The Equestrian Athlete

What are your reasons for pretending that you are not an athlete??  Although most of my riding students view me as a psychotic (I know who you are) work-out junkie, I have often tried to psyche myself out too when things got hard…  Those energy sapping tapes in your head, “I’m too old, I’m not a competitor/competitive, I am tired/stressed, I hurt, I work too much, I have no talent…”  The list of negative thoughts can go on endlessly. 

But… here is the basic fact to dispel all of that negative mental garbage… you ride.  You do not ride to get worse.  You do not ride to hurt yourself… or your horse.  You do not ride to set a bad example.  Sure, you ride because you LOVE horses.  But you can love horses by feeding them carrots and brushing them.  You ride because you love RIDING.  And, guess what???  Riding is a sport...not a religion!  That makes you an athlete!

You can choose to be a poor athlete and suffer injuries, damage your horse(s) body, or have endless frustration.  OR… you can be proud of being an athlete and realize that you owe it to yourself to set aside time for YOUR training.  Taking the time to “train smart,” means that you can ENJOY your sport, improve in your sport, and reap all of the benefits of being a good athlete. 

Instead of feeding in to the negative thoughts trying to drag you down, you have to learn to listen to them constructively.  Which thoughts do you just tell to (pardon the BAD word) SHUT-UP???  How about “I’m too old?”  Please, you are only one day older than yesterday.  I don’t buy it.  Which thoughts make sense??? Maybe, “I’m tired” means that you gypped yourself on sleep during the week.  Maybe it means you fed your body poorly.  You have to listen to those.  What good is it to make sure your horse has every supplement on earth if you are eating McDonalds??????  This makes no sense.  Pay attention to the legitimate complaints that your brain sends you.  Toss the rest...  

Learning to ride is an athletic endeavor.  You are, or should be, in training.  As an athlete, examine the following 9 important points that are inevitable to your progress and well-being:

1.  Make a Work Out Schedule.  
Have something that you can use as a guideline and try to follow it as much as you can.  A good athlete keeps a healthy body by maintaining a consistent work/rest balance.

2.   Have a Coach and/or Work Out Buddy.  
You need this for encouragement.  You need experienced eyes or ears when you are “in the dark” about an issue.  You may need the support of a friendly push, a mean talking to, or praise. 

3. Read/talk/experience as much about your sport as possible.  
Repetition is your friend.  You gain confidence by the comfort of knowing what you are doing. 

4.   Take care of your body/mind and SLEEP.  
Tired = fatigue, injury, inability to learn.  Turn off the computer, the TV, the family, the job… and get to bed.  

5.   Take care of your body/mind and EAT WELL.  
Fad diets suck (another BAD word!)  Dumb diets suck (AGAIN!)  You are not (I sincerely hope) an athlete so you can lose weight… BAD!  You are an athlete because you love riding, right??  Eat to feel well in your sport.  This needs to be tested on your own body but try to educate yourself on basic nutrition guidelines for athletes… not for Kate Moss look-alikes. Did I mention that fad diets suck??? 

6.   Listen to your body.  
We talked about this but… again, do constructive listening and then be proactive.  If you are sore, perhaps you need rest, perhaps you just need a massage.  If you are tired, perhaps you need a rest day, perhaps you need a cross training (different activity) day.

7.   Work the Whole Body.  
Training your body involves getting to know all of your body.  Weakness in one area can severely affect another area, leading to crookedness or overuse injuries.  Cross training for
riding should involve strength training (weight training) and some form of cardiovascular training (running, swimming, etc.)  Both of these activities will improve your balance within your body. 

8.   Compete!  
Either in competitions, with one of your peers, or with yourself.  Competition is healthy.  It makes you work at getting better.  Learn to “suck it up” and try harder.  If you didn’t train hard, you are no winner.  If you trained and competed as hard as you could, you are a star.  You will know who you are. 

9.   Enjoy!  
You will have more and more “good” days as you learn to train with focus.  Having a schedule, a plan, and caring for your body will do wonders for your riding ability.  Enjoy your good days and try to think about all the things that you did to help yourself get there.  Enjoy the fact that you can do more and more physical things with ease.  Enjoy the tone your body takes on.  Enjoy the alertness of a well rested brain. Enjoy the fact that you are strong enough to help your horse’s balance.  The benefits of developing your “inner athlete” are repaid to you in more ways than you can imagine. 

Review these points often.  Ask questions of your coach or “those in the know” if you are uncertain.  Educate yourself.  You love riding.  You can get better.  You have a marvelous feat of engineering in the form of your own body.  Don’t just “throw yourself out to pasture” if you want to be a rider who is deserving of sitting on the back of your horse.  Do both of you a huge favor and get yourself in training.