S&C Case Study

Eventing is a unique sport where the same horse and rider combination compete over three disciplines and add their score together from each. Not dissimilar to a triathlon where the fastest athlete wins, in eventing the combination with the lowest score at the end wins. Competition season runs from March to October with a three day international event usually every 6-8 weeks and a one day event every weekend. At a typical competition a professional rider could have up to 6 horses competing, each of these horses must complete all three phases, so a rider could have 18 rides on a single day. Eventing is a three phase sport, (Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI), 2026) starting with a dressage test, the rider will warm the horse up for 30 mins before completing a 6-8 min test. Next they complete a showjumping course which needs a 20 min warm up before a 60-90 second round. Finally they test endurance with a cross country round which needs another 20 min warm up before a 5-8 min course across the country over fences, ditches, waters and combinations. At an international competition each phase is much longer (Dressage 10min test, Jumping 90-120 second round, crosscountry 6-12 min track) and requires longer warm ups, however this is completed over a 3 day period, one discipline per day. (Le Chameau, 2023)
During the week riders compete in training competitions of each discipline individually to prepare their horses as best they can for the event itself. A professional athlete could ride anything between 12-18 horses per day or 10-12 hours of riding, and rarely get a day off, potentially once per month. Long days make this sport very physically demanding on a professional athlete with a majority of riders not training whatsoever outside of riding. In recent years it has become more popular and understood that training off the horse is a huge benefit to riders however the industry still leans toward the horse being the only athlete and the rider disregarded.

Each discipline requires very different physiological demands on the rider and within each discipline itself the requirements are also quite broad as a whole sport it is primarily an endurance based sport requiring a huge aerobic base, however at competitions when jumping through combinations riders also dip in and out of their anaerobic systems too. Muscular endurance is essential for all three phases as the basics of horse riding means you stay in the saddle for hours at a time, working with difficult horses is where stronger riders prevail so strength is also important, as is power when it comes to riding at the very top level. (University of Worcester, 2018)

Dressage requires the longest warm up and longest total time in the saddle so a rider’s aerobic base is essential here. 40 - 60 mins per horse of riding at anywhere up to 140bpm requires a very good engine from the rider to perform this for hours each day. Endurance is the primary muscular demand on a rider in the dressage phase. Riders sit and rise in the saddle with an emphasis on the overall image so the ability to absorb the horses energy and appear to be doing very little is the goal in this phase. Using light pressures from the legs, seat and hands to guide the horse for long periods of time requires a rider to have a high level of control within isometric holds and isolate each arm, leg and individual muscles used to control the horse.

Showjumping requires the shortest amount of time in the actual competition phase, 90-120 seconds, but this phase is much more intense than the dressage. Riders have to switch between energy systems throughout a showjumping round, going from anaerobic typically for the full round to ATP for combinations of fences (three fences in a row within a 3-5 second time period). Explosive power is needed to ride a jump position over bigger fences and here a rider needs to be able to absorb a lot of force on landing of a fence and use that force to ride correctly to the next fence.

Cross country is the most demanding phase on a rider with the longest time in competition phase of up to 12 minutes and sometimes beyond. Riders are travelling at a much higher speed here as this is an endurance test for the horse, and at higher speeds horses take a lot more work to keep together. Primarily riders stand in the stirrups for the full round in a ‘light seat’ (balancing on their toes in the stirrups keeping their weight off the horses back) so endurance is of paramount importance for this phase. If a rider is unable to maintain this position they tire out their horse much quicker and can put them and their horse in danger riding tired to big solid fences.

To ride efficiently, riders must train for every discipline, no one is more important than another, however from a safety point of view event riders should prioritise the cross country phase.

Technical demands and force production requirements vary depending on the discipline but the overriding movement pattern throughout all riding is the hip hinge. In all three phases riders are constantly in a hip hinge, it just is at varying degrees depending on discipline.

Dressage riders stay in an open hinge throughout, taking most of the force up through their seat with the hips needing to be able to tilt through full range of movement to create a smooth picture. Showjumping riders switch between a light seat and full seat throughout a jumping round while also coming into their jump position over the fence which is quite a closed hip hinge. They have to be incredibly independent of their horse to not hinder them in the air so this phase requires the most amount of power through the seat. Cross country riders are standing in a hinged position for long periods of time and then fold further when coming over each fence but never get to sit during a round so need a lot of endurance in a hinged position. (Clayton, MacKechnie-Guire and Hobbs, 2023)

Unilateral strength and endurance is incredibly important in all three phases as this is how a rider asks a horse to do anything; small squeeze with your left calf to encourage a horse to bend left, right glute contracting to as a horse to wait and turn right, lean to the left on landing of a fence so your horse lands on the left leg, gentle opening of the right rein to ask for right flexion.

Upper body pull movements is how a rider stays tall and in control of their horse, particularly in the cross country phase. Some horses require more strength than others when it comes to a rider’s upper body control so this is also an important part of any riders program.

Rotation and antirotation play an important part in a rider’s ability to stay on board. Without strength in both of these movements a rider is very easily thrown about by a horse’s movement and this is where weaker riders will experience more falls.

Strength endurance for riders has to be the basis of their training, with the amount of hours spent in a saddle each day a rider needs to be as well able on horse 1 vs horse 10 at sustaining force production and absorbing their horses force too. The last horse you ride in a day will not benefit from their training if the rider on top cannot produce the same amount of effort as the first horse. At an eventing competition you do not get to choose the order in which you ride your horses so a rider needs to have the energy to ride the most difficult horses from first through to last. (Equitas, 2023)

Reactive strength is next in importance for an event rider as you are constantly reacting to how the horse is moving underneath you, how the terrain is riding and how the horse is reacting to its surroundings.

Explosive strength is essential in the jumping and cross country phases for a rider to give their horse the best chance at jumping clear. A rider who is weaker in this area hinders their horse when it comes to leaving the ground.

Riding in general is a dangerous sport (TIME Staff, 2012), you are sitting on top of a half tonne flight animal trying to ask it to do what you want. Injuries are extremely common from falls but equally common from wear and tear over time. Professional athletes spending over 10 hours per day on horseback are likely to be carrying minor injuries or strains at any given time and cannot afford to take time off riding to recover as time not riding = not getting paid. Many riders suffer their whole life with injuries that could be improved or prevented had they have put in place the right training from the start.

Common injuries seen from riding itself usually include:
Lower back issues - being constantly in a hip hinge movement for hours per day takes its toll on the lower back. (Physiolistic, 2024)
Hip tightness/weakness - again sitting in a hip hinge moment for hours per day results in riders never fully extending their hip and over time remain compromised in this position.
Shoulder strain - The full posterior chain has to be switched on constantly while riding, any imbalances throughout will often present themselves in the shoulders as this bridges the gap between a riders contact with the horses mouth, which must stay completely soft and allowing, and their body which has to move with the horses movement.

Common injuries from falls from riding usually include:
Ankle/knee issues - a lot of times riders will fall and half catch themselves on their feet only to finish the fall moments later resulting in ankle/knee sprains.
Concussion - very common from the impact of the fall itself and can present with whiplash for weeks to come.
Wrist/Elbow/Shoulder issues - Riders often throw their hands out to stop themselves on impact and can end up with a number of injuries from this.

Taking all this into account it can be tricky to programme for a professional rider however as it is an individual sport you will likely always be training 1-1 so it is important to identify each rider's individual weaknesses and programme accordingly. Ensuring check ins before every single training session is vital because even the smallest of falls can happen weekly and riders rarely offer up this information. (Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI), 2025) A good rapport with the rider is essential for any coach to programme and train them safely.

The most important factor when considering an event rider's fitness is safety. Cross country is the most dangerous discipline due to the fences being solid and jumped at speed, with fatigue from riders not being fit enough for the competition at hand having a big role to play in this. Coaches must take this into account first and build a program around it. Cardiovascular fitness is extremely important to prevent brain fatigue (Meeusen, Van Cutsem and Roelands, 2025) so the rider can make correct decisions out on a cross country course. Muscular endurance must work alongside this to help riders stay independent of their horse out cross country so if a horse does have a trip or slip the rider is not thrown off balance and in turn throwing their horse off balance. “Horses move with longer strides and more freedom in their backs after their riders complete core strength training”,(Murray, 2023) After these factors are prioritised then a coach can program to improve the riders positioning and seat and improve their performance technically.

Riders need a solid base in strength and muscular endurance to start, this is the foundation that most riders lack if they want to prevent injury down the line and improve performance in the saddle. Once they have a sufficient base then a programme including strength, isometric and plyometric training would be appropriate for an event rider. Plyometric training should play a big role in the training of an event rider because reactive strength and ability to absorb not just your own force but the horse's force up through your body is essential at the top level (Equicore Concepts, 2023).

Event riders spend hours per day in the saddle and likely have a good base aerobic fitness level however it would be beneficial to cross train this to increase their aerobic capacity without putting any extra hours in the saddle on them. Anaerobic training is very important to include also as on competition day riders will be switching between energy systems, nerves and adrenaline will be heightened and so it would improve the riders ability to stay calm and ride the horse underneath them for each round if they had appropriate training in this.

Off season runs from October to March and provides ample time for riders to build on a solid strength programme before bringing in plyometric training. Ideally you should work backwards from the riders first international competition and be able to taper their training load accordingly and then maintain training until championship time which is usually July or August each year before reassessing what competition goals the rider has for the back end of the season.