Eckwood Equestrian

10/11/2026

✨ "I was releasing muscles I didn't even know I was holding." ✨

Hearing this feedback from colleague Teresa of Dorato Performance Horses means the world to me:

"Trish's teaching style guided me to deeper awareness in the small movements of my body that allowed me to release muscles that I didn't know I was 'holding' and find range of motion in joints that were restricted. Working with Trish is like walking a journey with a friend who guides you to see deep inside yourself and want to improve."

If you’ve ever felt stuck in your riding, restricted in your seat, or curious about how small shifts in body awareness can refine your connection with your horse, this is for you.

Subscribe to our email list and get the Free Rider Reset and start refining your posture, balance and feel.

What you’ll get:
🎬 Instant access to the 5-Minute Rider Reset video routine
📥 Exclusive access to bi-weekly videos and embodiments delivered straight to your inbox to keep building your awareness in the saddle

🌿🐴

👉 Claim your free video & vault access here:

Free Rider Reset: Eliminate rider seat pain, release stiffness, and follow your horse’s back. Includes the 30 Embodiments video series & Momentum Minutes bonus.

09/28/2026

Just wrapped up an incredible weekend diving into anatomy with a whole-horse dissection alongside Becks Nairn! 🐎✨

Getting this hands-on perspective taught me about how I can better integrate human and equine movement, management and training.

Some takeaways:

Observe more, assume less: Understanding starts with simply watching and asking questions.

The power of the nuchal ligament: Seeing it firsthand and watching it in action was incredible, the sheer strength and capability and thinking about how it functions in the ridden horse.

These physical insights are enlightening for how I view movement with my horses.

09/22/2026

When research finally catches up to what we've been practicing for years, it feels pretty incredible. 🎯👇

This article in Eurodressage, "The Rider’s Body: An Overlooked Welfare Issue" lays out some eye-opening data:

- Over 70% of elite riders and 85% of non-elite riders compete in chronic pain.
- Riders score lower on functional movement tests than athletes in almost any other sport.
- Tight hip flexors and unaddressed body asymmetries directly compromise horse welfare and balance.

When I launched Total Self Carriage, focusing our online membership and clinics on unmounted embodied biomechanics by TYS, rider proprioception, breathing and alignment in motion was definitely a niche path at the time. It’s wonderful to watch the broader equestrian community steadily lean into this same holistic approach.

It is validating to see Dr. Victoria Lewis’s research highlight what we train every day:
✨ Rider Welfare = Horse Welfare: You cannot sit in the saddle with a collapsed hip or braced back and expect your horse to move straight and freely.
✨ Riding Isn't Enough: Riding reinforces existing movement habits. Fixing tight hips and posture requires targeted conditioning off the horse first.
✨ Proprioception: Most riders are oblivious to their own crookedness. Building true independent aids starts with deep off-horse body awareness.

We cannot expect our horses to achieve self-carriage until we take responsibility for our own.

Enjoy full article below ⬇️

💬 Which hit home most for you: tight hips, back fatigue, or discovering your own asymmetry in the saddle?

The Rider’s Body: An Overlooked Welfare Issue

08/30/2026

We kick off The Lifted Core September cohort this Tuesday, September 1st!

If you are ready to restore your pelvic health, deepen your core stability, and unlock functional breathing mechanics, there is still time to grab your spot.

Cohort Quick Details:

Schedule: Tuesdays & Thursdays | 9:00 – 9:45 AM MDT
Format: Live online classes (recorded)
Focus: Hypopressives, pelvic floor responsiveness, 3D breath work and posture alignment.

Step into fall feeling lifted, balanced, and strong in your body.

👉 Register here to join us live:

Rider Fitness and Clinics | Eckwood Equestrian. Improve balance, breathing and biomechanics for a mobile & stable seat. Book clinics, private coaching, Total Self Carriage and The Lifted Core program to ride with confidence.

08/14/2026

Years ago a friend recommended reading "Breath" by James Nestor, and it hit me at the exact right moment. Learning to breathe better genuinely changed my health and my life, and I highly recommend picking up the book if you haven't yet.

If you feel like you're at a point where you're ready to make a change and feel better from the inside out, check out this podcast episode with Patrick McKeown and James Nestor.

Beyond hearing about the journey behind writing the book, the conversation is inspiring on so many levels. It touches on patience, adaptability, and how we approach our daily lives.

It completely shakes up the popular idea that we always need to breathe "more" or "deeper" highlighting instead the importance of becoming comfortable with CO2. Breathing is simple (you breathe in and out), but it becomes completely fascinating when you realize it can be a tool to challenge yourself and intentionally shift your physiology.

Breathing is a physiological function. But what has become "common" in modern life isn't necessarily normal or functional. Returning to functional breathing requires us to slow down, notice, and cultivate a quieter, more grounded way of moving through the world.

Check it out and let me know how improving your breathing has changed your riding, and maybe your life. 🌬️✨

In this episode, James Nestor (author of the bestseller *Breath*) a...

08/12/2026

Aesthetic ideals battle with function. Once function and dynamic alignment are understood, the aesthetic is the consequence of feeling and moving well in the saddle.

The pelvis cannot simply be held still. It has to move, adapt and coordinate with the trunk so the rider can remain organized within the movement rather than being displaced by it.

When the pelvis becomes too rigid, that adaptability is reduced. Movement that could be distributed through the pelvis and trunk has to be managed somewhere else, often creating more tension and making it harder for the rider to stay with the horse.

This is where a common cueing can work against healthy function. Bracing the core, gripping or trying to hold still in an attempt to create stability can reduce the adaptability the rider actually needs.

Stability does not mean rigidity. It’s actually achieved through balanced movement.

The goal is mobility and control to create stability, allowing the pelvis to respond to the horse while the rider remains organized around their centre.

This is why understanding healthy function matters so much when we teach movement.

When we understand how the body is designed to move, we can use imagery to help the rider experience that function rather than trying to manufacture a position.
Imagery turns anatomical understanding into an experience, helping the nervous system organize movement with greater ease, coordination and adaptability.

08/04/2026

Breathing in and out through your nose isn’t just a relaxation trick it’s a foundational key for better riding. Nasal breathing stabilizes your core, regulates intra-abdominal pressure, and keeps your nervous system calm so you can ride with true softness and control.

Ready to take your breathwork and riding biomechanics a step further?

Join The Lifted Core, a 12-week program starting September 1st. Designed to elevate your feel, posture, and breathing in the saddle, this immersive course dives deep into:

The practice and flow of Hypopressives
The pelvic floor, clavicle, wrists, and hamstrings
Foundational core pillars for total self-carriage

👉 Join the 12-week program here:[https://www.eckwoodequine.com/the-lifted-core](https://www.eckwoodequine.com/the-lifted-core)

05/20/2026

Interactive class to learn about hypopressives for riders.

Join the Equitation Collective Community and attend the Free Hypopressives Class for Riders June 2, 2026 at 6:30pm MDT

05/14/2026

Sign up to learn more about Hypopressives for Riders

Join the Equitation Collective Community and attend the Free Hypopressives Class for Riders June 2, 2026 at 6:30pm MDT

04/14/2026

I have been working with riders and the simulator for the past 5 years.
I am so excited that TYS is bringing this fabulous tool to the HorseExpo in Red Deer this year.

Every rider needs to experience the benefits of the Racewood Simulator.