Equestrian Life Magazine September Issue 220 | Page 83

Sam

It is a good idea to have your
horse’s back and teeth checked
before competing to ensure there
are no problems which could
be exacerbated by the rigors of
competition.

Driver Fitness
Personal fitness should not be
ignored. Whilst carriage driving
is sedentary by nature, many
hours and miles are spent walking
during an event. The dressage
arena is 100 x 40m and should be
walked to check for landmarks
for accuracy and to check the
levelness to help predict when
braking will be advantageous.

Making a Marathon
The level of fitness required for
the marathon phase should
never be underestimated. I do
plenty of hill work with the horses
to build strength and stamina,
especially in the hindquarters
which are the horse’s ‘engine’ and
will provide the power needed to
pull the carriage and negotiate

obstacles. Obstacle training
for sprint work is a big part of
marathon preparation and I am
lucky enough to have practice
obstacles out in my field for
training.

Competition Time
In the final run up to a
competition I give individual work

to the weakest link - if any one
horse not performing in the team
well it goes single or has extra
work sessions. I also spend time
concentrating on specific aspects
at the last stages of training e.g.
practising specific movements of
the test or honing cones speed.
This is good for fitness in itself, i.e.
fitness comes as we practice the
elements of the competition.

The eight marathon obstacles are
approximately 250m each and
need checking thoroughly and
even once routes are established
these will be walked (or run) four
times each. The cones course is
up to 800m, and inspected at
least three times. There is no point
getting your horses super fit if by
the time you come to compete
them you are too tired to pull the
reins at the right time!
For more information please
contact Abbey England on
01565 650343 or visit
www.abbeyengland.com or
www.ridingbitz.com

Billy & Gus

www.equestrianlifemagazine.co.uk

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