Core beliefs By French dressage rider and Derriere Equestrian ambassador, Antoine Nowakowski

Core beliefs

By French dressage rider and Derriere Equestrian ambassador, Antoine Nowakowski

Without realising it, we all use our inner core muscles extensively, every time we ride our horses! These muscles are vital in establishing correct posture and position in the saddle, and are necessary for maintaining balance, especially if the horse were to trip or spook; therefore it is sensible to maintain fitness and flexibility in this area.

For example, when schooling, it is especially important to establish a correct, upright position in the saddle during downward transitions. It is very easy to slump forwards, drop the shoulders and look down, resulting in the horse tipping on his forehand, hollowing in the contact and often rushing and/or losing balance. If you feel your transitions are letting you down, revert to sitting trot, as this is almost impossible to perform well if your position in inadequate! To begin with, do it in bite size chunks, for instance between letters, or for half a twenty metre circle, so it is performed little and often; but what you do, you are doing very well. Once you feel confident and established, try to lengthen your time in sitting trot until it becomes second nature. This will improve your seat, balance, position and core muscles steadily over time; it will also make upward and downward transitions much easier to sit to, resulting in maintaining a soft outline and good rhythm.

Improving lower back strength

An excellent technique to improve lower back strength, inner core muscles and seat is to ride without stirrups. This will give you a deeper feel for the movement of the horse, and you will become more 'as one' with him. Again, little and often is the key; build up gradually to longer periods, and aim for the most advanced manoeuvres of upward and downward transitions without stirrups. If you can achieve this without loss of balance or bouncing, you can be sure that your inner core muscles are what you would wish them to be!

Exercising at home

You can help yourself further by dedicating even twenty minutes a day to simple home exercises such as doing planks, squats and sit-ups (obviously if your health, fitness and mobility allows), and you could join pilates or yoga classes. All fitness activities, e.g. running, swimming etc, although not solely useful for core muscles, will all help to achieve the level of fitness desired, as well as a more toned body. Horses are huge animals, and it takes many things to get the best from them and if you can achieve near-perfect control of your own body, that will go a long way towards managing the equine body beneath you.

As your fitness and core muscles improve, you will find your job in the saddle will become easier with less strain required; the whole picture will improve and the added bonus will be that your horse will be growing muscle and becoming a fitter more all round athlete, and better able to answer the demands needed of him.

Remember that when the rider is comfortable within the saddle, they can move more easily with the horse’s gait. Comfortable underwear and breeches are a must and the Derriere Equestrian range is designed for both men and women; it’s hard to find great riding underwear for men, but the DEPerformance Padded Shorty and the Performance Seamless Shorty both excel at their job, offering exceptional comfort and performance, in my experience!

www.derriereequestrian.com