THE RIDER - ON THE GROUND & IN THE SADDLE
AN EIGHT SESSION SERIES, WITH A NEW SESSION RELEASED EVERY TWO WEEKS
WITH MARY WANLESS BHSI & OSTEOPATH LIZ LAUNDER
In association with Racewood Simulators and Hartpury University, Mary & Liz work together with eight different riders both on the ground and on the simulator to provide insight and useful corrections on a range of rider habits and postural issues. The Racewood simulator puts riders through walk, trot, canter and jumping.
Liz works with the riders on the ground, pointing out how their normal habit patterns can affect the way we ride, providing exercises which can be used by the viewers to test their own habit patterns.
On the simulator, Mary looks at the rider's position and alignment, coaching them with new, more effective techniques for stabilisation and balance in all paces. Both Liz and Mary work together to change the rider's body both on the ground and in the saddle. Dressage Training TV Members get a brand new rider every two weeks as part of membership - as well as access to many of our other courses.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE RIDERS AND THE COURSE CONTENTS
PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH
HARTPURY UNIVERSITY
Undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Equine, Animal, Agriculture and Sport.
RIDE WITH YOUR MIND
Mary Wanless is an internationally renowned coach, and is the author of the ‘Ride With Your Mind’ books
RACEWOOD SIMULATORS
Racewood are the leading designers & manufacturers of Equestrian Simulators.
COURSE CONTENT
SESSION ONE
JAMES
James competed in dressage as a child up to medium level but gave up riding due to a loss of interest and confidence. Recently James has started riding again and trains occasionally at The Talland School of Equitation. During his training he has realised that he struggles to sit the bigger dressage movements. On the simulator, Mary finds that his stirrup length and position are more typical of a showjumper and that he has a fixed lower back, which the abdomen and the pelvis compensate heavily for. James has a degenerative disc at the location where he hollows and fixes his back so Mary and Liz help him to learn how to support this properly in his riding. Off the simulator, Liz teaches James some exercises to test the length and mobility of his hip flexors and to help him keep the hollow out of his back. At the end of the session James gets back on the simulator and puts everything he's learnt into practice.
SESSION TWO
TINA
Tina is the most experienced of all our riders having ridden at advanced levels in both eventing and dressage. Through her diverse riding career she has sustained a fair amount of injuries over the years. Liz and Mary look at how these injuries, and the way her body has recovered and compensated for them, affect Tina’s position. Tina is asymmetrical both standing on the ground and while on the simulator. On the floor, Liz teaches Tina how to activate very specific muscle groups without distorting the rest of her body. On the simulator, Mary’s realignment gets her sitting more balanced, with her shoulder, hip and heel aligned. They also work with controlling specific muscle groups on the simulator to correct her asymmetry By the end of the session, Tina feels much stronger and more level in the saddle, although it takes a lot of focus and hard work to maintain!
SESSION THREE
MEGAN
Megan has had some time away from riding in the last six months or so because of a new full time job. Previously she did a lot of varied riding with interests in show jumping, eventing and dressage. Mary and Liz first look at Megan on the horse. They find a relatively good base position with only minor fixes. They then look at Megan’s right canter and run into some asymmetry in her seat bones and that her right side finds it very difficult to maintain corrections. Liz then does some floor work with Megan to try to diagnose and fix her right side, before getting back on the horse. Once on the horse Mary then helps Megan to use what she learned on the ground to fix her riding position. Mary asks Megan to deliberately go wrong and then to fix it a few times so that she gets used to the feeling of correcting herself.
SESSION FOUR
GILL
Gill first had riding lessons at the age of 12 and rode on and off throughout her teens but gave up up riding when she went to university, She took over her daughter’s pony 7 years ago and now rides at low levels in dressage and jumping. She struggles with pain in her right knee and lower back after riding and tells Mary and Liz that she feels like a very crooked rider. Mary and Liz observe Gill’s riding and look at her posture on the floor to examine this “crooked” feeling in more detail. On the simulator, Mary teaches Jill how to access her core which, while being difficult for Jill, allows a huge change in her riding and in her awareness of her body.
SESSION FIVE
IMMIE
Immie has been show jumping for around 10 years and currently competes at British Novice level. With her focus mainly on jumping, Mary and Liz look at her riding posture, both on the flat and over jumps. They find that Immie is unaware of a lot of what is going wrong in her position and that she actually sometimes does the opposite to what she thought she was doing! Mary teaches her how to prevent hollowing and rounding through the phases of the jump and how to stay neutral and vertical in between the jumps. Liz teaches Immie some exercises to help her notice the way her body automatically twists and contorts so that she can be more aware while riding.
SESSION SIX
IZZY
Izzy originally competed in show jumping before taking up dressage. She wants to learn how to balance herself more efficiently in a position more suited for dressage. Mary and Liz look at some of the misleading phrases and language used in dressage training that may have led to Izzy’s “grow tall” hollow position, and introduce some phrases to better explain how to sit correctly. On the simulator, Mary gets Izzy to point her seat bones down, pull her waistband back and rotate her thighs in. On the floor Izzy appears very flexible and is able to touch her toes easily. However, Liz shows Izzy that her body is actually relying on strategies of rounding and lengthening the shoulder blades. Once put in the correct posture and using the correct muscles, Izzy finds touching her toes much more difficult. By the end of the session, Mary and Liz are able to teach Izzy the exact muscle groups she needs to work on and activate in order to improve her riding.
SESSION SEVEN
HOLLY
Holly has been riding on and off for 15 years with her main focus on dressage. Liz looks at how Holly's job as a waitress effects her posture off the horse. Liz looks at the way Holly’s body might be compensating for the pain and impacting her riding, causing asymmetry and changes in her position. After looking at Holly on the ground, Mary and Liz look at her position on the horse and are quite surprised at what they find! Holly’s posture on the horse and biomechanical issues are very different to the ones they found on the ground. Mary realigns Holly’s position in walk and trot with a number of exercises trying to get her to a more neutral and vertical. Holly struggles to maintain the new position and so needs to check in regularly with where she is.
SESSION EIGHT
CATHERINE
Mary and Liz look at how Catherine's background in eventing and show jumping have put a different emphasis on her posture and position. They look at how they can help her develop a position that is more biomechanically correct and appropriate for dressage. Catherine would personally like to improve her strength and core but finds it difficult to maintain what she thinks of as a "light seat". She sometimes experiences pain in her thighs and calves while trying to achieve this. In her daily life aside from riding, Catherine works at a racing yard and is a student at university. Liz explains how all of our jobs and hobbies affect our riding more than we may be aware! When Liz and Mary study Catherine's posture off and on the horse, they notice a fairly good base position though they do find some asymmetry to the right side with a leg rotation and non-equal weight in each seat bone. Catherine struggles to keep the corrections and finds her body reverts to its default without her even knowing!
YOUR COACHES
MARY WANLESS
RWYM BHSI BSc
Mary Wanless is an internationally renowned coach, and is the author of the Ride With Your Mind books.
She coaches riders at all levels, from relative novices to two of the top 12 US dressage riders, and some of the Canadian Eventing Squad.
She has B.Sc. Degrees in both Physics and Applied Sports Coaching, and holds the BHSI certificate.
DID YOU KNOW THAT MARY:
Rode with the late Nuno Oliveira, and over the years she has spent many months training in Portugal. Mary has ridden in Germany with the late Egon Von Neindorff and has trained in Germany with Hans Heinrich Meyer-Zu-Strohen.
She has B.Sc. Degrees in both Physics and Applied Sports Coaching, and holds the BHSI certificate.
DID YOU KNOW THAT MARY:
Rode with the late Nuno Oliveira, and over the years she has spent many months training in Portugal. Mary has ridden in Germany with the late Egon Von Neindorff and has trained in Germany with Hans Heinrich Meyer-Zu-Strohen.
LIZ LAUNDER
OSTEOPATH BSc Hons O ST MSc Eq Sci.
Liz has been involved in the investigation and treatment of injury in horses for approaching 30 years and treats many of the Equine Therapy Centre’s in- and out-patients on a referral basis.
Liz is able to use manipulation and mobilisation techniques they are often carried out with the horse under standing sedation.
Horses that Liz asseses can be seen at home, the Equine Therapy Centre or at Three counties equine hospital. Following a detailed evaluation, this may also include the horse being ridden. After this a management programme will be developed which can either be provided on an in or out patient basis. This can be at Three counties or Hartpury Equine Therapy centre.