EAT WELL

“A rider training 10 horses a day can expect to expend 3,000 calories, based on research of schooling work in racing. If your riding is more part-time or recreational, expenditure per day would be around 2,000-2,500 calories, depending on how active you were away from the saddle. Expenditure per test is not known, but it’s probably far less than it feels. At a guess, for a five to six minute test, you’d burn less than 100 calories. The exercise is not intense enough for more, even if you’re left feeling shattered. But there’s the technical training and the physical conditioning off the horse, too, and that work needs fuelling.”

Alongside appropriate calorie intake, an important factor is nutritional timing. If the habit of grabbing a coffee for breakfast and not eating until later in the day sounds familiar, you’ll probably be performing below par.

“Unhealthy eating patterns will have a direct effect on your mood and energy,” says Dan, who points out that if there’s no food in your stomach and things aren’t going right, you’ll have a short fuse. “This can lead to a downward spiral, because when you do eat and you’re not feeling good, you’re likely to make negative food choices such as reaching for sugary snacks.

“What’s interesting is the growing body of research about the gut-brain axis and how wellbeing and mood are linked directly to gut health,” he adds. “Most of the serotonin, the brain chemical that regulates mood, is produced by what’s going on in your gut. It’s thought that a good gut microbiome, with high levels of healthy bacteria, creates a more stable mood.”

Dan has devised a simple daily plan based around three ‘C’s.

“Carnivore refers to animal-derived foods, such as meat, fi sh, chicken, eggs and dairy,” he explains. “Colourful foods are fruit and vegetables, things such as berries and avocados. Then there are the carbohydrates: bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and cereals.

“Day to day, have a portion of carnivore at every meal or snack, such as a Greek yoghurt or a piece of cheese. Include colour, too, each time you eat. Then identify your ‘working window’, when you’re in the gym or on a horse and most physically active, and book-end this with energy-giving carbs. An example would be eating carbs at breakfast and lunch if you ride in the morning.

“Typically, riders don’t eat much during their most active times of the day because they’re too busy,” adds Dan. “Then when they’re doing nothing, usually in the evening, they eat loads of carbs. To boost energy and mood, eat carbs when you’re busy and carnivore and colour when you’re not.”

For competition days or stayaway shows, Dan recommends a similar routine.

“On a long day, when you’re travelling and riding a number of tests, the priority would be carbs for fuel,” he says. “Time it right, eating carbs a couple of hours before a test and taking small hits in between and afterwards. Identify the working window, when your heart rate is high, and fuel with carbs each side of that. During the journey there and back, focus more on carnivore and colour.

“Ideally, you don’t want food sitting in your stomach when you ride,” he adds. “On competition day and the day before it, a ‘white’ diet will be digested and release energy more quickly. While wholegrains might ordinarily be healthier, stick to carbs such as white bread and pasta and white meats such as chicken, white fi sh and pork.”

Dan explains that a dehydration level of just 2%, which equates to the water we’ve lost after a night’s sleep, is enough to impair performance.

“Simply drink as much water as you want,” advises Dan. “Load with electrolytes on competition day if you need to, so you don’t have to worry about drinking so much.”

Feeling well and riding at the optimum bodyweight for your shape and height are great reasons for getting your diet right. Dan offers more food for thought with some research from racing, which showed that jockey

“When we have a tea break, I’ll dunk a biscuit,” says busy professional rider Beth Bainbridge, who rides between eight and 10 horses a day as head rider at Elite Dressage. “But we are athletes, and I know that what we eat makes a big difference.

“I start the day with Greek yoghurt, nuts and berries for breakfast, and I’ll make a wrap or an omelette to take to the yard for lunch. I also make stew in a slow cooker to cook at the yard, then bring it home for dinner. For shows, I take Huel meals and a bag of spinach. That means I’m still eating well even if I then have the odd burger or some cheesy chips.

“I know it affects my mood if I don’t eat properly and have too many sugar loads, and that’s not fair on other people,” adds Beth, who manages a team of eight. “It’s all about a healthy balance, for me, the horses and the team.” performance in a simulated race ride was worse when they’d skipped breakfast and were slightly dehydrated.

“Upper and lower body strength was significantly lower, reaction time and decision-making were slower and the jockeys fatigued a lot quicker,” he explains. “This wasn’t dressage, but the parallels are there. The two sports are not poles apart.”