THE EQUESTRIAN ATHLETE - PART 5 Lesson 5: Basic Fitness Program Design As you have progressed through this equestrian series, you have started to change your mindset that you are an athlete. It is now time to look at how to design a basic fitness program that will allow you to train for optimal performance. Like most sports we look at equestrian sports as having seasons. We can break down our yearly calendar into phases based on these seasons: off-season, pre-season, in-se

Lesson 4: Cool-down! You arrived at the barn or horse show, warmed-up before getting on your horse (see Part 3), finished your ride and now you need to cool yourself down. Why is a cool-down important? Facilitates the recovery process and allows the body to adapt to the training stress, which will ultimately improve performance in the long term. Can help to decrease delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Particularly if you have had an extended break from riding. Reduces mus