A couple months ago Claire Cumbee (@ClaireCumbee on Instagram) contacted me about answering some questions for her followers. I thought “Wow! There may be some other people with the SAME QUESTIONS!” So I decided to share my answers with you below. If there’s something you still want to know? Shoot me and email - I’d love to answer.

1.       How did you get started working in Equestrian Performance and working with equestrian athletes?

In 2016 I started working with Allie Knowles (5* Eventer) to improve her overall athleticism.  That winter (while in Ocala) she had a rotational fall at a show and basically broke every bone on her right side. She called me after her surgery. Her doctor told her that if she hadn’t gained as much lean muscle mass as she had training with me - she could have died.  She thanked me for helping her get so strong and lean, and then told me I was in charge of getting her back to riding.

With that news I knew I had my work cut out for me, so I had to get a plan together.  I did a ton of research to really immerse myself into the Equestrian world.  I studied and observed the sport, I learned the mechanics of the horse and I considered how she was going to be interacting with the horse as she recovered – anything I could think of that would come into play as her body healed.  I didn’t only want her to come back – I wanted her to come back as a better competitor and without pain.  From April to January we did some type of training every day, and she was back competing that following spring in the Land Rover 3 Day Event. 

I have trained athletes in over 20 sports (both college and professional) for almost 20 years and no one had ever told me that I saved their life. That hit me hard.  It actually hit me so hard, I made the decision to focus strictly on training equestrian athletes.  I spend countless hours on farms and at shows watching my riders.  I even started to ride myself which has given me even more of an appreciation for the sport. You never know – maybe I’ll be riding at those 5* events next year. 😊

2.       What are some common misconceptions about cross-training as a rider? There seems to be a mind-set that since riding is a type of work-out, there is no point in going to the gym too!

This is a great question. So I’ll start off with this *truth bomb* -  I think we need to change the mind set about what “training” really is to appreciate the importance of it. The performance training (which I think gets us in that different mindset we need) that I believe is best for equestrian athletes is essential to help reduce the risk of injury, improve your ability to learn new skills, and it gives you the strength and endurance needed to ride at a high level.  You want to be doing things in your performance training that compliment and help excel what you’re doing on your horse.

So to address your other point  – I hear “riding horses gives me all the fitness I need” more than I hear any other excuse for why someone isn’t performance training.  But there’s one major problem with that!  So let me explain…

Your body changes, gets better and gets stronger by adapting to stressors.  That’s what performance training is – putting different stressors on your body to make it change and get stronger. 

So you’re riding 6 to 20 horses a day.  That’s a stressor, right?!?!  Well, it is, but your body and your brain are very smart.  They will learn quickly to adapt to the stress of riding. There’s a well-known principal in Strength and Conditioning called S.A.I.D, but I won’t bore you with the more technical definition. Essentially it tells us that the longer/more you do something – the MORE efficient your body becomes at that task and the LESS effective it will be at making changes.

Your body won’t continue to adapt and get better with just riding as your sole training model.  It will see what you’re doing as the “norm”, so you won’t improve your fitness level.  If your goal is to improve physical performance, you need to add strength and conditioning to your regimen.  Change up those stressors to make you better!

3.       I’m juggling a full-time job, getting to the barn a few days a week and trying to be a little social. How pertinent is it that I also work out? I mean - are there enough hours in the day?

Haha! They’re definitely hard to find, but yes. I’m sure you can find 30 minutes to do some type of physical activity other than riding your horse.  You just have to plan for it and make it a habit.  Think of it as a non-negotiable – like brushing your teeth.  You manage to fit that in a couple times every day, right?  When you plan and things become a habit – you’ll find a way to make it happen. 

How important is training in regards to riding? It’s essential for these three reasons:

1.       It will help to keep you from getting hurt! The stronger you are, the better prepared you are to handle the stress of riding and all that comes with it.

2.       It will help to reduce any pain. A lot of the equestrians I work with ride with pain from all types of issues and past injuries.  If you’re trying to improve your riding skills?  You want to have a pain-free environment.  Then your body and mind can concentrate on learning and creating new muscle memory of movements. Otherwise you’re just trying to mask pain and compensate.  No one can get better doing that!

3.       It can improve your ability to make adjustments in the saddle. Most riders create compensations due to lack of strength, coordination and balance.  Your instructor/trainer can tell you to “Pull your shoulders back” or “Keep your upper body quiet”, but to do that you need the body awareness and strength to make those adjustments.  If you don’t have it? It will create more compensations.  Some compensations will be useful, but most of the time they sacrifice technique and aren’t beneficial to you or your horse.

So my best advice to get you going?  Start building a habit of physical activity for 20 minutes every day.  It doesn’t even need to be at a gym. Have a stretch, a lower body exercise, an upper body exercise, and finish with a core exercise.  It may not be what you think is ideal to see results, but I promise it’s better than doing nothing at all.  The consistency will lead to small changes and those small changes will lead to results. Your confidence will grow, and most importantly – your horse will thank you.  (Need exercise ideas?  Visit @coachsandotraining on Instagram!)

4.       You offer online coaching and have an app? I’m assuming these digital services allow you to work with athletes that aren’t local. What type of services do you provide to those using the app?

Yes and yes to both of those questions! That’s one of the best parts of what I do!  You don’t need to live in Lexington to train with me.  My app allows me to coach you wherever you are and at whatever time/days you like to train.  You can train alone, or you can get people at your farm to sign up with you and train as a group.  I want to do what works best for you, your life and your goals.

The services that I provide for people who enroll are:

-          24/7 access to me for any questions concerning training, nutrition, show prep, and mental training. We can text back and forth, you can upload videos of you completing exercises so I can coach your form, and I can send video messages back as well.

-          Your daily training program is uploaded on the app, and you’re able to track all your sessions. Not only can you track your weight, sets and reps for each exercise in your workout – you can also access videos that will give you instructions on how to do each exercise in the correct way.

-          You get a calendar so you can plan the right day for your workout sessions. I have my athletes check-in for each work out I can keep them accountable. 

-          I also have a habit-forming system that I run through the app. It helps you to stay on-track with small tasks that won’t just benefit your training – it will benefit every facet of your life.

-          You also get a nutritional habit-forming guide that works with the calendar and reminds you to stay consistent with your meals. It’s really helpful for anyone trying to improve their eating behaviors.

5.       I see you offer on-site training to. I have followers located close to Lexington. What type of services do you provide on-site?

You saw right! I do both online training and on-site (in-person) training at farms. And this service isn’t just available to local farms.  My team and I can travel to any farm interested in implementing a strength and conditioning component to their riding program. #willtravelforgains 😊

With our on-site training riders receive:

-          A riding assessment during a lesson.  I can observe while your trainer can tell me the things you struggle with most.

-          A physical assessment that will essentially tell me why you ride the way you do.

-          After your assessments are complete, I can go through a workout with exercises that can help you improve your riding, correct any issues or relieve any pain you may be having.

The goal of the on-site program is to give barns a program that can be used to make riders better. I stay in communication with the barn beyond the on-site training to make sure the riders stay consistent with their training and update their programs according to their progress. OR if having our team on-site regularly to work with riders is a part of the plan – the follow-up and development can all be done in-person.

6.       Does your coaching apply strictly to working out or are there nutritional/lifestyle aspects too?

I recently wrote blogs about this on my website.  I want to focus on my athletes being well-balanced – which doesn’t just include physical fitness.  It’s a six-part blog series that walks through all the aspects of wellness (emotional, occupational, physical, social, intellectual and spiritual).  I’m obviously a coach of the physical, but I also want to coach on nutritional habits, sports psychology, help to create habit-forming skills, and any other aspects of your life that may need some direction.  Each part of your wellness bleeds over to the other -  it’s all connected.

I use this example all the time…

Most of my athletes know that broccoli is good for them, but why don’t they eat it? They know getting eight hours of sleep is beneficial for them, but why don’t they do it?  It’s hard to form those habits!  And the reason why it’s hard to form those habits is different for everyone.

I want to help athletes set up habits to live a healthier lifestyle that is specific to them. It takes a lot of work and constant communication, but the results can be amazing.

7.       I’m someone who currently has “fit” aspirations.  However – I live a busy lifestyle that involves late-hours at the barn, cheap take-out and crashing at night to start everything over again the next day. How do you suggest I take my first steps to incorporating a healthier lifestyle into the everyday? I feel like I have big aspirations, so I buy healthy groceries for one week and spend two long days at the gym then I get distracted…

I would start by saying that Rome wasn’t built in a day! Going from zero to 100 just isn’t going to stick.  You need to start with small changes that you can make into habits before jumping in the big kid’s pool with no floaties (so to speak). Breaking down tasks into smaller manageable micro tasks can make change easier.

Example of this?  Try pick one or two small goals to focus on at a time. Maybe focus on getting the amount of water you need for your height/weight every day and packing healthy snacks in your bag to curb hunger when you’re in a pinch.  Try that for 5-6 weeks.  There may be a week or two where you don’t hit your goal – so don’t count that week.  It may take you 8 or 9 weeks to make that a habit and that’s ok!  Then move on to the next small goal.  It will lead to big changes.

In addition to trying to tackle everything at once – another problem is that we do a great job of comparing our progress to others. Everyone has different speeds at which they improve and I try to help my athletes stay in their lane and to focus on the process, even though it may be smaller or slower than someone else. You do you!

8.       How does working in your program differ from other fitness programs?

I know there are a ton of fitness options out there, and it can get overwhelming.  It’s hard to say how I’m different from any particular one because of there are so many, but I can tell you what I focus on and that may help.

I focus on two key areas: getting people out of pain and the actual COACHING of my athlete.

1.        Getting riders out of pain is the most important thing to focus on, in my opinion. You can’t be fit enough to ride if you’re in pain. Your reaction is slower, your stress is higher (which your horse can sense), and your overall mindset is different. My programs start with getting people out of pain first so the rest of our work can fall in place.

2.       I want all my athletes to feel supported.  I want them to know I am right there with them every step of their journey. We learn to work well as a team, so the training program can give them great results. I always tell my athletes that I can make the BEST program for them in the world. But what is needed for that to work? We both need to show up with great effort and consistency, or it’s not worth the paper it’s on. Coaching someone up and giving them the support they need to get results is what I take pride in.

Probably a long-winded answer (which is my forte), but that’s what I focus on in my program - the rider!

9.       How do I sign up?!

The best way to get started with me is by scheduling your Free Performance Planning Session. You can click that link or visit my website (coachsandotraining.com) and fill out the online form.  Once I get your information I can contact you about setting up a Zoom call.  This gives us a way to meet “face to face” and I can learn more about you.  Then we can let the good times roll!  Looking forward to hopefully being your coach.

So that wraps up the Q&A portion of this evening.

Again - if you have any other questions? Click on the box below to get in contact with me.