Name: Caroline Fleming

From: Gorey, Co Wexford

Business: Carly’s Equipilates for all riders

Equestrian background: I come from a large family and we all rode as kids. We used to ride our father’s thoroughbred before we got our own ponies.

I have great memories of going hunting with the Wicklow Hunt, first in a tractor and trailer. When we got a lorry, we ended up bringing the neighbours hunting too!

I competed in cross-country, but only took up show jumping after I got married in 2010. My husband Jim is a farmer and a livestock auctioneer.

My little pocket rocket mare Silver Valier is by Lucky Valier and Grade A. She is now 22 and still loves her show jumping.

Business background and qualifications: I am a professional Irish dance teacher and choreographer. I have also worked in marketing. Irish dance brought me on a journey to discover and qualify in pilates, yoga, meditation, mindfulness and holistic therapy. I trained in pilates over 10 years ago and have been giving small personal classes ever since.

It was through my love of horses and my interest in fitness and well-being that I decided to study equipilates. There is nowhere to study it in Ireland, so I signed up to do a course with the Equipilates Academy in the UK.

Following further studies in the holistic area, I qualified in anatomy, physiology, reflexology, and later in hot stone reflexology, reiki, meditation, mindfulness and the EFT (emotional freedom tapping) Technique.

Explain equipilates: Equipilates is a gentle form of exercise for all levels of riders, from amateurs right up to professionals. It consists of gentle exercises focusing on riders before they mount their horse. It is the mind and body link to horse riding success and helps you to become the best version of yourself to improve your riding experience.

How has it worked for you? During my studies in biomechanics equipilates training, I learned so much about the function of my own body and I felt this intense course of written and practical work helped me to improve my A: alignment; B: breathing; C: balance on my horse. It also improved my confidence, centring, focus, concentration and co-ordination.

For the first time in my life, I felt hunger to win and start competing against the clock and I believe it helped me win seven competitions in the past two years. It came so easy and, once I made up my mind, I knew I could start winning!

Why equipilates for riders? Life has become so crazy and demanding and it has never been so important to take care of ourselves in these challenging and stressful times. Equipilates lets us use so many free tools for relaxation, while also implementing the ABC principles, which in turn helps us improve our mobility, flexibility, stability, rhythm and balance. It strengthens our ‘core’, which is our engine and powerhouse.

I am very passionate about sharing my valuable information with the equestrian community to improve and enjoy their riding, whether it be for a hobby, or professionally competing at the highest level.

My goal is to help riders become more mindful and aware of how important the mind, body link is to riders’ success and helping to eliminate anxiety, worry or stress.

What does a class involve? Each class is carefully planned and tailored for riders, from beginners to professionals. The biomechanics screening of the pelvis, spine and shoulders is to identify any discrepancies in those areas.

I do a wide variety of exercises using different pieces of equipment, including the pilates pole, foam roller, kettle bells, fit balls et cetera. The aim is to improve your saddle position and to eliminate conflicting behaviours that might cause tension with your horse. The benefits are endless, plus you will also enjoy meeting like-minded individuals in a relaxing environment.

How to get in touch: I am available to do workshops at riding clubs, pony clubs et cetera, by appointment. Follow me on Facebook. See Carly’s Equipilates for all riders.