Physical training for riders: a report on a lecture by Andrew Thomas given to the Global Dressage Forum 2008 Andrew is an Olympic physiotherapist who now works mainly with riders, having previously trained athletes in tennis, athletics, football and rugby union. At the WEG, he worked with riders across all the equestrian disciplines. Prior to Beijing, he worked extensively with GB Olympic dressage riders, Emma Hindle and Laura Bechtolsheimer.
The day after Olympic team selection, Emma found out that she had an ovarian cyst. She phoned GB team manager, Richard Davison, to withdraw but he persuaded Emma to keep her place.
After her major surgery, she had just 6 weeks to recover sufficiently to compete; she was, of course, very fit and determined but what she achieved with Andrew’s dedicated help, in under two months, would have taken most people a year. She gained GB team’s highest score!
One of Andrew’s particular interests is in creating exercises to help increase a rider’s strength, mobility and control in the area around the spine and pelvis – core stability for riders. First of all, Andrew studies what is actually possible for a rider, and how the horse influences the rider’s body. What actually happens on a horse? Is the rider symmetrical on both reins? Can the rider keep hips in the correct position, stabilize left and right, with no shift of weight or movement out of the centred position? What does it take to be functional on a horse? Why can some riders do exercises and movements more easily than others?
What qualities does a dressage rider need? The key physical attributes are balance, control, strength, agility, flexibility, suppleness, mobility. Working with the riders, trainers and coaches, Andrew assesses the weaknesses and imbalances particular to each rider; he checks the rider’s ability to adjust position and absorb the forces on the body that the horse produces, whilst staying supple and in control. He looks at the techniques the rider uses to cope with movement so that the exercises he uses will be specific to that rider’s problems.
Fitness is an issue that he has to deal with as often riders think that riding a certain number of horses each day is sufficient; his view is that riding more than 4 or 5 is likely to cause back pain and create imbalances in the rider. Exercises to improve peripheral muscle effectiveness and overall body fitness are essential; it is not about strength but control.
Suppleness is not flexibility and has nothing to do with an ability to touch one’s toes; it is the ability to absorb forces of movement without losing independent control of the limbs and it gives the rider body control through core stability in the pelvic area. It is all about the pelvis – positional problems almost always stem from this area. Obviously it is not the same for a rider off a horse as on one but pelvic control off the horse is essential to pelvic control on a horse.
Equestrian sports are quite unique in that males and females compete on equal terms. With other athletes, the norms are usually quite close together and very structured so male gymnasts, for instance, would never compete against females. There is a huge variance in height, weight, build and strength between male riders, never mind between males and females. Is there a perfect rider shape? Probably but successful riders are certainly not in one mould. Most riders have imbalances and weaknesses – better riders are better at ‘hiding’ their body problems. Sitting and steering from childhood doesn’t turn a person into a rider; time on the lunge, at all paces, to learn to sit the horse’s movement whatever happens, is the way to develop an independent stable position.
Some people have a tight side with the opposite side of their body being weak; others are tight and weak on the same side; fairly obviously, the latter is the more difficult. Andrew demonstrated this with the help of a 17 year old female rider; some simple tests gave him quite a few answers. Lying on her side on a table, the range of hip movement was tested by holding the leg up and back and asking her to resist against a downward pressure from Andrew’s hand; on the right she could resist, on the left it was very tight and weak and she couldn’t. This translates, on a horse, on sitting out to the right, the left leg coming into effect to stabilize the position and the tightness on the right side affecting the horse and limiting the contact. Andrew then put his hand on her hip muscle and pumped the left leg up and down a few times; after about 20 seconds, a test showed that the flexibility was much improved. Rehabilitation for this rider would actually be to strengthen the right side, i.e. to work on the less stiff side to equalize the two.
The key muscles involved are the gluteus minimus and medius; exercises really only work after straightness is sorted out (much like horses!), otherwise the exercises would only strengthen the stiff side and make things worse. The psoas muscle goes from the front of the spine to the hip and helps to control and decelerate the pelvis which, in turn, helps with balance and co-ordination. Part of the core, the longer leg length helps the muscles to come into play, but only if the position is already correct. Females need greater control and stability as their seat bones are much further apart and much wider than males; also their hip bones are much nearer the spine than those of men, so exercises must be adapted accordingly to take these differences into account.
Core strength allows other muscles to function correctly, reduces fatigue, helps prevent injury and improves technique. Never give riders expensive equipment or complicated exercises – they won’t use the first and they won’t bother with the second!
A table, a chair, some rubber bands, exercise balls and a wobble board are all that is needed. Emma and Laura, both athletically built but quite different in shape and height, demonstrated various of the exercises Andrew has developed to help their core stability.
One or two of the exercises like sitting on the ball and moving the pelvis forward and back, and from side to side, and then using both movements to rotate the pelvis, looked possible. Then Laura had to kneel on an exercise ball while Emma balanced on the wobble board, neither of which either looked or was easy, whilst throwing another smaller ball to and fro between them, sometimes straight and sometimes to the left and to the right. At this point, a little light relief appeared in the shape of Richard Davison who was persuaded, somewhat reluctantly, to attempt to balance on the wobble board. This was momentarily achieved with a lot of help from his friends!
One or two of the exercises like sitting on the ball and moving the pelvis forward and back, and from side to side, and then using both movements to rotate the pelvis, looked possible. Then Laura had to kneel on an exercise ball while Emma balanced on the wobble board, neither of which either looked or was easy, whilst throwing another smaller ball to and fro between them, sometimes straight and sometimes to the left and to the right. At this point, a little light relief appeared in the shape of Richard Davison who was persuaded, somewhat reluctantly, to attempt to balance on the wobble board. This was momentarily achieved with a lot of help from his friends!
One nil to the girls! These, and other, exercises done for 10 minutes before riding have two advantages; one, the rider is balanced physically and mentally; two, the rider is warmed up. A lot is said about the necessity of warmup for the horse; seldom do riders warm themselves up before getting on their horse.
lecture