January 18, 2024 
A new seminar series, launching this month, will share insights on how exercise physiology can impact the long-term health and sustainable performance of equine athletes.
From counteracting fatigue to optimizing an athlete’s performance in competition, exercise physiology aims to understand the body’s responses to physical exertion so that an individual’s potential can be maximized.
Research in this field has been critical for developing training programs that enhance athletic potential across a variety of human sports. But increasingly over the last two decades, this knowledge has also been utilized for top equine athletes in the three Olympic disciplines (show jumping, dressage, and eventing).
Is exercise physiology a complex topic, especially when it comes to horses? You bet. But not only is Ignite’s new seminar series helping to demystify the science, top riders are starting to take notice.
“In sport, we need to be searching for ways to push boundaries to improve the health and performance of our horses,” says Sean Jobin, the 2023 Canadian Show Jumping Champion. “Status quo is never good enough for any team, and seminars like these play an important role in providing new ideas to incorporate into my own training.”
On January 22nd (at WEC Ocala) and January 23rd (at Stonehenge Stables in Wellington), educational seminars will be held from 6:00 p.m.-8:45 p.m. to share evidence-based knowledge and practical recommendations for how best to manage both equine and human athletes to improve sporting success and career longevity.
The seminars will feature more than 90 minutes of educational talks, lively panel discussions on audience-generated topics, a buffet dinner, networking opportunities, and a variety of door prizes (including an Alogo MovePro that will be given away at each seminar).
“As equestrian sports continue to evolve, athletes are facing new pressures today that did not exist 20 years ago,” says Dr. Tim Worden, one of the event organizers.
“Riders are under pressure to compete more often, to find and maintain quality horses on a tight budget, to adapt to the changing climate, and so on. The research and expert advice that we have assembled for these talks will give attendees new ideas and tools to support what they currently do in training.”
Ignite’s President Dr. Mark Revenaugh says he hopes this winter series will be the first of many projects to provide riders, trainers, clinicians, and stable staff with enhanced knowledge to support the performance and longevity of equine athletes. “The most exciting part is seeing the potential to help our horses jump higher, gallop faster, or do a better half pass through the same strategies as used on our human athletes,” he says. “Better results, longer careers, better athletes.”
You can register for the upcoming Ocala or Wellington seminars here.
