Alexander Technique for Horse Riders

Experience with the Alexander Technique is a great asset to any rider, professional or amateur.  This is because the qualities that riders strive so hard to cultivate – balance, supple strength and elegant posture – are the qualities that develop from Alexander Technique work.  Exceptional riders tend to have a natural elegance and athleticism which sets them apart from the rest of the pack.  Many people think that these traits are genetic, but these are skills that anyone can develop.  In fact, most of us have natural poise and athleticism, but we’ve just lost it through years of sitting at desks, being stressed and generally getting bent out of shape by the pressures of our lives. Alexander Technique can help us begin to shed the bad habits we have acquired and give us the opportunity fulfil our athletic potential.

Ways Alexander Technique can improve your riding:

• Improving balance to increase stability and security in the saddle
• Decreasing unnecessary tension that blocks the horse and makes us stiff riders
• Understanding how to correct alignment and symmetry problems
• Learning to cope with fear and performance anxiety
• Increasing capacity to feel and follow the horse’s movement
• Improving general coordination for precise application of the aids
• Learning to ride quietly for a more harmonious relationship with the horse
• Creating a more elegant posture 
• Making riding more enjoyable by increasing understanding and decreasing discomfort and fear

What I offer:

• Unmounted Alexander Technique lessons, addressing riding issues
• Riding tuition for adults and children 
• Lunge lessons focusing on position, balance and symmetry
• Combined unmounted and mounted sessions
• Talks, workshops and clinics for stables and riding clubs
• Online lessons, workshops and talks
• Lessons on riding simulators 
• Exercising and schooling horses

If there is something specific that you are looking for which I have not mentioned then feel free to contact me for a chat.

About me:

I have been riding for 30 years and teaching riding for 20 years. I am also qualified through the British Horse Society (BHSAI).

I have been riding in a variety of disciplines since I was a child and began to work as an instructor in my late teens.  While working as an instructor in the USA I began to take Alexander Technique lessons to help myself, as I was suffering from pain in my hips and back.  I not only found it massively helpful to my own riding, but also found myself referring many of my students to my Alexander Technique teacher with positive results. 

Inspired by the possibility of combining Alexander work with riding, I decided to become an Alexander Technique teacher, moving to London to join a three-year course.  While achieving my certification from the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT) I also studied classical riding under the instruction of Minette-Rice Edwards and achieved my British Horse Society AI certification. 

In my lessons I work towards putting the rider in a balanced, relaxed position where they can use their body effectively to influence the horse.  The work is practical, simple and effective.  I work with riders in all disciplines from complete beginners to advanced, competitive riders.