Carl Hester on the benefits of taking a more holistic approach to equestrian sport and how lucky we are that riding is a sport in which you can get better as you age
Sometimes my column is not entirely dressage-related, but I think it can be helpful to get an outside perspective. For many of us heading to, or going past, middle age, riding is a passion and many get better over the years.
In equestrian sport we’re so fortunate to have the likes of Andrew Hoy, campaigning to represent Australia at what would be an unbelievable ninth Olympic Games, and John Whitaker winning the six-bar and the Santa stakes at London International. They’re examples of really good horsemanship, and at 65 and 68, they’re not only good but better than ever!
Andrew Hoy and Vassily De Lassos, pictured on their way to individual bronze and team silver at the Tokyo Olympics.
It got me thinking about other sports and how lucky we equestrians are to have that longevity. Even if not riding at the top level, there are opportunities to train, coach and produce horses after a competitive career.
Over the years I’ve kept in touch with Alex Gregory MBE. Alex is a five-time world champion and was on the coxless four rowing team that won gold in London, then in Rio, where he came to watch the dressage. We’d sat next to each other at an Olympians dinner in 2012 and were friends from the off.
For Alex, stepping away from competition was like turning off a light switch. It meant leaving behind an ingrained lifestyle. We equestrians work hard, but rowing involves 16 years of seven-day-a-week training, 24-hour controlled nutrition and brutal racing where “every stroke you take makes you want to curl up and die.”
With a partner and three children to consider, Alex decided after Rio that he was ready to walk away. For six months he loved the freedom – but admitted to being unprepared for what came next. “I didn’t know who I was anymore, or what I was doing,” he said.
“I was completely lost but my interest in human behaviour and performance led me to motivational speaking, which is actually what I did in the boat. I’ll joke about it now, but after a seven-year roller coaster it’s only really in the past nine months that things are coming together.”
Alex didn’t fall out of love with rowing, rather he took a fresh look at it.
A new approach
What’s this got to do with dressage, you may ask? A lot, as it happens.
He told me: “I now think of rowing as an activity. Anyone from ages nine to 99 can do it. It’s great for cardio strength, muscle-building, stability, balance, timing and in a crew, rhythm is everything. It’s more like riding than you’d think.”
Alex is now the founder of Mind Body Row, a platform dedicated to the transformative power of rowing. Alex believes rowing is holistic, engaging body and mind, and fostering not just physical but mental strength. I can easily see the parallels with dressage.
Alex rode as a youngster; his grandfather had horses. When he retired from rowing his family moved to Somerset, to a house with a paddock, in which a miniature Shetland and her foal now live. Alex’s daughter Daisy, aged 10, is besotted with dressage and wants to be a dressage rider. They’re on the lookout for a competition pony now Daisy’s outgrowing her Dartmoor. This could get expensive, but Alex is determined to make it happen, the same way his parents supported him.
After we last talked, Alex messaged me with a challenge and offered to come to mine with a rowing machine and get me started on a six-month programme, with the promise of a gold medal in Paris. Better make that happen too – and get Alex back in the saddle so he can ride on the Quantock Hills with Daisy.
● Has your approach to riding changed over the years? Let us know at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and country, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine
- This exclusive column will also be available to read in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday 22 February
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