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- Photo 1: Mounted going left
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- Photo 2: Mounted view from behind
These pictures show the effect of her axial rotation going left. Her horse's haunches fall in a bit, and he is having trouble with left bend, as her shoulders are pointing out off the circle.
Exercises
Kerry has a very complex program of stretch, strengthen and muscle memory exercises to help her use her torso more effectively, and with more symmetry. She is riding at the FEI Junior level/PSG, and is only 15-years-old. I find it quite common for young riders in this age group to lack sophistication in use of their core, simply because of their physical and mental stage of development. It is hard for the rider to catch on to where their coach may be going with some instructions, because the rider does not have the muscle memory or endurance for correct firing patterns throughout a ride. Without a solid and functional core, they are just a little disconnected between their hips, legs and shoulders. One of the great things about working with these dedicated young riders is that they are very serious about doing everything they can to help their riding, and quite diligent in their exercise programs with very fast results.
Working with Kerry also led to her consulting a chiropractor that uncovered some mechanical sources of her axial rotation in her structure. With a combination of mechanical adjustment and fascial tissue release, Kerry's stretch and strength program will help her body maintain the correct alignment on a day-to-day basis and in motion while riding. If she had adjustment and release therapy without additional strength, her body would tend to use it's old firing patterns to keep reverting back to her old axial rotation, and undoing the adjustment.
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- Photo 3: Plank
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- Photo 4: Plank to Lower Rotation
Some of the exercises in Kerry's program are designed to create stability in her hips and torso, while improving her ability for voluntary rotation. In the pictures her rotational moves are made from starting plank positions. She starts a straight plank in photo 3 (heels, hips, shoulders aligned, stomach muscled pulled up, tailbone tucked down), and then rotates her hips only in photo 4, lifting one leg off the floor while maintaining her heel, hip and shoulder alignment as closely as possible.
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- Photo 5: Side Plank to Upper Rotation
In the second exercise in photo 5, she starts in a side plank position (straight line again from heels to hips to shoulders), and rotates her upper body downward. Five to 10 repetitions with isometric holds of about 3 seconds at each phase are a good start. Going slowly and maintaining alignment is important, since swinging would allow your body to cheat by using momentum instead of control.
