Fit For Purpose

from Equestrian Hub Magazine Issue 3 2020

Horses In History

MAIN: Amanda and Koko Popping Candy gallop through the woods with Werribee Mansion in the background during the CCI2* at the 2017 Melbourne International 3 Day Event.

FACING PAGE: Holding on as Loxley launches an early take off in the CCI* at the 2013 Melbourne International 3 Day Event. (Images by Michelle Terlato Photography).

FEATURE

She’s an equestrian coach, world class eventer, and she rides for Australia. Amanda Ross’ career has been extraordinary, and her commitment to fitness absolute. AMANDA MAC asked her for tips on how to up your fitness game to help take your riding to the next level.

Amanda Ross first sat on a horse when she was two-year-old. Her mother, a keen hobbyist rider, popped her onto a pony and then had to endure Amanda’s howls of protest when she was taken off. A pony of her own followed when she was eight, and a lifelong passion began.

Amanda has been competing in equestrian sports for more than 30 years. She was a reserve for the World Equestrian Games in 1998, 2010 and 2018, and a member of the Australian team for the Oceana Eventing Team in 1999 and 2019. She competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and is shortlisted for Tokyo. Add FEI Dressage and Grand Prix jumping to her resume, and a picture emerges of a highly capable, all-round equestrian athlete.

Amanda is an enthusiastic proponent of fitness: “We are doing a sport and in any sport you do you need to be fit for purpose. As equestrians, we are fortunate that we can ride for a very long time, we’re not restricted by age. But no matter how old you are, the fitter you are the less likely you are to fall off and the better you’ll recover if you do.”

Dressage

As an eventer, Amanda has the fitness angle of all three disciplines covered, and is more than happy to share the basics: “For dressage, we need to have great posture. We’re generally trying to keep our bodies still on a moving object, so we need to be flexible particularly through the spine and the hips but still strong enough in the core to maintain good posture.”

She points out that cardiovascular fitness is also vital, as anyone who has tried to sit to the trot on a really big moving horse will tell you, but cannot emphasise enough the need for flexibility, balance and a strong core. “If I was focussing on dressage, I would do a lot of pilates and yoga. Body symmetry and awareness is super important because you need to feel when your body’s off balance. If you sit slightly asymmetrically, your horse is going to become crooked and won’t move off the aids correctly. Yes, definitely include some kind of cardiovascular work - some skipping, burpees, or a circuit training activity – but always with added pilates and yoga so you’re aware of your symmetry, strong through the core, and also very flexible.”

Showjumping

The conversation then turns to showjumping, a very different proposition from a fitness perspective in that a jumping round might be up to two minutes at the most, preceded by a warm-up of possibly 20 minutes, and a further quick warm up if your horse is going back in for a jump off. Quite a different scenario to dressage, where you might warm up for anything up to 50 minutes before riding a five minute or longer test.

From an aesthetic viewpoint, Amanda

ABOVE: Competing with Dondiablo in the CCI4* dressage at the 2019 Melbourne International 3 Day Event.

FACING PAGE: Amanda and Koko Popping Candy go clear to win the 2018 Melbourne International 3 Day Event CIC3* (Images by Michelle Terlato Photography).

suggests that posture in showjumping isn’t as important as in dressage: “You’re not going to be judged for your posture in the jumping ring,” she explains, “but that said, we all know that better posture is going to make you a better rider, a more effective rider.” Because showjumping requires short bursts of agility, Amanda’s focus is more on circuit training orientated fitness. “You might consider a Tabata or F45 style training program that includes some cardiovascular and strength work - and because you only need a couple of minutes of effort in the showjumping ring, short sharp efforts when you train will be ideal. I’d mix up bursts of cardio and strength, with flexibility exercises such as Animal Flow.”

To add to this, balance and reaction time are imperative for speed rounds against the clock. Amanda advises working on your balance using a bosu ball, wobble board, or simply single leg work combined with ball games (think juggling whilst standing on one leg!), which are all fun and easily accessible methods for improving reaction time.

Cross-Country

And then there’s cross-country, where you need sustained cardiovascular fitness over a longer period. “I took my heart rate once on an eight minute track and it was over 180 beats per minute for the entire course,” Amanda recalls, “obviously a lot of that is adrenalin, but what it shows is that you’re sustaining quite a high heart rate as well as performing skills on top of that, so you need to have very good base fitness.”

A cross-country course asks a lot of a rider: “It requires you to ride in two point position for an eight to twelve minute period, negotiate 40 plus jumps using a variety of jumping positions, react to unexpected slips or bumps, remember where you’re going, as well as plan A, B and C, all while you stay sharp and focussed on the course. Those activities require long continuous work, and for that you need muscular endurance and appropriate cardio fitness. The shorter, sharper jumping and turning bursts need muscular strength, reaction time and balance, as well as the flexibility to maintain a solid enough position to remain both

effective and on board!” she says.

Remember that if you’re not fit, the first thing your body does is go into fright or flight to protect itself. “So if you start getting really tired, your body’s number one priority is to try to stop you from falling off, and that’s when things go out the window,” Amanda warns. Have you noticed that when people get really nervous in a competition they often lose their way?: “That’s because their body has lost its ability to think outside the basic survival mode, and that makes it difficult to retain information or problem solve, so you’re not actually able to think about where you’re going, nor will your reactions be sharp. It’s at this point that riders become slow to react, both mentally and physically, which often results in run-outs, stops and falls, because the riders don’t set the horse up very well,” she explains.

Clearly, cross-country requires more cardio in your workouts – but Amanda doesn’t mean jogging or cycling: “I go for shorter, sharper bursts of intensity, with a variety of functional, whole body movements. It’s HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) style fitness. I also have a bosu ball, a foam roller and an Indo Board, which are all great for working on my balance.”

Core considerations

We’ve all heard that core fitness is important – but really, is it such a big deal? Amanda has absolutely no doubt on that’s point! “Your core is really important because it’s the muscle group around the lower spine and pelvis, and your pelvis is at the very centre of everything. Your legs come out from your pelvis and they form the anchor between you and the ground. Your spine comes out of your pelvis and that’s what holds your body upright and attaches your arms and head. So if your core is weak, your body will not be stable.”

But there’s another issue: “When you’re sitting on a moving object and you’re trying to remain still, there’s got to be something that allows movement and absorbs movement, so your spine and pelvis need to be both strong and flexible through the core to allow you to sit smoothly,” she explains.

To keep her core strong, Amanda likes a range of exercises involving static, rotating, flexing and extending movements. Think planks, twists, leg lifts and lowers, and for an added bonus: “anything where you have to balance yourself will engage your core. I like to mix exercises together. If I’m doing squats, or rows, or anything that’s isolating one part of my body, I try the exercise while standing on an unstable surface and it immediately recruits my core,” she says.

And for the finale … it’s flexibility

If you were to tell Amanda she could pick only one type of exercise for flexibility, then hands down, it would be yoga. She’s a serious

fan – and that’s because when it comes to flexibility, yoga delivers.

“Being flexible is so important. When you’re trying to sit steadily on a moving horse you need to be able to flow with that movement. If you’re stiff through the back and shoulders, then you’re more likely to jar your spine, if you’re tight through the muscles in your hips, sitting on a wide horse can reduce your leg strength when delivering the aids. And if you have one side that’s less supple than the other, you’ll lack symmetry which will create crookedness in both you and the horse,” she explains.

Whether it’s going to the gym, or working out at home during the COVID-19 lockdown, Amanda ensures she does something to maintain her physical fitness and flexibility every day. She absolutely practices what she preaches – and we hope that whatever your discipline, you’re now inspired to commit to a fitness program of your own.

You can find Amanda Ross on her Amanda Ross Eventing Fit Facebook page and YouTube channel, or visit her blog: www.amandarossequestrian. wordpress.com

Amanda and Dicavalli Diesel in the dressage phase of the RM Williams CIC3* at the 2018 Adelaide International 3 Day Event (Image by Michelle Terlato Photography).

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