Yes, Riders Should Be Fit. But Nothing Replaces Time In The Saddle
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. My job has been busier than ever. My brother just got married, and somewhere along the way, my horse needed some time off for a minor issue. Needless to say, I haven’t been riding in a few weeks.
It’s not normal for me to go more than just a few days without being in the saddle. So when life finally settled, and my horse was sound again, I was so eager to tack up and ride again. My first ride back was in a lesson with my trainer. And even though we took it pretty easy, she warned me: “you’re certainly going to feel it tomorrow.”
I shrugged it off. Sure, I might be a little sore, I thought. But I’m generally a pretty active person. I was still running several times a week, doing yoga, riding my bike… It wasn’t like for three weeks, I devolved into a total couch potato.
But my trainer was right. The next morning after that first lesson back – phew – was I sore. Like, REALLY frickin’ sore.
Now, I’m not someone who is intensely committed to a program like CrossFit or OrangeTheory, or “insert trendy workout theme here”. But like I said, I consider myself a fairly fit person. I work out to better my riding. If I’m going to ask my horse to jump a course of three-foot fences, and tuck his booty underneath himself to come round and collected, well, I better be able to do more than just hold on while I’m on his back.
But no matter what kind of fitness routine I’m doing, I’ve realized that there is no replacement out there for riding.
The more I ride, the stronger I am in my core, seat, and legs. Yes, the running and weight training help maintain my fitness, but it does not – and cannot – replace the fitness I get from riding.
There’s a certain kind of soreness equestrians experience after a long horse show weekend. You feel achey all over, but it’s a good kind of pain – the one that comes with the sense of accomplishment. There are muscles in my legs and arms that burn more from time in the saddle than any other workout-type program. When I take my horse out for gallop sets, I’m not only building his endurance – I’m building mine, as well.
The fittest I can ever remember being was when I was right out of college, working part-time for a small hunter/jumper farm, teaching beginner riding lessons and schooling all the lesson and students’ horses in the barn. I’d easily ride more than six horses in a day. I’m far from being a professional in this sport – but let’s look at the pros. They have a dozen horses in their fleet, generally, and spend hours riding them all in a day.
The more horses I ride, and the more hours I log on horseback, the fitter I feel.