allowing us to sit square in the saddle as well as in daily life.

The core plays a vital role in riding, not only does it provide shock absorption but also keeps us symmetrical and balanced in the saddle. A weak core will result in us being unbalanced in the saddle resulting in mixed communication with the horse.

Mindset plays a massive role in fitness, riding, work and day to day tasks. Having a positive mindset will make all the difference to your performance in training both in and out if the saddle.

Being in the right headspace before getting on the horse can determine how that ride will go, wether that be at home or at a competition.

A negative mindset will not only then send mixed messages to your horse but also leave you distracted and disconnected to your horse.

Usually when I get asked this question people are referring to their cardiovascular fitness, but a fit rider needs to be so much more than ‘fit’, they need to be strong, supple and balanced too. But as people want to know how fit they need to be cardiovascular wise I will touch a bit on the importance of CV work and the amount and type of CV work you should include in your rider fitness routine.

Resistance training plays an essential role in rider fitness, as does balance work and cardiovascular fitness. People often forget that it can improve our isolation, strengthen/correct imbalances, and helps us to understand how to engage our core.

Lack of flexibility and stability in the saddle is more common than you’d think. Who can openly say that they work on their mobility and stretch before mounting? Not many of us right…But what if mobility was the key to becoming a more stable, balanced rider that is able to isolate and work body parts independently? Would you start including mobility work into your workout or daily routine?

It is very easy for riders to become fixated on our horses being in a correct outline but are we spending enough time working on our position being correct, supple and balanced enough to help our horses achieve this? Learn how to correct positional errors and improve your horses way of going!

Having a good baseline of fitness in the saddle is important for all equestrians, no matter the discipline, but our diet also plays a role in our performance in the saddle.

The daily chores involved with keeping horses and the riding itself may feel like you are doing enough exercise to not have to worry about our nutrition, but what if we understood a little more about what we need to help us perform at our best.

Having a good baseline of fitness in the saddle is important for all equestrians, no matter the discipline, not just for the extra stamina or cardiovascular fitness, but also for the stability, balance and use of limbs independently or isolating parts of the body. Learn more about what muscles you use when riding your horse!