United States Eventing Association

Rider Biomechanics: The Ultimate Balancing Act that Plays a Critical Role in Rider Safety

As riders, we spend a lot of time focusing on the strengthening and fitness programs of our horses, but as Amy Gibbs, MPT, pointed out on Thursday afternoon at the 2024 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention, setting aside time to focus on our own balance and strength is imperative, not only in helping us meet our goals as riders but also in ensuring we are riding in a safe and secure manner.

Gibbs, who has 19 years of experience in the professional field of physical therapy, merged her love of riding with her career in the spring of 2022 and has spent the last couple of years analyzing riders of all levels and helping them work through physical weaknesses that impact their riding.

“When your mechanics are correct, you have more control,” said Gibbs. “Then, you're in a better place to react to situations like your horse going sideways or stopping, and then your aids are so much more effective, and you're not giving off accidental aids and cues, because you're exactly where you're supposed to be.”

Gibbs suddenly found herself compelled to dig deeper into rider biomechanics and began compiling relevant case studies and analytics to support her theories that by prioritizing their own biomechanics, riders can not only improve their performance but also simultaneously reduce injury risk.

“Sports biomechanics is how an athlete responds to motion, force, momentum, levers, and balance,” shared Gibbs. “Rider biomechanics refers to the position of the rider on the horse and how the body is utilized and responds to the items above.”

Gibbs conducted studies on 9-12 events per season across 2022, 2023, and 2024 that showcased how many riders parted ways from their horse (not including falls where a horse also fell), at what level they were competing, and in which phase they fell. According to her statistics gathered, there was a 3.28% to 3.36% fall rate across those 9-12 events each season.

She then began gathering case studies, which she presented as examples in the form of before and after videos of three different riders. Her first example, an adult amateur rider, showcased a video from September 2021 where the rider parted ways from her horse during a cross-country schooling when he unexpectedly stopped at an obstacle, and the rider went forward over the horse’s head.

"From a physical therapy perspective, she didn't have the trunk control or reaction time to control herself and kept going forward,” Gibbs noted. Over the course of the past three years, this rider began working out, utilizing suggested exercises to strengthen her core and glutes. Her after video was from November of this year and showed her horse coming to an abrupt stop at a show jumping obstacle, but this time the rider remained poised and confident in the saddle, her upper body straight and correct as she maintained her balance rather than falling forward as she had three years prior.

"Here, I see a rider who did her squats, deadlifts, and core work,” commented Gibbs. “I see someone who is so much stronger and who is so much more mentally confident.”

In her time working with equestrians, Gibbs has found that core and glute strength plays a huge role in the success and safety of a rider. She also noted that many students and amateurs combat another beast in their daily lives that can really impact their rider biomechanics.

“So many people have desk jobs, and they're really tight through their chest wall, and they're rounded forward, and physically cannot sit up straight.”

Her third case study proved this point. Gibbs was called out to analyze a junior equitation rider whose main goal is to compete in the Maclay Finals. She was well-mounted on a seasoned equitation schoolmaster, but no matter what the rider did, the horse continually landed on the right lead.

Upon initially testing the rider’s strengths and weaknesses, Gibbs couldn’t pinpoint an area that could contribute to the horse’s inability to land on the left lead. However, upon digging further, when she asked the rider to complete some exercise with a row-band, she had a strong preference to overcompensate with the right shoulder.

“I asked her what kind of desk she sat at every day, and it turned out she was at one of those really old-school desks with the right-handed armrest and desktop, and it turned out that she spent five to six hours a day rotated to the right creating this right-sided dominance.”

She went through a few exercises with the rider before asking her to get back on her horse and to focus her nose and belly button straight ahead at the wall when going through the same line of jumps, really articulating a straightness with her right shoulder. The horse landed on the left lead.

“It just goes to show how amazing these horses we work with are,” noted Gibbs. “They listen to us, even when we aren’t aware we are giving them these cues. She was riding with a right-sided preference in her shoulder and subtly asking her horse to land on the right lead without her knowledge.”

Her work has inspired her to partner with Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, to conduct a thorough study of the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) in equestrians.

The FMS was developed in 1999 and is often used in other sports during the preseason to assess an athlete’s functional movement patterns and screen for asymmetries, weakness, and instabilities that can increase injury risk. It is Gibb’s hope that in applying the FMS model to equestrians, she can find measurable ways to reduce fall risk and injuries in the future. She will follow up to 40 riders as the first step of this study over the next nine months.

While many people think of physical therapy as a resource following an injury, Gibbs stressed that physical therapy can be so critical in helping athletes analyze their biomechanics and find ways to strengthen areas of weakness in order to help them become more confident, stable, and safe riders.

“I've seen people be so encouraged because they feel like they have been banging their head against the wall to ride better, all while there may be some physical underlying issue where they physically can't at that time,” she shared. “Then you address that issue, and you just see your position and your cues and your aids just really improve.”

Gibbs will be presenting again at Convention on Saturday, December 14th at 8:00 a.m. in the Vashon room.

Helpful Links

• USEA Convention Schedule
• USEA’s Coverage

Can't watch the livestream? Follow the USEA event coverage on social media!

Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok

About the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention

The USEA Annual Meeting & Convention takes place each December and brings together a large group of dedicated USEA members and supporters to discuss, learn, and enjoy being surrounded by other eventing enthusiasts. The USEA organizes multiple seminars in addition to committee meetings, open forums, and tons of fun! The 2024 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention will take place in Seattle, Washington, on Dec. 12—15. Click here to learn more about the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention.

The USEA would like to thank the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention Sponsors: Adequan, ARMA, Bates Saddles, D.G. Stackhouse & Ellis, Gallops Saddlery, Horse & Country, Kerrits, Mrs. Pastures Cookies for Horses, Nunn Finer, Nutrena, Parker Equine Insurance, PulseVet Shock Wave, Rebecca Farm, RevitaVet, Ride iQ, Schneiders Saddlery, SmartPak, Standlee, and World Equestrian Brands.