Sue Gould-Wright - Equestrian Pilates: Schooling for the Rider

EQUESTRIAN

PILATES

SCHOOLING FOR THE RIDER

EQUESTRIAN

PILATES

SCHOOLING FOR THE RIDER

SUE GOULD-WRIGHT

J. A. ALLEN

First published in 2015 by J.A. Allen, an imprint of The Crowood Press Ltd, Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book edition first published in 2017

Sue Gould-Wright 2015

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

ISBN 978 0 908809 67 4

The right of Sue Gould-Wright to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Disclaimer of Liability

The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book. While the book is as accurate as the author can make it, there may be errors, omissions, and inaccuracies.

Edited by Jane Lake

Photographs by Steve Holmes Photography

Line drawings by Jody Curtis

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Without the support of my husband, Dave, I would not have had the time to develop my skills as an Equestrian Pilates instructor nor sit down and write this book. My family and friends encouragement and belief in me have also been invaluable.

A huge thank you to my lovely models Christie, Fay, Jen, and Julia, and the horses of course, Jack, Onyx and my Ari all of you were very well behaved and tolerant of my prodding and poking you into position!

Steve Holmes Photography for his patience and precision with the majority of the photographs herein.

A special thank you to Jody Curtis, for the wonderful illustrations; the poor girl had to decipher my desperate scribbles and annotations yet still managed to produce the fabulous images you will find within.

Fay and Christie

Without the stunning backdrop of Low Meadows Equestrian Centre, County Durham, the pictures may not have come out so well, so a huge thank you to the Bramwell-Dunn family for the use of the facilities.

Thank you to Lesley, from J. A. Allen Publishers, who has done a sterling job of nurturing, cajoling and advising me throughout the book development, and the rest of the team at J. A. Allen for producing such a superb book: Jane for patiently guiding me through the editing process, and Paul for the wonderful design work.

Thanks also to my riding instructors: Lucy Bramwell-Dunn with whom I have had many a happy lesson analysing and discussing the finest of tweaks of body position and aids, and Sylvia Loch and her beautiful horses for allowing me to experience the feeling of riding such sublimely schooled schoolmasters. Both have enhanced my riding, which in turn has developed my teaching.

And my wonderful, supportive clients who have been with me for many years and allow me to experiment with mad ideas, teach me as much as I teach them and provide me with feedback week after week.

Finally, a special thank you to dear friends, Dorothy and Ron, who got me back in the saddle after many years away from horses and, best of all, allowed me to own my lovely equine soul mate, Arizona, who, although only a baby when we met, has taught me so, so much.

FOREWORD

BY KELLY MARKS

Im a big fan of Pilates having used it with great effect to help the back issues that nearly all horse owners have, caused as much by mucking out and carrying hay bales than by actual riding Im sure! Pilates not only helped ease the aches and pains but it also made me much more body aware. This helped to avoid the bad posture that was causing the problem in the first place and I also felt it was of benefit to my riding.

I first met Sue when she came on an Intelligent Horsemanship course. Her well-rounded approach to horses and horsemanship, coupled with her Pilates training, makes her an ideal person to write this book. She truly understands the issues horse riders have, and uses her experience and training to resolve all manner of rider problems. Her knowledgeable approach, along with her do anywhere exercises, will make this book indispensible to riders, especially those without access to a Pilates studio or class. Take this book down to your yard, put the exercises into practice and youll soon be reaping the benefits. Whats more, your horse will thank you for it.

KELLY MARKS
Founder of Intelligent Horsemanship

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

My name is Sue Gould-Wright and I am a pony-mad young girl trapped in a 40-somethings body. I kiss my horse probably more than I kiss my husband, prefer to spend my days in muddy boots than pretty shoes and invariably smell more Eau de Cheval than Eau de Toilette. In other words, I am a perfectly typical horsey gal!

For as long as I can remember I have been sporty and carry many an old injury to prove it, yet thanks to Pilates I am still stronger, suppler, more flexible and body aware than I have ever been. As a result I move with my horse not against him; I feel imbalances in him and in myself, and am able to isolate muscles to give the subtlest of aids; whispering to him not shouting.

I rode from the age of five until my early twenties when work took me away from horses for quite some time. With the exception of the odd hack out with friends or trekking on holiday I didnt really get back into the saddle until my mid-thirties.

During my break from riding I took up rowing. I loved being out on the water but suffered from recurrent lower back pain. My osteopath would sort me out but a few months down the line the pain would come back. In great pain one day I had to see a different osteopath as my usual one was away. There I was, in my twenties, quite shy, standing in my undies (the nice but not too fancy ones you reserve for such visits) being scrutinised by a handsome young Australian osteopath. I asked why my back pain kept coming back and when he gave me his answer I just wanted the ground to open up! His exact words were: You stand like a duck; you stick your backside out, your chest forward, your head forward and let your belly hang out. You need to do Pilates. Thank goodness I had to lie with my face down for the next half an hour as I was crimson with embarrassment!

Having never heard of Pilates I did a bit of research and found a class and within weeks of attending my back pain had gone. It took a while to co-ordinate the postural corrections, breathing, and specific exercises but I was hooked.

So who am I to tell you how to get the most from your body? Well, after several years attending classes I had the opportunity to train as an Instructor with Body Control Pilates in London, qualifying in 2005. I have been a Pilates Instructor and Sports Massage Therapist for almost ten years, working with riders and ex-riders of all ages and abilities.