Fat Competition Riders

Work and sleep mean I'm very late to this thread.

That said, I have nothing constructive to add, as it is a subject that I have very strong feelings about. :mad:
 
I will do it for my horse - if we want to do well together, I need to help him out by making his job easier! He himself has lost plenty of weight since I've had him.......
Click to expand...

I'll just point out that he's the little butterball on the right of my tiny little profile pic. He is now a lean, mean machine and got his first clear at 1m at the weekend (I know it's not Hickstead but it's his 3rd time at 1m and he won 10 euros :))

I can see how that wouldn't be pleasant to be on the receiving end of, but still funny. Then again, am I right in thinking that your OH (and you?) are not british? I think its the british who have an issue with this. When I went shopping in Rome a shop assistant (me being size 12) had no qualms about telling me she didn't have anything big enough for me in her shop! :D
Click to expand...


Maybe?!? OH is Belgian and I'm British (excusing my rapidly deteriorating English :o) To be fair to OH, he is naturally a Slim Jim but he does watch his weight when he needs to.

I'm impressed by a lot of the intelligent and mature comments on this post about weight and people accepting that it IS better to sit on your horses back with a few less kilos in the trunk.
 
Last edited:
We all judge horse's conformation and can tell what discipline they may excell at, or whether they'll be much use at anything at all - it's the same with riders for me. It's nothing personal, but some human bodies are put together in a way that helps their riding and others aren't. Obviously, fitness and a healthy body weight benefit riders.
 
Seth - My body composition would surely not be compatible at all for riding, but I can't change that. Should I just give up on riding altogether then?
 
Weezy said:
I don't understand why people take these threads personally. It goes without saying that the sleeker you are, (not skinny, just the right sleekness for your build), the better you will ride, the better you will run, the better you will do everything as your joints will not be over taxed! If we ask a horse to run and jump under us, then surely we should be fit enough to run and jump the same distance?
Click to expand...

I agree with this wholeheartedly.

I am approx 5'8" used to be at least 13 stone 10 and am now around 11 stone (I got down to 10 stone 10 but put a few pounds on over my birthday, on my way back there now). I would like to be 10 stone 7 by Christmas. The slimmer I am, the more I enjoy riding my horse and the better I feel I am at doing so. I feel stronger, more balanced, fitter and also as though I look more graceful as an added bonus. My horse would be perfectly capable of carrying me if I weighed many stone more, especially as we don't compete at all, but I want to make it as easy for her as possible.

I totally agree that for competition purposes, it is in the best interests of both the rider and the horse for the rider to be of a suitable and healthy weight. Whether or not an overweight rider can take on an XC course with no detriment to their horse, and can be happy with the results, makes no difference to the fact that they could achieve even better results if they were at a more optimum weight (in my opinion).
 
I think generally most people are talking sense. You need to be fit enough to be toned and healthy within the frame you are given. It got heated last night because a few people were quoting size zero to size six as the best size for a rider, which I thought was not the best thing to say on a forum that is full of impressionable teenagers! In fact it was not the best thing to say full stop!

Personally, even though I have already said that I need to lose weight, I must say that even when I am very slim I have chunky thighs. I always will have. Personally I think toned chunky thighs do help you balance. When I am at the approx. correct weight for my height, if you chopped me in half at my centre of gravity, my lower body would weigh more than my upper body, so I am consequently quite balanced on a horse, and hard to unseat (bit like a weeble!). What makes me more unbalanced when I put weight on is that my boobies get enormous and heavy, thus making my upper body heavier and changing the balance! God knows how Katie Price does it! She should do sports bras in her clothes range!
 
Honey08 said:
I think generally most people are talking sense. You need to be fit enough to be toned and healthy within the frame you are given. It got heated last night because a few people were quoting size zero to size six as the best size for a rider, which I thought was not the best thing to say on a forum that is full of impressionable teenagers! In fact it was not the best thing to say full stop!

Personally, even though I have already said that I need to lose weight, I must say that even when I am very slim I have chunky thighs. I always will have. Personally I think toned chunky thighs do help you balance. When I am at the approx. correct weight for my height, if you chopped me in half at my centre of gravity, my lower body would weigh more than my upper body, so I am consequently quite balanced on a horse, and hard to unseat (bit like a weeble!). What makes me more unbalanced when I put weight on is that my boobies get enormous and heavy, thus making my upper body heavier and changing the balance! God knows how Katie Price does it! She should do sports bras in her clothes range!
Click to expand...

Honey08 - you've said almost exactly what I was about to post, except the boob part!! A couple of years ago I got almost unhealthily slim (right at the bottom of the healthy end on the BMI scale) as I hardly ate carbs and was fit enough to do a sub-2hr half marathon...those were the days ;) However, even then I had big thighs and they weren't just muscle, there was a fair amount of flab :(

I think liposuction is the only answer for me based on some of the other comments about fat thighs, there's no way I can get rid of mine!!
 
Baggybreeches said:
*snigger* now known as weeble^^^
Click to expand...

Yeah - apart from now I'm a weeble that has big boobs, so thats even funnier!! I fell off for the first time in 15v years recently, and totally blame my new big boobs!

Do they still make weebles, or are you showing your age Baggybreeches?

Ps. Am very jealous of your weight loss and consequent baggy breeches!
 
Balance is more about core strength and length of limb than just weight IMO. Long legs can help but a long torso as well can hinder, a person who be a thin top heavy rider who could find balance to be more difficult. I think a wider pelvis helps, anyone else thinks this?

I am 5'' 6' and carry weight on my hips unfortunately, my riding may be better if I lost weight but if I feel my thighs are in the way I put my hand behind my leg and pull the skin back so the muscle is more flush with the saddle.

Thinner does not equal more athletic. Core strength and stamina are seperate to weight. BMI is flawed as it does not take a persons build into account.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top