Overweight event riders- Discuss

[1928sky]

While at Burnham market I noticed that a couple of competitiors were practically obese, and by the end of the course were sitting v. heavy in the saddle due to a lack of fitness- this was an advanced class might I add. Surely this is a safety risk as obviously these horses are going to tire much faster, and possibly risk a fatal accident if they then make a mistake. I do not have a problem with heavier people riding but I hope they would be suitably mounted and doing something appropriate to their physical condition- i.e not a slight 16hh TB going over an advanced event course. Obviously this would be hard to judge as obviously some very tall muscular people will weigh as much as a short fat man but the difference they would be fit and ride balanced and light for the duration of the course and not pose the same dangers to welfare of horse and the safety of the sport. Be interested on your views if you think anything should be done about it and what?

 

[emmiec12]

I agree - I always tell myself if i expect my horse to be fit and slim, then I should try to be as fit and slim as i can.

it is a joint effort after all!!!

 

[sw123]

I'm afraid i'm quite harsh about this i dont think there is any excuse - in any other sport people are fit and athletic ready to go, its the same in eventing. I'm not saying you cant be fat and fit but for the sake of the horse/your balance and what is involved in the sport i dont think riders eventing should be v overweight. I dont think riders (me included at the moment - must start running again now its light) do enough extra fitness work.

 

[ihatework]

I agree with you, I've been off proper competing for nearly 3 years now and have got far too fat for my liking. I now have a 5yo and I am very concious that if I expect him to perform well and carry my lard @rse around then I am going to have to get fitter and slimmer .... and this is for lower level competing!!! At advanced there is absolutely no excuse not to be fit and able to keep your weight light and in balance with the horse.

 

[elliegirl12]

i Agree too i really dont see how they can ride for a long time especially round the x country course they surely cant hold themself properly for a length of time

must put some sort of strain on the horse!!

 

[stencilface]

Hmmm, I wonder if the same would bee applied to overweight hunting people - surely a longer day for the horse, and more jumping efforts?

I am fit enough for what I am doing at the moment, but know I need to be fitter to improve etc. I can't see how it can be comfortable for the riders if they not fit enough to be off the horses back most of the way round (excluding fence appraoches) let alone what it is like for the horse. I HATE seeing people canter round xc with long stirrups and sitting on the horses back

 

[Laafet]

I am glad you put this in here and not NL. I am shocked too sometimes at what riders expect their horses to do. I have a self imposed weight limit of 10 1/2 stone on Tarquin, he can carry more but I don't want him to. So I aim to have myself and my tack coming to no more than that weight. I do ride 'light' though and have ridden with plenty of 13 stone lads on racehorses but they too rode light and were balanced. A heavy unbalanced rider is just a recipe for injuries and accidents IMO.

 

[fingers_crossed]

Completely agree! I cringe seeing large unfit people relying on the horse to carry them round. I fight a constant battle with chocolate D) and i'm only taking my youngster intro at the mo. If they can't handle the gym, which I could sympathise with I don't see why they can't walk/run next to the horse - they must spend alot of time fittening the horse to carry them round at that size and level.
I wonder if it would be too politically incorrect to place these riders on the watch list, offer them some nutritional/excercise advice(like the CDT do) and give them a certain time span in which to show an improvement or forfeit their qualification to ride at that level. At the end of the day its just as irresposible as riding too fast, or with the horse too tired.
Added to that - i'm 5'11 an 11.5 stone, i'm on a diet (damn easter eggs calling to me), only doing intro/PN atm, but do you think i'm alot too heavy? ideally I think I have a stone to lose

 

[LEC]

Is it Rebecca Holder who for years never got very far in getting on USA team because of being so overweight. I watched her at Burghley one year and she looked knackered. She lost a tonne of weight for the Olympics though.

I think it depends on the rider and how they ride. Just because someone looks heavy does not mean they ride heavy. Take Amy Tryon she is a big girl but she is fit and muscular so will not ride as heavy as someone who might be a stone lighter but rides like a sack of potatos.

 

[kerilli]

Yep, totally agree. Riders owe it to their horses to get fit. I have seen obese riders that could not even stand up in their stirrups, riding xc (BE 1* last year.)
I don't think it is feasible to monitor it though, if they don't have the sense to get fit and light enough, I guess that's their and their horse's problem.

lec, tbh i think AT is too heavy, she may be fit and muscular but she's also chunky... and, to avoid, sexism here, so is Buck Davidson!
I remember reading that Toddy (always slim anyway!) dieted seriously for his 2nd Olympics on Charisma. Clayton dieted last year before the Olympics. We have top riders who are naturally very slim but who put a lot of work into their fitness and diet too... Sharon Hunt before the Olympics, for e.g.
I'm sure it was Pammy Hutton in h&h who said that she rides better when lighter, and I totally agree with this - slimmer thighs lie more smoothly on the saddle etc. it's not just aesthetics. So, I don't like seeing overweight dressage riders either!
That's it, just outed myself as the Board Obesity Nazi.

 

[Stoxx]

I was at an event earlier on this year grooming for a friend and was shocked to see a short rather large person riding. Whilst cantering around the edge of the SJ ring the person's stirrup leather snapped and the person fell off. Now I'm sorry but this particular person can not physically be balanced as otherwise they should never have fallen off.
Not low level eventing either.

I only dressage, but am well aware that I could do with loosing a few pounds, I feel like I need to be fitter in the saddle than I am. I am working on it, it just has to be slowly slowly with my joints.

 

[glamourpuss]

I have always been a naturally slim person however I smoked like a chimney (30 a day) and was terribly, terribly unfit. When I evented like this I always was knackered after the show jumping. I'm ashamed to say I did ride like a sack of spuds cross country and as a result never probably helped my horse achieve his full potential.

Fast forward to today and following my pregnancy/ birth of my son I no longer smoke and I also run. I started running to help lose my baby weight but now with 5 full marathons (including a boston qualifier and London GFA), 2 ultra marathons (35 and 40 mile) and numerous half marathons under my belt I should say I'm pretty fit

I'm not training as hard at the moment but I have to say the difference in my riding is remarkable.
I think that if riders want themselves to be taken seriously as 'athletes' then they have to think and act as an athlete and yes that does involve doing cardio vascular work to improve their stamina and strength.

 

[Halfstep]

People can be heavy (big boned, strong build), while also being well balanced and fit, definitely.

But being overweight, unfit and unwilling to do anything about it - but still want to ride competitively, that's a no no IMHO.

 

[1928sky]

I think you will find plenty of support in here for anti-obesity movement in eventing hence the reason didn't post in New Lounge- as may have been lynched in there! Problem is poeple do tip-toe round the issue- the thing is if you turned up to a trot up at a 3 day event with a horse that was obese and puffing at the mere effort of trotting the length of the trot-up you would not be allowed to start, so why let the human "athlete" in eventing be so unprepared and unfit.

On the subject of "dressage" thighs I went to PC dressage practice and the trainer was discussing the round and the flat thigh and then you had to say whether you had the former or the latter, it was so cringeworthy

and I really felt for the rounder girls- talk about public humiliation being told you had less effective legs because you were fat (not those words)! See that appearing in the daily mail "I developed anorexia because my instructor said I was too fat to ride!" quickly followed by the quote that so and so was going to be in the 2012 olympics until that fateful dressage practice.

In all seriousness I think a broader education program by the different sporting boards needs to be the way forward and then people can make their own mind up whether they are fit for the job.

 

[Partoow]

This is an interesting topic and i have discussed this with people who run coarses at colleges etc.
I think it is totally wrong for an overwight rider to be underhorsed.
I think that is the main point here. In eventing at higher levels agood weight carry cob is not going to be seen.So beings as 'Elf and safety seem to constantly rule the day this must be a concern, both for thr horse and the rider.
Riding is a disapline and needs to treated as such by those riders taking part. You dont see 20 stone ballet dancers at the royal ballet so why is it deeemed acceptable for an equine athlete to carry around an obese rider?
I watched a dressage test recently that appauled me , the rider was on a middle weight warmblood and she was very overweight. As it was a medium test she had to 'sit' and could not. She had no stability so balanced on the double bridle and constantly kicked the poor horse with long spurs. This test was allowed to contiue with no comment other than the judge saying i expect she really loves the horse... hmmm well not as much as she loves her self and food obviously.I am sure i will now see a string of excuses as to why people are over weight, i am afraid it is a siple equation of energy being used by fuel going in and if you eat less and do more guess what? you dont get FAT!!! Harse but unfortuately true. it requires disapline not a monk like existance.
If i was to ride in such a unbalance uncordinated way it would have been considered as abuse because i am slim, but she was allowed to get away with it!!
Another larger lady rode in the same class on a horse suitable for her and it was a lovely picture, the horse and she were a harmonious picture.So it is not that i am against larger people riding i just think the horse must be the number one priority and it is this that should be taken into account and assesed on welfare as well as health and safety grounds.
Oh as for Amy Tryon she is a sack of potatoes how else could it be explained the lack of feel she had for a horses that broke down underneath her and she continued to ride on?
i rest my case.

 

[kerilli]

i totally agree with all that, I_love_duns. the trouble is that everyone is getting so PC nowadays that, as you say, we tip-toe around this issue. If someone is just sitting on a sofa, they are welcome to become the size of it, it is only if they are riding (especially at speed over jumps!) that I think it is very very unfair on the horse and potentially dangerous for both horse and rider if the rider is seriously overweight.
edited to add: hear hear, partoow. AT's actions were, and remain, inexcusable. Either she didn't feel it, in which case she has no feel at all and is no horsewoman, or she did feel it, and ignored it because she was so close to the final fence, etc etc. Either is inexcusable. I expect this will be deleted now though because God forbid anyone ever mentions it!

 

[hezza1]

Totally agree with all that's been said,but its not just big people on unsuitable horses that grates me its also over sized paramedics,firemen and policemen and woman sorry to change the subject a bit.

 

[cheekycharley]

I perfectly agree about slighly overweight riders - I was a bit! fatter than i had been a year ago and felt really mean to my horse - I think it affects how your weight is spread etc. I am now back to a normal weight (I am 9 stone and 5'2") and feel much better for my horse.

However I also have a bad back and feel that if i dont use back freeze gel going xc my I am just the same as if i was fatter/heavier.

The point I am trying to put accross is i think its weight distribution rather than actual weight that affects the horse.

 

[AutumnRose]

I think this is a really interesting point. I am well aware that i could do with losing a bit of weight for eventing and am working hard to do so. I do think that i put so much time and effort into making sure my horse is a well prepared as possible i owe it to him to make sure i am in good shape too.

I do, however, have a horse who is suitable for my build and like to think i am balanced and fit enough for our level of competing (only intro). I would never dream of going xc if i couldn't hold myself of his back for the whole round!!

Fitness is very necessary for riding and i think a lot of people underestimate it. I went for a long canter on a hack the other day through the woods, it is a stretch i regularly do for fitness work as you can go for 3/4 minutes and then loop round and do it again. Girl on our yard came with me, she is a very slim and light size 8 (compare to my 14!) but was so out of breath after one stretch. Puffing and couldnt hold herself up.....i wasn't out of breath in the slightest. We had a long discussion about it as it had never occurred to her she was so unfit to ride!!

 

[kit279]

I think that's a really interesting point however, I saw Nick Gauntlett going across country in the 3-star and I thought to myself that here is a guy who is by no stretch of the imagination overweight, he's just a very big tall guy and carrying heavy muscle. The horse was, relative to some of the others, puffing away and I'm sure it wasn't unfit, it was just having to carry a bigger person! Also interestingly, I did some undergraduate research on rider injuries and the data indicated that you were more likely to have a serious injury from a fall if you were overweight. Falling 'properly' is something you have to be quite fit to do, such as the race jockeys. The HORSE is also more likely to fall if the rider is overweight - that makes sense since a horse making a mistake over a fence will be more unbalanced by a bigger rider. Interestingly, you almost never see an overweight race jockey, either pro or amateur, even at the local point to point. The obvious conclusion is that you're safer if you're slimmer. That's not to say, overweight people shouldn't ride but for high level eventing, you make yourself and your horse safer by keeping your weight down.

 

[trundle]

'm not an event rider, so not sure if I am qualified to join in with this, but just wanted to add a couple of things. When my horse was fit and I was riding her every day, doing the stable work, walking to and from the fields, etc, i lost weight. I am a fat little dollop of a hobby rider on a low-level horse.

Therefore, how can someone riding at Advanced level eventing, who is doing a lot more riding and exercise, be overweight? The sheer amount of training you have to do to get to that level, should preclude being overweight (and lets be frank here, we're talking fat, not heavy from having big muscles).

Surely these fatter riders are reducing their own chances of success by their size? If you're committed enough to ride at Advanced and above, and its hardly a cheap part-time hobby, why wouldnt you maximise your chances of winning - or at least, finishing the course being able to breathe and speak?!

 

[KatB]

I think core strength is the main problem tbh! In regards to the shape of the thighs, then I am a bit screwed tbh as I have always had a huge bottom half, but am a 10-12 ontop!! So because I have large legs would I then be considered unsuitable to ride?!
Core strength and the ability to balance yourself independantly of the horse is most important IMHO, and I cant stand seeing people lolling about on their horses backs

 

[jumptoit]

This is something that I feel shouldn't be skirted round in the manner that it currently is in our politically correct society - there are some rather large people in my Pony Club on slight horses. Personally the PC should be doing something about it - I am not saying public humiliation and selective training more educating young riders on both horse and rider fitness, I have had tuition for neither in 8 years of PC!

 

[LEC]

But what is overweight? probably by a lot of your definitions I should not be riding. I am 5'9 and 12.5 stone. I am very fit but even at my absolute thinnest (went to the gym for 2 hours every day and did not eat) I was still size 12 and 10.5 stone. That weight was not sustainable for me.

I think each case has to be judged individually. I agree about Buck Davidson he looks awful. Amy Tryon whatever we think about her was just the quickest example I could think of!! Maybe Lucy W is a better example!

 

[The Bouncing Bog Trotter]

I'm currently over-weight (but have had 3 children in very quick succession). I now want to get back into riding but I think my lack of confidence is stemming from my instabiity in the saddle. Not only have I lost my riding muscles and the core strength that comes from riding but I also can't get my legs around the horse properly - and this makes my seat insecure.

I'm dieting like mad and trying to exercise but feel you can only get riding from fit from doing just that - riding. So I'm looking at loaning a slow cob that needs riding forwards until everything is back to pre-babyness!!! If I feel like this and I'm only a happy hacker at the mo - how can someone my size (1.5 stone over ideal) compete properly?? At least as an experienced rider I'd like to think I'm balanced. Pity the poor horse that has to carry a larger rider who can't balance.

 

[kerilli]

lec, there is "slightly overweight" (and i stick myself in this category) and "obese (and off balance)", which is more what this thread was aimed at, i think. slightly overweight at the lower levels is nothing like the same case as obese at the upper levels imho. also, riding a big horse while slightly overweight is fine, riding a scrawny little t.b. while obese is not!
i have no idea how this could be monitored though. horse's weight carrying capability as a %age of its own weight?

 

[catembi]

I was watching some unaff sj and there was a very large lady jumping. She was on a v chunky piebald which she looked great on... but she couldn't maintain any sort of stable position because there was too much (sorry - not trying to be offensive but I don't know how else to put it) podge between her & her horse. She was doing her best to sit still & do everything right, but she physically couldn't because the podge was moving about of its own volition... Looked like sitting on a water bed...

If this is the case at 2 ft 6 or whatever sj, imagine it translated to BE...

 

[hellspells]

I completely agree with you. I am not a naturally slim person at all and am fully aware that I really could do with loosing a stone to bring me down to just over 9 (more for my overall fitness)

However your point was illustrated at a Dressage (I know not eventing etc) competion on Sunday. I was just arriving and reversing into a space, I nearly crashed the trailer with the site that staggered (I kid you not) passed my bonnet, a fairly fine little mare standing a max of 15.1 with a rider aboard that was (and I am not trying to be rude) obese. YO was with me and we hopped out the car and went to watch the test. Poor horse was so splayed behind it struggled to trot and the canter was appaling. I then stood and watch them come straight out the arena, untack and bung a horse dripping with sweat straight onto the trailer - not wash down, no warm down, no rig, no nothing. I don't think YO or myself were at all quiet at our shock of the rider on said horse. Speaking to a friend turns out horse is infact well into its 20's aswell.

 

[Halfstep]

I was at a dressage competition a few months ago and watched a very, very overweight woman warm up on a spindly legged, petite TB mare. The woman was unbalanced, bouncing on the horse's back and pulling on the mouth. This is, of course, just bad riding and nothing to do with her weight. However, the bad riding was exacerbated by the simple fact that the horse was struggling to carry her. The horse's front legs actually buckled when she mounted!

. It was awful to watch. A bit of common sense would have made her realise that she was too big for the horse. This person was VERY large - probably pushing 18 stone +, and the horse was a dainty 15.2 tb........

 

[LEC]

There are loads of exercises you can do to improve your core. Cross trainers are brilliant they work you out really evenly using many of the muscles you would use riding. I am a huge fan of cross trainers.
This has some guides to building rider muscles
http://www.horsehero.com/1174/feeding-and-fitness
I do lots of stretching and something like Pilates would really help you as well.
This means that when you get back on a horse you are stronger and have the foundations in place before you start.