RIDERS, WHAT IS YOUR MISSING LINK?
Article originally published in HQ, South Africa’s Premier Equestrian Magazine.
As riders, we all want to perform at our best with our horses, yet it often feels like an uphill struggle. There seem to be so many challenges, and it can be difficult to know where to start when looking to improve your performance. Here I examine the concept of performance to give you a new way of examining your riding and finding your particular key focus area.
Riders need to look at performance like a circular chain, with each part, or link, being essential to keeping the chain connected. For the purpose of this article, we will be referring to the aspects of performance as links, in an attempt to explain it as easily as possible. Those at the sharp end of the sport leave little to chance, and attention to detail is the reason why many seem to do it ‘effortlessly’. Leave out one or more links of the chain, and the integrity of the chain is compromised. Of course, you can get by, but then every possible aspect of performance has not then been addressed in the best possible way.
ASSESSMENT IS KEY
During my EquiBio assessments I have noticed that all the riders I have assessed have very different ‘sticking points’. No two riders are the same. For some, it is a simple equipment change that is required, and for others, there are quite a few aspects that they can work on. The thing they all had in common was wanting to have another set of eyes have a look at the big picture and offer advice. For many of them, the fix was simple, for others, it required many hours of self-work. Yes, there are of aspects of the performance chain that are easier to get right than others, however the direction of many riders’ focus is not on the factors that can make the most difference for them. An expensive, quick-fix gadget is not going to help you at all if you have too many links missing from your chain.
Often the most beneficial link is rider self-work and unfortunately, this link is not easily come by. Self-work takes resilience, discipline and time, which is not the comfortable route.
As the adage goes, nothing good comes easy. Those top jumpers that make it look effortless? There are thousands of hours behind them, working on their training, self-improvement and too many other factors to mention.
Now, how do you know what is your missing link? The solution that makes the most sense to me is to assess. Have a look if your equipment is working for you, test range of motion, test strength, coordination, and neuromuscular control. EquiBio is not here to ‘fix’ riders, but guide them in the little things that can make a big difference, as well educate the hard gotten aspects of performance, training yourself to make things easier for your horse.
In the next part of the article I will go over some hypothetical case studies to further build the picture.
CASE STUDY 1
For some riders, simply changing the stirrup to fit the anatomy of their shin is performance enhancing as it allows them to have better balance (This can be due to individual anatomical differences). In this example, it is also gently informing the rider that their saddle does not fit them correctly by putting them into a ‘chair position’, which makes it nearly impossible to keep the leg in the right place. I would then refer this case on to a saddle fitter because your comfort has a performance enhancing benefit.
CASE STUDY 2
The most common missing link I find is poor range of motion and or weakness and lack of stability in the musculoskeletal system. If it is not weakness it is poor neuromuscular control, i.e the nervous system’s ability to coordinate movement efficiently. I find these links are the most difficult to attain as it takes discipline and time to work-out to improve your strength and stability.
CASE STUDY 3
Some riders have just about all the right links in the right places, but their horse is not quite ready to physically be up to the task they are being asked to do. This is particular with younger horses, who are still finding their rhythm and developing postural strength. This bumpy ride can make a rider who battles with coordination and motor control as mentioned in the previous example have a difficult time. Working on seat and aid coaching as well as allowing the horse to have time to develop will solve this problem beautifully. Just like you are able to find your light switch in the dark, coordination improves with repetition and practice.
Important caveat - I have only mentioned a few performance links, there are obviously countless more and I feel you could have other interlinking chains that include horse management and coaching, amongst others. The little things can add up to be greater than the sum of the parts. Natural ability will get you a long way, but not all of us are blessed with it! Thankfully for the rest of us, there are concrete things that you can work on to improve your performance. Your horse will thank you for it.