TSB BLOG

Tag: rider fitness

  • Clowns, Gray Hair, and Ice Cream: Coach Daniel Stewart Gets Honest About Equestrian Athletes…and Everything Else

    Clowns, Gray Hair, and Ice Cream: Coach Daniel Stewart Gets Honest About Equestrian Athletes…and Everything Else

    Coach Daniel Stewart is an enthusiastic force of positivity that makes you smile even when you’re in the middle of getting your riding butt kicked into gear. His mental and physical training techniques have helped boost equestrians from mediocre to masterful all over the globe. At TSB, we’ve been lucky to work with Coach Stewart…

  • Quick Quiz: Riding Position Puzzle

    Quick Quiz: Riding Position Puzzle

    Can you tell which movement this rider is “riding” from the correct position in the left photo above, and the common mistakes depicted in the middle and on the right? When correctly positioned (left photo), the rider is looking to the inside, her shoulders and pelvis are likewise turned to the inside and aligned. The…

  • Stretch Your Neck to Ride Better

    Stretch Your Neck to Ride Better

      Many riders have neck and shoulder tension, which derives from the body’s reaction of “turning on” the trapezius muscle (see illustration above) in their daily lives. When there is a neuromuscular “highway” to an unproductive area such as the trapezius, there will be an almost automatic physical reaction, collecting tension in that area, regardless…

  • Top 10 Lessons from Top Horse Trainers

    One of the best perks of working for an equestrian book publisher (assuming you are just the littlest bit horsey) is the constant immersion in equine-related theory, philosophy, and how-to. There is so much opportunity to absorb the ideas of great horsepeople and to try their techniques and methods for oneself—or to come to understand…

  • Baby Got Back: What Matters Behind When You’re in the Saddle

    It’s the point that comes in contact with the horse and the saddle (and sometimes the ground)…the part of our bodies we eye with disgust in the tack shop mirror when trying on breeches…the area we want the fringe on our chaps to accentuate when we’re young and camouflage when we’re…not-so-young. Our bottoms, our backsides,…

  • How to Improve Your Riding Performance in Just 30 Minutes, 3 Times a Week, for 9 Weeks!

    Are you out of breath after a long trot session? Are your muscles sore the day after a lesson? Are there some days you’re just too tired to clean the barn, never mind get on your horse? Certified fitness trainer and riding coach Heather Sansom (founder of Equifitt.com) has developed a new fitness training program…

  • From Struggling to Sit the Trot to USDF Silver—Here’s How

    A lot of things can happen in 10 years of riding. Common goals shared by most riders are to have improved their seat; advanced the training of their horses while maintaining soundness; and nurtured connection and communication with their equine partners—that is, find harmony. There was a time Janice Dulak couldn’t sit a trot. She…

  • From “Doctor Doctor” to “Riding Doctor”: Dr. Beth Glosten Talks About Perfection-Seeking, Ligament Injuries, Inspiring Vacations, and Buddha

    Not many of us come to riding with the anatomical understanding of a medical doctor, and so it is often our aids and position are caught somewhere between a mystery and a miracle—we’re not sure how or why they work, but we are thrilled when they do! Dr. Beth Glosten does have that knowledge of…

  • 24 Hours in the Life of Leading Equestrian Sport Psychologist Daniel Stewart

    International trainer and riding instructor Daniel Stewart is widely considered one of the world’s leading experts on equestrian sport psychology, biomechanics, and athletics. He teaches clinics and seminars to thousands of riders each year and is a popular guest speaker at many national and international conventions. Right now Daniel is in the middle of his…

  • An Easy Riding Mini-Workout to Do at Your Desk!

    In RIDER FITNESS: BODY & BRAIN, kinetics-and-riding specialist Eckart Meyners, provides 180 anytime, anywhere exercises that have been systematically and successfully put into practice by riders at many levels of ability and experience. The cool thing about incorporating Meyners’ “mini-workouts” in your fitness plan is that they not only train and sculpt your body, they…