Taking It Home

I ride five days a week for forty-five minutes a piece, and do Pilates once a week for an hour. That adds up to almost five hours of training a week. With most other sports, athletes who want to play at a competitive level often put in many more hours than this. When it comes to riding, however, that isn't always possible. If it were just up to me, I would spend every free second I have on my horse. The problem is that that just wouldn't be fair to him. We need our horses to enjoy their work, not resent their riders. We need to be careful not to work them too hard. So with only being able to ride forty-five minutes a day and Esso getting two days off a week, it is extremely important for me to, as my trainer likes to say, take my riding home.

I try to pay as much attention to my "position" on the horse as I do off. Working my arms independently from my body, standing straight, etc. My trainer is trying to get me to write at school with my elbow against my body rather than sticking out, which is actually a lot harder than it sounds. In addition to all that, I do exercises every night. I stretch, hold plank, etc. As much as I dislike spending 20 minutes every night trying to strengthen my core when I could be snuggled up in my bed, it is always very obvious from my riding when I have and haven't been diligent about my exercises. I want to be the best rider I can be, and if that means giving up twenty minutes of my sleep every day, then that's what's going to happen.

Pie and Lattes

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Every Monday, my trainer, Kristina Harrison, two other girls and I take a lesson at the Pilates Bodyshop with our instructor Kerri Campbell. What exactly is Pilates? Pilates is a form of conditioning intended to improve flexibility, strength and endurance through a variety of exercises performed on machines with rather intimidating names such as "the reformer" and "the spine corrector". The type of Pilates I do is called Fletcher Pilates (see Ron Fletcher bottom right). It emphasizes rhythm and breathing, and is very popular among dancers.

Kerri and Krisi have been working together for a number of years now, and although Kerri doesn't ride herself she has learned what we dressage riders need. She understands how we are required to move on the horse and does a variety of motions with us, some of which she invented herself. We stretch our hips and hamstrings, strengthen our core and open our collar bones. All these exercise are intended to make us better riders. Although my position has improved since I started doing Pilates last year, I still have to continually work on it, on the horse and off. I do a series of moves and stretches every night before I go to bed and do my best to constantly be aware of how I am using my body in space -- at school, at home, wherever.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

So why did I decide to write about Pilates in this week's post? I was scrolling through my news feed on Facebook when an e-card one of my friends had posted caught my eye. It read: Pilates? Oh, heavens, no. I thought you said "Pie and Lattes."