Equestrian Pilates - A personal passion

In 1990 I moved to London from Yorkshire to pursue a career in acting and modelling. This life change came with a painful decision: leaving behind my beloved horse 'Trigger" ( Yes, he was a Palomino, like the original Trigger!) Leaving him behind was so hard that I chose to distance myself from horses entirely, and for over a decade, I neither rode nor engaged with horses. It was as though that chapter of my life was over. In 2000 I trained to be a Pilates teacher and absolutely loved working with people and their bodies, for a number of years I taught Pilates and continued to act in TV commercials. So when I met my husband in 1998, he had no idea of my deep-seated passion for horses. Then one day, seemingly out of nowhere, I woke up with an overwhelming urge to reconnect with horses, I missed their smell, their company and their wonderful personalities. It felt like an early midlife crisis—I was determined to find stables in London and be around horses again and start riding again. I discovered a stable in North London (which sadly no longer exists) and booked lessons. One particular day my instructor put me on an 18HH dressage horse who was very stiff when working on his right rein. (His right hand side) During the session, we focused on exercises to help him become more supple and move more freely. The next morning, I woke up unable to turn my own body to the right. My entire spine felt locked, and I was in agony. I immediately called my physiotherapist, who managed to see me that same day. After some treatment and acupuncture, I felt better. I went home, did my Pilates exercises, and recovered within a day or two. But then, something curious happened. A week later, my physiotherapist called me and mentioned another rider who had come to her with the same injury. The rider was looking for a Pilates instructor who could do home visits and understood riding. Naturally, I was intrigued and agreed to meet her. During our conversation, I asked where she rode. To my surprise, it was the same stable. I then asked which horse she rode, and as you might have guessed, it was the same dressage horse. I was astonished. How could two different people sustain the same injury from riding the same horse? My mind went into overdrive. Did we, as riders, transfer issues from our bodies to the horse, or did the horse’s physical challenges affect our bodies? Which came first? This moment sparked my continuing journey to understand the beautiful relationship between human and horse. At that time, much of the available literature focused on managing pain after riding and on rider recovery. My experience led me to focus on how we, as riders, can prepare our bodies to be the best possible partners for our horses and I began to use my Pilates teaching to develop this idea. A few years later, I had the privilege of studying for my "Introductory certificate of horsemanship" with Monty Roberts in Solvang, California. This experience reinforced my belief that our priority as riders should be to the best we can be—physically, mentally, and emotionally—to minimise the impact of riding on our horse bodies, minds, and their wellbeing. Pilates is a powerful tool to achieve this. By bringing clarity into your understanding of your body and how you move,  you develop your proprioception and heighten your ability to become more adaptive, aligned, responsive, and balanced. We can create a positive ripple effect for our horses. I understand that there are some Pilates teachers that think classes for a specific demographic isn’t necessary. Pilates is for everybody and I absolutely agree Pilates is for everybody. Full stop. However the reason I work with my equestrians in a way designed around their specific demographic is because as a rider, you are partnering with another living, breathing creature, that feels, thinks, and has a mind and opinion of its own. In truth, I feel my work could be called "Pilates for you and your horse” because my goal is to benefit your horse by helping you understand you. When we move better, we communicate more effectively, because there’s less chance of us mis-communicating what we are asking for through poor movement patterns and lack of stability. We become less likely to become unbalanced, pull on our reins, lean to one side and we can create stronger, more harmonious partnerships with our horses both in the stable and the saddle. This comes form my own experience of re-habbing after a serious ski accident in 2008. The extent of damage to my left leg was so enormous I had to learn to walk again.  Then in 2021 I shattered my left heel and required more surgery, more metal plates, more re-hab. I have felt the impact my injuries have on my sense of balance and proprioception. Even now four years after breaking my foot, my sense of alignment can be misleading. That's why I continue to work on my own body out of the saddle with my Pilates practice, it's a never ending journey of learning, exploration, teaching and sharing what I learn. I am grateful to all the teachers I've had over the years, Pilates teachers, riding coaches and horses. Horses are my passion, and Pilates is the driving force for creating positive change in the lives of riders and their equine partners, because the more we can ride our horses without impacting them negatively with our own bodies, we will be creating a positive legacy.