This article first appeared in the July 2020 digital edition of Equestrian Life. To see what’s in the current issue, click here.
Elite athletes hone their fitness, their strength and their health through a whole range of extracurricular means.
SECRETS BEHIND THE EQUESTRIAN ATHLETE
By Dr Ian Northeast
Elite athletes don’t get to the top of their game simply doing what they do best all of the time. They hone their fitness, their strength and their health through a whole range of extracurricular means.
Australian rules footballers play practice matches and drill certain “plays”. For the equestrian athlete, this could be comparable to practicing a test, a movement within a test, or a combination of fences. Footballers practice certain skills like handballing, kicking, tackling and numerous variations of these. For the equestrian athlete, this could be comparable to losing the stirrups, riding with a broomstick behind the elbows or sitting to the trot on the lunge.
Then, off the field, the footballer will have strength work, conditioning work, sprint track and swimming pool sessions. They will have treatment in the form of chiropractic, massage, osteopathy and physiotherapy. There will be sports psychologists, nutritionists, medical practitioners…
Read the full article in the July 2020 issue of Equestrian Life magazine here.
