Better Rider Project

15/05/2026

Finding the right “feel” is often individual and hard to clearly define. Feel is a sensory and movement ability that’s an essential tool of a skilled rider, but, how do you find a feeling in your own body, when you’ve never felt it before?

Here’s an example of feeling something “like” something else, to help you make sense of what you notice in your body and your horse. Try it and see what you can feel!

11/05/2026

I've been lucky in my life to be trusted with people's precious "oldies", and these horses are just the most incredible teachers, because they are the end result and testament to a lifetime of correct schooling and training.

I was gifted a couple of precious rides on this legend, Merindah Thomson's gorgeous Clover. 24 years young, with a thick winter coat that doesn't know it's not in Ireland where it was born, Clover comes with the reputation of being able to sort the chaff from the grain, as far as riders go. I started as chaff, and Clover taught me some precious lessons.

I've been really trying to work out some asymmetry in my own body, but the horses that I ride are far too flexible and adaptable to my wonkiness to tell me what I need to change. Clover is spectacularly literal about what you're telling him, and a right turn from my seat did not exist in his world.

Where had my seatbone gone? Searching, searching (helped by pretty good knowledge of my own body and movement), and all of a sudden, there it was. I had to lift it, and energise it, and all the other weird words that we try to use to explain how a body can move that are totally invisible. And when I got the right feel, Clover said "yes", suddenly there was a body and a feeling under that half of my butt!

I wanted to post this to remind myself that all the things we do off-horse add up to being ready for the 4-legged teachers that can teach you the exquisite and beautiful timing and feel that allows you to have really clear communication together.

05/05/2026

"Sitting there looks easy, but it's much harder than you think"

We visited Yarra Valley Dressage Club Inc. riders at Shirley Heights Equestrian Centre last week, helping them to feel their balance, and test their symmetry with the sensor system.

The standout moment for me was the rider who thought they would be "terrible", but discovered that they can balance beautifully, so they walked away with more trust in their body to take into their next lesson.

What we feel on the simulator's springs might be just like what non-horsey people think about equestrian sport in general. If you don't feel the challenge in your own body, it's easy to think that we just "sit there" on a horse, like it's a sofa, with the horse doing all the work.

If only we could just "sit there", that's what we're training for a lifetime to be able to do!

Staying in balance and equilibrium, having our body equally positioned on both sides of the horse, and able to stay there without holding your breath, gripping your legs or balancing on your hands, is an active effort, for your brain and body together.

When you can just sit easily and balance automatically, it's easy to forget the learning and the skill development that go you to that point. When you can't do it easily, it gives you some clues about the way your horse is probably taking up the slack, so there's a lot of benefit to you developing these skills for the partnership to grow together.

Sven and I are fully mobile, so we travel for club days and clinics. If you'd like to test your movements and symmetry in the saddle, send me a message.

05/05/2026

“Shoulders” do rotate, but they don’t move your whole body, as needed to position a horse on a bend or lateral movement.

It drives me nuts that we don’t use accurate anatomy in the saddle, but that’s the traditions of riding.

I forget that not everyone understands how the human body moves best, so I’ll keep teaching you here all the things that I help my riders with on the simulator everyday 👩‍🏫

27/04/2026

The “more core” myth needs to be busted.
Do you need “more core” muscles, bracing and holding your trunk so you can’t breathe or move?

Or do you need a better organised trunk that manages the movement of the horse with flexible control, and better body symmetry so you’re not bracing to try to keep centered, and you can actually use both sides of your body?

What you think you “need” will determine how you train off the horse, and what you think success looks like when you’re in the saddle, but I promise, if you focus on your breathing (especially breathing out), length and strength in the front of your hip, and having a good contact to the stirrup to support your pelvis, you might discover that you have enough “core” without adding more sit ups to your daily activities.

19/04/2026

Knowing your body and how it moves best is a superpower. Understanding the difference between “shoulders back” and “open your collarbones” gives you the power to correct your position in your upper body, but stay balanced on your seat bones and giving a forward contact to your horse’s mouth. Try it and see how it works for you!

12/04/2026

Had a great day at Dewhurst Equestrian Club yesterday, teaching alongside Marcel Loeb Equestrian.

We built the session around the theme of finding balance and straightness in the saddle.

🧐"Straight" isn't a fixed position where you stay still, it's an adaptive baseline for using both sides of your body to influence both sides of your horse. Easier said than done, when human "factory settings" are biased for one side.

❗️The thing most riders probably don't think about is that your nervous system is wired for efficiency. It runs mostly on complex predictions, and rarely on real-time awareness. On a moving horse, that's useful, but it also means you can be crooked, braced, or uneven and genuinely not know it, because your brain is confidently filling in the gaps.

🛠️That's where the tools come in. I stayed warm inside helping riders on the simulator, while Marcel braved the elements outside, in mounted sessions using Franklin balls.

🧠Simulator sensor feedback gives you cognitive knowledge. Talking to the "smart" part of your brain it interrupts the predictions and shows you what's actually happening, and what you can pay attention to in the saddle.

🏀Franklin balls placed in different places on the body give you different feels and reference points for pressure and movement, waking up body awareness that you might not have been feeling.

➡️ If you don't get information, nothing can change. That's not a mindset problem, or any kind of personal failing (we riders always want to do better). Lack of "feel" and body awareness is just how the nervous system works, especially when you're in the complex task of riding a horse, unless you really train it!

🧡Like us to come to your riding club too? Get in touch!

09/04/2026

Hitting the road: We're heading to Tasmania in May 8-11th, working alongside EA L2 dressage and jumping coach Merindah Thompson ⬇️

We co-hosting a full day workshop to get riders out of their comfort zones (fun!) but that's already SOLD OUT. There's still a couple of spots available for the Rider Reveal sessions on the simulator where I'll help you discover what your body is really telling your horse (and a step-by-step plan to improve, no matter what level you're riding at). BONUS access to the "Riders Inside Out" webinar.

If you're in Tasmania (Deloraine and surrounds) or you've got friends who are, check out the link in the post below.

If your riding feels blocked, your body doesn’t feel quite right in the saddle, or the same corrections keep coming up without really sticking, Lissanthea’s 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹 sessions are designed to find what lessons often can’t see. These 90-minute sessions include SeatIQ simulator testing and clinical movement analysis to help you understand what your body is saying to your horse - and how to make that conversation clearer. Deloraine, 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟬𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟭𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝘆.

Our full-day 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗭𝗼𝗻𝗲 workshop may be fully booked… but there is still an opportunity to work 𝟭:𝟭 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗮 𝗧𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗼𝗿 while she’s here. To learn more or book your session, click the link below 👇

02/04/2026

Hip vs Pelvis in the saddle💥When you know your anatomy, you unlock a better understanding of how you and the horse work together. Biomechanics are collaborative between horse and rider.

24/03/2026

If you don’t keep a record of your lessons, how do you know what you need to practice to get better?

Bonus benefits: Writing and reflecting on experiences are important ways we create memories and also question our first assumptions. Maybe after writing it down, you might find that “bad” lesson was not so bad!

23/03/2026

Riders: meet your pelvis 👋
Knowing your anatomy helps you develop accurate feel and trust what you’re feeling from your horse.

If you know you’re straight off the horse because you’ve checked with your physio, but you’re wonky in photos, it might not be your fault alone.

Too often riders blame themselves for what they see in photos but one of the unique aspects of our sport is that our “ideal biomechanics” depends upon the movements of another being, and that other being has their own set of challenges staying balanced on 4 legs🐴