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A heart at 96% capacity: how fit do you need to be to ride across country? *H&H Plus*

Martha Terry Martha Terry

    • How fit do you need to be to ride cross-country? Sport scientist Rosa Dakin tackles this question and what you can do to prepare yourself for the challenge

    Interest in rider fitness has grown over the past few years as riders become more aware of the importance of physical preparation out of the saddle to enhance performance in it. But what does rider fitness mean when it comes to the most physically demanding phase of eventing, cross-country?

    Whether cross-country schooling or competing at the highest level, a series of physical events are triggered in the body when riding across country, similar to those that happen when cycling or running. These responses clearly indicate that riders, whether they recognise it or not, are athletes.

    Riders must control their bodies by contracting muscle groups, such as those in their core, shifting their bodyweight in response to the horse’s movement to ensure they remain in balance. They must also make constant cognitive decisions.

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    Martha Terry
    Martha Terry

    H&H features editor
    Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
    Martha Terry