The rider’s physical effort

The horse

« Equestrian culture », passed down from generation to generation by the most illustrious masters from our equestrian academies, has almost always been exclusively centered on the horse, and very little on the rider. As if equestrianism were only for the horse, without considering the rider’s essential role.

If however, as we think, riding is a sport, it is easier to agree that it must combine the rider’s strengths and qualities to those of the horse. Both should be considered as athletes, needing to be in top shape, so as to progress together.

The rider

Even if more and more excellent riders have taken up physical preparation, many still admit to having never done so, using the excuse that they ride several horses a day, or that it wasn’t in their training culture...But they all admit that their physical state is far from perfect, and even recognise that their performances would in all likelihood have been better with minimal work on their bodies.

Working on one’s physique, is becoming more and more the done thing. In France, it is still too seldom put into practice, compared to what is done in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium , or in the UK where this component of preparation has been in use for a long time.

Let us try to better understand, why considering the rider as a genuine sportsman has nowadays become a vital criteria for horse and rider performance in equestrian sports. Let us try to assess the real demands on the rider during training and in a competition environment.

The rider on cross-country

After the demanding effort of a cross country course where heart rate can reach its maximum, recovery and slowing heart rate back down to normal can take a long time, depending on the type of recovery. The example on the graph shows the substantial effort provided by the rider. This level of effort is rarely reached in training sessions, and requires specific preparation to be part of a training programme.

Lactate values in the rider can reach levels of over 10mmol/l. When physical fitness is not optimum, these values can be quite high. Therefore an insufficient fitness level can lessen performances due to lack of energy, but mainly because of alteration of lucidity, decrease in the capacity to concentrate at the end of a course.

A lot of riders consider that their daily amount of riding is enough for their physical preparation. In terms of leg muscle development, this is probably true, it is unlikely that a horse in training will provide enough energy to develop the rider’s back strength , abdominal wall, and even less develop arm muscle sufficiently to hold a horse that pulls on cross-country. Lastly, joint mobility, especially of the pelvic area is not solicited much during training, and can further be reduced if the rider is not careful or lacks suppleness.

In terms of heart rate for a confirmed rider, solicitation often remains low during training, and insufficient to contribute to a genuine level of fitness.

Solicitation in Dressage

For the rider, soliciting the heart is the gauge of the intensity of the training session, especially when he must exert himself to obtain the quality of the required movement. It is often above that of the horse. In some cases it can also reflect the rider’s emotivity, if working with a « bossy » trainer, or when doing difficult exercises.

It is important to draw attention to the rider’s breathing, which has ben the object of very few studies in equestrian sports. Beathing rhythm seems to be related to the horse’s pace, but for certain riders, episodes of apnea have been noted, and should be brought to their attention. Even if apnea can be a way of increasing one’s accuracy over a very short period (target shooting for example) it can induce discomfort if prolonged while the horse and rider are moving.  It is often noted during the difficulties of a presentation, when the rider should be the most relaxed to accompany and feel his horse’s movements.

The rider jumping, and on the gallops

For a rider with a normal amount of training, a jumping session with no major problems to solve does not put the metabolism into an aerobic state. On the other hand, as soon as difficulties arise, either because the horse is a novice, or because the horse is uncooperative, the metabolism becomes more solicited.

The example below, of a professional rider competing three horses cross-country or on gallops, shows that heart can be more intensely solicited (on average > 150 beats/min peaking at 170 hb/min) as soon as there are difficulties to overcome. This heart rate will be much lower if the horse is cooperative (average of 114hb/min, no high maximum noted over a 450 m/min gallop). However, even in a « dynamic » training session, the measurements observed are far below those noted in a competition environment (heart rate can reach 200hb/min), this is due to the fact that when training the rider remains in control of his tiredness, and speeds are lower than those recorded  when going cross country.

This example shows that a professional rider riding several horses does in fact have the opportunity of developing or maintaining a degree of fitness in terms of the heart. Nevertheless, this type of fitness is not necessarily adapted to his entire range of activity.

The rider will still need to develop core strength and suppleness through regularly doing stretching exercises. Thus he will remain in good health, particularly with regard to his back and adductor muscles. An amateur rider, with just the one horse will therefore have all the more need to do complementary activities to become fit enough for riding, and even more so if the horse is easy-going, or for competitions.

Rider position

If the rider has any physical weakness, the horse will need to compensate for the imperfections of his rider’s position : dissymetry, slackness, uncushioned vertical movement.. Any inappropriate movement or a bad position on the part of the rider, will significantly increase the mechanical effort the horse will have to put in to move. Studies conducted at Saumur on a simulator, have shown that the best show-jumping riders obtain far more head stability both longitudinally and vertically because they have better pelvic mobility, more back  muscle tone, and they are able to cushion any vertical movement of the saddle through lower back flexibility. Dressage riders adopt a different strategy, they tend to staighten and make themselves sit taller.

Tension on the reins

The rider also needs to be aware of the tension exerted on the reins, which can involve quite a high use of energy, which needs to be taken into account. The action on the reins should also be symetrical, or in tune with the horse’s  leading canter leg, otherwise the horse will be more constrained, not straight and expend more energy.
It is also useful to remember that the rider can only exert precise actions when within the tension range of his physical capacities. As soon as he gets close to his maximum strength, his actions become less controlled and more brutal. Once again a good position, using all the leverage points (balanced, on the stirrups without sitting) will allow the rider to better use his strength capacity. These physical demands are used for the renewal of jockey licences, as they are now requested to complete an effort test on a simulator instead of a bicycle. This test (done at the jockeys clinic in Chantilly) simulates effort during a gallop, and rein tension is imposed.

In addition to having a certain amount of strength in the arms, these elements confirm the need for good core strengthin order to be stable and be capable of adjusting rein tension relevantly.

As seen throughout this fact sheet, muscle, joint, core stength reinforcement, and also breathing are very important when riding. This work contributes to a relaxed horse and to good performance during exercise or in competition, and in addition, to the rider’s sustainable health in his every day work and in competitions.

More and more riders, particularly in the sport of eventing, are preoccupied with this aspect, and call upon physical trainers, physiotherapists,or include short fitness, muscle reinforcement, and stretching sessions in their physical preparation…
This physical preparation should follow the horse’s programme, follow the same sequence according to objectives.

The following fact sheets on rider fitness, will explain in depth the physiological, mechanical and metabolic benefits of this training and how to implement a training programme so that the rider does not become the  « weak link » in the horse and rider partnership.