A great example of an imperfect (ok, overweight) but effective rider with great equitation is Alan Chesler. He rides in the senior grand prix at WEF, and I was really impressed with him despite his size. That said, I agree wholeheartedly with the other poster that we can’t forget that this is an athletic discipline like any other (actually unlike any other, because there’s another living thing involved) and all riders should prepare like any other athlete – to be fit and work out like competitive athletes do in other sports. Plus, the horses deserve to have fit riders on their backs. I’m in no way implying that the body type should be skinny and tall – but with a level of fitness to enable a sensitive and balanced ride etc.
I happen to be one of those skinney Minnies, but I can’t help it…I guess if I didn’t ride three to five horses everyday, that might help he he he…I don’t see mant girls with eating disorders, goto any show and watch them eat frech fries and polish dogs and laugh it off instead of doing sit-ups. any ways, I don’t think judges are inconsiderate about wieght as they used to be…
what really drives me crazy is when a 5’3’’ girl won’t buy a 16h horse because it’s to small. hello, but top professionals win on small horses all the time, size does not matter!!! Yes for the equitation, the whole picture is somewhat important, but for the hunters and especially jumpers, small horses are usually better than the big ones.
I walk a little bit, but certainly not for an hour a day! I have a greyhound, Teddy, who needs to be walked, but we could spend more time for both my and his benefit. I’m just so tired when I get home from teaching all day … I generally nap for two hours. Then I walk Teddy, then I work (or play on the computer) correcting papers or making quizzes, etc. Then I go to bed. Teaching is not a 9-5 job, that’s for sure. I need a neighbor who bangs on my door to drag me out!
I too don’t worry about food when I’m content. When am I most content? When I’m riding regularly (more than a lesson a week) … Unfortunately, in metro Boston, keeping a horse is beyond a middle class budget. $625 for an indoor. Once I have the baby, I’ve got to find a way, but I have feeling it’s not going to happen in this part of the country. I’ve thought about getting certified to teach handicapped riding and going that route, which might lead to some riding opportunities, maybe a cheap stall, plus you can keep your amateur status!
The food that’s hardest to turn down, is stuff at school – cookies at faculty meetings, leftovers from class parties, lunch line goodies, bite-size candy during the middle of the day to hold over til lunch to get rid of that headache. At home, I’m really not too bad. I eat fairly healthy. Sometimes big portions, but no junk food, except maybe some ice cream every couple weeks. Since I’ve started buying bottled water, it’s much easier to drink that than snacking though.
I buy bottled water, 16 oz size, to drink at school, but now with being pregnant, I have to run to the lav in between almost every class! “You’re late Mrs. Turner!” When I’m on my depression medication, it helps with my cravings and spontaneous eating. I had insurance on and off for a while and the stuff costs $3/day, so it wasn’t very consistent. Maybe now that it’s regular, it’ll be better. Anyone here have to deal with serious depression? Horses have helped through that so much.
Wicky, I don’t have the references right in front of me, but there are a ton of articles by nutritionists and dieticians who think that Dr. Atkins is a quack. And I agree! It’s Dr. Atkins own research that backs up his own diet! The guy is making a lot of money from this! I certainly don’t know of one single person who has ever gone on one of these ultra high protien, low carbohydrate diets and had the weight STAY off! I will be happy to provides some quotes from some health professionals on how dangerous the Atkin’s diet is at a later date.
Janet, Yeah, the subject has turned to dieting, but body image and weight go hand in hand! Most people think they have to “diet” to lose weight.
Then there are sensible people like Louise and Flash44, who talk about making some minor changes or adjustments, not planning some rigid regime, and taking it one day at a time.
Because diets don’t work! Stringent low calorie diets (under 1200 calories) or diets that are unbalanced like Atkins, result in an initial water loss, then your body’s metabolism is lowered to adjust to the low calorie amount. Then when you go off the diet, your metabolism is so low, that you actually gain back more weight back! Classic yo-yo dieting.
All major research shows that people who have lost weight and kept it off consistanly for ten years or more, did not diet per se. They committed to a healty life style that included reasonable adjustments and changes in diet and exercise that they could continue with for the rest of their life. This means cutting down on certain high calorie foods or changing eating habits to substitute something baked for something fried, or a salad for a plate of french fries, etc. This kind of adjustment results in lowering caloric intake by 200 or 300 calories per day. It takes 3500 calories to equal a pound. So you’re not going to lose some dramatic amount of weight in a short period of time, but you are going to establish some good habits which will mean losing one or two pounds per week.
I used to yo-yo diet like everyone else! Then I realized that I had to come up with something that wasn’t a “diet” but a lifestyle. Something I could follow the rest of my life. I lost 20 lbs. It was important to do so for health reasons. It took six months. I’ve stayed within 5 lbs. of a goal weight ever since.
Dieting makes you and me be obsessed with food, appearance, and lbs. Focusing on being healthy, exercising to feel better, and eating to nourish your body really works. I’ve read every book that was ever written on nutrition, and diets. Not just to loose weight (yeah, that too!), but because I’m genetically predisposed to diabetes and heart disease on both sides of my family. All I know is that my brother, who follows an Atkins type diet is a diabetic, has kidney problems, high cholesteral and tryglycerides, and who has already had his first stroke at age 52!! My dad, also a diabetic, had 4 strokes before he died. After his first stroke, he went on the Pritikin diet and it cut his insulin intake in half. It also gave him an extra ten years to live. It made an impression on me. Consequently, I am a low fat vegetarian, who eats whole grains, etc. I am not a diabetic. I never get sick (maybe a cold once every ten years). My cholesteral is 125! My doctor tells me I have the best blood test results he has ever seen.
The bottom line is, body image is tied in with your ability to love yourself enough to take good care of yourself. This is more important than any weight issue. But what happens is that people who are health conscious also quite often maintain a reasonable healthy weight.
I hope that someone will read this and take better care of themselves. 
Here’s a link to an interesting success story that some of you might find inspirational as well:
http://www.cyberdiet.com/success/beth/report4.php3
[This message has been edited by Scoutie (edited 03-22-2000).]
[This message has been edited by Scoutie (edited 03-22-2000).]
Dear Wicky,
That’s really funny because my Mom is a hungarian and since she can’t do the difference between V and W I’ve been Wicky all my life.
I’m going to tell you something my Mom was a devotee of Atkins. I will not call him doctor because I don’t think he is! She bought his whole line of bilge. Hook line and sinker she spent every dime she had on visits to Atkins and all his concoctions. If there was a possibility of success I would spend every moment of the life I have left to see him in prison. He is a heartless money grubby con-man and he ruined my mother’s life. He doesn’t care whether they can afford his vitamins, and he doesn’t care if they overdose on his vitamins. He destroyed my mother with his treatments that burned out her brain cells. She was a healthy bright and wonderful person with such love and talent that it was unbelievable.
When we had to clean out her apartment after she went to the nursing home I found suitcases full of his “vitamins”. She suffered from the crap he does with “washing” the blood. She was so hooked on his instant cures that she gave up food. He convinced her she was allergic to everything so she lived on water and protein.
Please Please! do not believe that quack! He should be forced to live on his diet in jail.
I’m with both of you, LucianCephus and Wicky. Horses are indeed therapy for lots of us (and not just women). I truly think they’re my sanity. Some people think we’re insane to be the way we are. My husband didn’t appreciate my PASSION for the horses. Unless you’ve got the bug, it’s extremely difficult to understand, let alone tolerate, someone “into” horses. They’re just not comfortable with it so they, in turn, resent it. Horses have been there, in some way, shape or fashion, through every crisis in my life. Thank goodness for them!!!
I guess this subject could be a new thread. . .I seem to remember one a while back on “why do you/or I ride” or something like that?
I agree that it’s great to have role models of all shapes and sizes. I was very thin as a junior rider, but didn’t realize how unhealthy I must have looked until I came home from college for the first time and the barn manager told me I had lost my “gaunt look.” Riding was what kept me so thin though- it certainly wasn’t my diet because I ate chocolate cake for breakfast all the time!
I think a lot of people are too focused on numbers, as in “how many lbs. they weigh.” One thing I learned in a long rehab program for my knee (the therapists were great, they decided since I had to be there every day they might as well do my whole body too!) is that muscle weighs more than fat. The body fat index is a much better way to see how fit you are than just weighing yourself on a scale. And though it can seem disheartening when you realize that an hour’s worth of spinning only burns about one good chocolate eclair that’s not the whole story. You’re building muscle so you’re metabolism is going up and you’re burning more of the calories all the time…
Overall fitness is the most important thing. In the h/j world the look to strive for has been the tall, slender, long legged rider. This has been perpetuated by many of our top trainers. It should be replaced by an emphasis on overall fitness and effectiveness because no matter how fit you are you can’t grow your legs any longer or change from a med. body build to a beanpole hummingbird (and stay healthy). And this comes from someone who was blessed w/ long legs and relatively slender body build. Kit Kat anyone ?
In the late 70s when I was a junior I witnessed first hand more than one case of anorexia and the worst part was that the parents seemed to be in utter denial. Don’t know how they managed to stay on their horses.
I think Cody Baird looks just great to me and I hope she doesn’t read this thread and get the wrong idea.
Jax, you might check amazon.com Even if a book is out of print, they can usually get it. The author is Jill Krementz, and she did other books like A Very Young Dancer, etc.
You are all so right! I mean, don’t we monitor our horse’s feed for quality and exercise them regularly? We are competing as well. If you can do something, even run in place, for 30 minutes 3x a week, your fitness and health will improve immensely.
An idea for those who are short on time and money - get a Rubbermaid step stool from Walmart (about $7) and a step aerobics video and do it in your living room. Or watch Want to be a Millionaire or something.
Another thought - what extremely successful female GP rider has the “wrong” body type? About 5’2, fit but not skinny? Initials M.G-E?
I’m yet another junior (well, before this year) rider who struggles with the weight issue. I’m the first to admit to the fact that I tried to pull the anorexia route, but thanks to my parents and friends, it was caught long before I could do any damage. Even on the local level, which is what I mainly have done, judges discriminate against those of us who don’t look like “Barbie” as my trainer calls the girls who win. I did figure skating for a while as well, and frankly the similarities are obscene. Girls think they have to be rail-thin in order to accomplish anything, and a lot of people are reinforcing this idea without even thinking about how it’s affecting the people to whom they’re speaking. I’m glad to see so many junior riders on here speaking up that they do well without looking that way, and that there are many riders out there with more self-confidence than I had.
Dear J. -
Your story could be mine, except for the pregnancy part. It’s always a struggle to keep the weight off. High protein no carbs seems to be the best, especially because the lower the carbs, the less I seem to want them. However, for me, that means NO carbs.
I am sure it will be tough figuring out how to ride - the cost AND the baby! I know how tough Boston is. How about 1/2 leasing?
J, Like Scoutie I’ve also found Dr. Burns’ books helpful. I really recommend them.
Unfortunately, the antidepressants seem to trigger weight increases. So, you have to be on guard - you’re lucky that they have helped you feel so much better that you’ve been able to eat less.
Pregnancy and delivery involves lots of hormonal changes, so let your OB know that you are concerned about depression. These changes can throw you for a loop; unless you are aware that this can be a contributing factor you might find yourself blaming yourself.
Good luck - keep us posted!
Scoutie -
The problem with this topic is eloquently stated by you - “there are a ton of articles by nutritionists and dieticians who think that Dr. Atkins is a quack.” The operative word is “think.” The published, randomized, controlled studies and other studies going back to the 1930s demonstrate the benefits of the true low carb diet.
You state “It’s Dr. Atkins own research that backs up his own diet!” While true that his own research backs up his own diet, so does research of others.
We all make money from doing work, and work that we believe in. Let’s not slam someone who does believe in what he says, simply because he can make a living at it.
The problem with case reports, as with your brother, is that you have to be very careful to know what you are comparing with. Do you know that he is really following a very low carb diet, or is it, as you said, “an Atkins type diet?” Do you know what his problems would be like if he were on another type of diet?
Wasn’t it Jim Fixx (or was it another famous runner) who lived a very healthy (as you would classify it) low fat diet, ran marathons, and dropped dead of a heart attack in his 50s. He had a family history of high cholesterol very early heart attacks (brother died in his 40s) so everyone said that his genetic background couldn’t be overcome by his healthy life style.
How can one loose weight on Atkins? Simply because one is peeing out ketones. Ketones are fuel. Fuel is calories. So, you are wasting more calories on the Atkins diet than any other diet. And no, this is not the same as diabetic ketoacidosis. On the Atkins diet, you are not acidotic. In diabetic ketoacidosis, you are. It is the acidosis that is the problem, not the ketones.
I don’t want to argue each point with you. Let’s agree to disagree on this one, Scoutie. I am sure that at some time in the future, things will be clearer. In the mean time, we all have to do what makes the most sense to each one of us. People who are really interested in the topic can read the original works for themselves - Atkins, Ornish, Pritikin, and the scientific papers that they quote.
As someone said, this is a board for horse stuff, not dieting! NM from me on this topic!
The fact is that we have been waltzing around the idea but there are people who have their own views and prejudices.
I grew up in the fashion business and I can tell you that there are people who resent a feminine body. They prefer us to look like little boys. They are designers who make baggy ugly clothes (remember the grunge look") to hid the curves we should have that make us attractive as females.
It is possible that that kind of thinking (sub-conscious it might be)has permeated this industry. Afterall let’s be honest where are there more women and girls in one place.
Portia,
And, it not just weight it’s someone God gave short legs. And, those with the long torso that make them look perched. We had a little girl here with extra short arms. She couldn’t get a bend in that little arm.
What I think is good is to face the reality. That’s what we’re all about. Our horses are not perfect either. If they were we couldn’t afford them. What matters is that you learn to ride.
Those who are the beautiful passengers are like the cover girls that no one can identify with because the rest of us are just not that perfect.
Joy is in the skill, and pleasure is in the dream, what keeps us all going is the HOPE that there will be that perfect day when everything comes together. When you have that day it doesn’t matter what the judge thinks, or even if anyone else is there.
Heelsdown – that’s why I hesitated to post the thread at all, as I too would hate her or anyone else to get the wrong idea. I think it is an important topic, and I was trying to make the point that it is good to see talented people with different body types winning and her sucesses seemed a good example. However, I didn’t want to suggest that this obviously talented, effective, and fit young rider was in any way unattractive.
Body image is such a delicate issue. I remember the fuss after the Oscars a couple of years ago over Kate Winslett, when she wore that lovely antique looking gown and some people were saying she looked fat. What? She looked gorgeous. No, she wasn’t Hollywood super-skinny; instead, she was equally (or more) beautiful in a somewhat different type. Different body types can be and are equally fit, effective, and attractive, and I hoped this would be an example of that to those who think they aren’t good enough because they don’t fit someone else’s professed idea of the ideal.
[This message has been edited by Portia (edited 03-14-2000).]
You know, I based my initial post on a picture that was in the printed Chroncle. Then I looked at the East/West picture online and I thought - well, you’re a dummy aren’t you? The one I saw was apparently just a bad picture — God knows I have plenty of bad photos of me hiding in drawers never to see the light of day! 
I hope the point still stands though, that while she’s just darling, she’s not tall and willowy and incredibly skinny, and she still wins. So she is still a good example to show those who say it is necessary to have the “right” body type to win that they’re wrong.
Heels – I looked at your photos, and saw the one you took after Nona went off course. I was there too - let me tell you I was SO upset for Rythmical! One of my favorite horses of all time. They definitely would have won the class, I don’t know what she was thinking, going around the combination that way. I saw her in tears afterward, I felt really bad for her.
One thing’s for sure, it sure proves that “it happens to everyone.” lol
When I was young I was one of those who could eat like a trucker and stay “skinny”. Now we’ll just say that’s not true. Yet, I eat much less and can put on weight. I am most sympathetic.
I hope that under the influence of the new rule for judging standards it will begin a dialog that changes the perspective.
I do not see any reason why a winning rider has to look like Miss America on a horse. I think that if the judging were more objective so that skill mattered more than looks it would solve a lot of problems.
Look at the thread on equitation. It is the look of a rider that is being rewarded instead of the skill and knowledge of a rider. What does that accomplish? I think it will end the sport. Eventually, these pretty riders will discover the truth. They have been passengers and not horsemen. Then we not only lose them but their children.
Isn’t it true that the drip splash school of painting has cost us the arts. When students do not learn the classical skills but are rewarded as if they had; we defeat the purpose. Horses are an ART and not just a series of automated physical responses.
Hi J – no, you’re by far not the only one to deal with depression and all its side effects. I have hereditary chronic clinical depression, most of the time slight but a few years ago it became acute. Thank God for Prozac – it was something I could DO for what felt like being completely out of control for no good reason. I’m not ashamed to admit I still take it. People don’t understand that the new depression drugs (seritonin re-uptake inhibitors, or SRIs) do not act like Valium or like “happy pills” or something that has a clear effect on perception or judgment, they simply help to restore the normal chemical balance in the brain and make you feel normal. I don’t feel any noticiable effect from Prozac – I just feel normal. I get happy from the regular things that make me happy, I get sad from the regular things that make me sad, but I don’t cry uncontrollably over nothing anymore. So once you have your baby, if you start feeling depressed, don’t let anyone make you feel bad about doing something about it.
As for weight, I lost a lot of weight when I was acutely depressed, because I was too depressed to eat. As a friend of mine says, it was “the Major Life Crisis Diet.” I gained that all back after I felt better, and the drug doesn’t seem to have any effect on my weight one way or the other. However, the SRIs can help get rid of the obsessive thinking that can accompany depression, which can help you lose weight.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
