We want to be the best riders we can be for our horses.
With a secure seat and soft, independent aids – riding balanced and connected.
One of the most powerful (and overlooked) ways to improve how you ride is to improve how you MOVE.
It’s not about being super strong, or crazy flexible.
As riders, the majority of us don’t need to be super fit. But we do need body awareness and good habits of movement to stay balanced and fluid on a moving horse.
You may be surprised at how super simple exercises can have a profound effect on your strength, flexibility, and comfort.
Relieving pain you may have experienced for years, finding strength and balance you didn’t know you had, and giving you a boost of new confidence.
You will improve your strength, mobility, and balance in and out of the saddle.
Most importantly, you will FEEL better and enjoy moving your body.
If you’re a rider who wants to feel more balanced and secure in the saddle, the Movement for Riders program is for you!
Most exercise programs focus on repetitive movements or strength training, but they miss something essential – body awareness.
To become a better rider, you need to move well, have a deep connection to your body, and be aware of your movement patterns. That’s what this program delivers.
Riders who have control over their bodies learn and progress faster. You’ll develop better balance, gain true core strength, and have the stamina to ride longer without getting winded.
And because this program focuses on functional movement, you’ll become easier for your horse to carry, moving with them rather than against them.
The Movement for Riders program is designed to be engaging and different from any other exercise program you’ve tried. You won’t get bored with repetitive routines – instead, you’ll experience progressive, interesting sessions that improve your coordination and balance.
These are movements that will directly translate to feeling stronger and more comfortable in the saddle.
Quick and easy, each session is designed to fit into your day while producing real results.
Understand the “why” behind the exercises and how they transform your riding.
Whether you need soft and slow, or more challenging routines, I will guide you through how to modify each movement for your level.
Get live guidance and feedback from me, along with support from our community.
A resource you can revisit anytime to practice key movements
You will have Forever Access to the Movement for Riders Program
Within a few days of starting these classes, you’ll notice real improvements in your strength, mobility, and connection with your horse. You’ll feel more loose, comfortable, and confident in the saddle. No more stiffness or tension holding you back – just smooth, easy movement that lets you enjoy every ride.
Most programs focus on the same linear movements, practiced consistently.
It’s not wrong, but it’s limited.
And it gets boring.
Most riders want to improve their riding… better balance, stronger legs, improved coordination to give clear aids.
But they are missing something very important.
Their connection to and awareness of their bodies has been diminished.
Practical, functional, HUMAN movements have been lost in a world of chairs, tables, looking down at phones, and leaning over computers.
Most rider fitness programs only focus on becoming stronger. More leg. More core. Sometimes that’s important. Sometimes obsessive strength work only makes us more stiff, and less able to connect fluidly with our horse’s motion.
Strong legs won’t help you if you are squeezing your horse so hard he CAN’T move forward. Or if by focusing on strength, the movement in your hip joints becomes less fluid.
Toned arms won’t help you ride any better if your elbows are locked and hanging on the horse’s mouth.
A tight core may have you bouncing uncontrollably if you only brace your abdominals without deep core stability, and don’t know how to let the tension go to free your hips and flow with the horse’s motion.
The key to good riding is coordinated movement. Where the body works as an organized unit, and the movement instincts of the body are restored.
There is an intersection between linear training – do 5 squats – and intuitive flow – dance like no one is watching. That’s where we’re going.
What we will be doing together is moving.
Recognizing your body’s ability to move with ease and grace. Remembering and restoring a sense of freedom, curiosity, and wonder in movement that you had as a child.
Plus doing specific neuro exercises for balance and proprioception along the way.
And of course, we bring it all back to your riding! Seat, aids, and generally feeling like you were made to sit in that saddle on your beautiful steed, with the sun on your face and the breeze in your hair.
And one more thing… Somatics.
I keep talking about feel. What is that exactly?
Connection to your senses, to your body, to the moment.
Here’s an official definition: Somatics is a field within bodywork and movement studies which emphasizes internal physical perception and experience. The term is used in movement therapy to signify approaches based on the soma, or “the body as perceived from within”.
Put more simply, for me, it means exploring what’s going on with your body.
This is weaved into each of the guided movement sessions, with a special Relaxation Session every seven days to guide you in letting go of long held tension.
Types of Exercises we will be doing:
I have always been an “active” person, and have done different types of exercises and exercise programs.
As a child, I was constantly climbing, running, exploring. It was as though I had an innate desire to find all the places my body could take me. I would go off alone into the woods, climbing the rocks in the mountains behind my family’s home, lost in the challenge of the climb and pushing to see just how far I could go.
Movement of any kind was a source of joy. I think this was innate but also with a heightened sense of gratitude for a healthy, fully functioning body. Growing up and seeing the struggles of my father, who is a paraplegic, I understood what a gift it is to be able to move.
As a teenager I would come home from working at the barn to follow along in TV exercise classes with my mom.
Then I started practicing yoga, weight lifting, running, experimenting with nutrition and how I could feel with different diets.
I studied martial arts, I learned Latin dance. I did some gymnastics training. Jack of all, and master of none, for me the consistent connection is always riding.
In my late 20s and early 30s, that question began to have a certain urgency, as the effects of numerous accidents through life began to intensify, and where did I experience the most pain? Riding.
My long runs intensified the pain, the precise postures I was careful to maintain in my lifting were only tightening my body.
I began to research and learn the science of mobility and movement. To focus less on the big, difficult exercises, and more on those that supported my structure, comfort, and well-being.
Combined with the flow and changes of life, this led me to discovering classes near my home called “Movement Classes”. The name sounded interesting, the images on their website of people doing handstands and acrobatics was intriguing, and I went.
Fast forward to today and I am in my second year of study in these classes. “Movement”, in the context of these classes, is an ever evolving practice of exercises developed by Ido Portal. It pulls concepts from each discipline – yoga, martial arts, pilates, gymnastics, dance, you name it, and brings them into a system that restores basic human function, alleviates many pains by balancing the body, and then allows for greater abilities in any specialty – in our case, riding.
In this challenge, you will have your follow along sessions to watch and complete on your schedule plus additional short daily videos from me to provide breakdowns on the exercises and modifications for all levels.
Consistency will make the biggest impact so together we will stay motivated and active! We are in this together!
Remember – All are welcome… doesn’t matter what your age or fitness level is. If you have a body and a desire to move, this program will benefit you!
Also, no need for special equipment, just you, a mat, a blanket or towel, a chair, and a ready to explore, no judgments mindset. That’s it!