Meet Nicola Smith, the creator of Dressage Rider Training.

If you had met me in my twenties, you probably would have thought I had rider fitness figured out.

I was a personal trainer, teaching group fitness classes at Les Mills, working one-on-one with clients, and studying Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Otago.

Fitness was my world.

I was strong.
I was fit.
I could train hard and recover quickly.

But there was one problem.

It was not making me the rider I wanted to become.

That was difficult to admit.

I could squat, lift, run, and teach multiple classes each week, yet I still felt the same frustrations so many riders know well.

One side felt different from the other.
My seat did not always feel as stable or as soft as I wanted.
I was fit, but I was not necessarily organised well for riding.

The more I trained, the more I began to understand something important:

General fitness and rider fitness are not the same thing.

In fact, I had become very good at repeating the movement patterns I was already strongest in. I was fit, but I had also reinforced imbalances and built strength in places that did not always help me in the saddle.

That realisation quietly changed the direction of my career.

A Different Question

Instead of asking:

How do I get riders fitter?

I began asking:

What does the rider’s body actually need in order to move well with the horse?

That question led me into a much deeper period of study.

After completing my Bachelor of Physical Education, majoring in Sports Science and Exercise Prescription, I continued training clients while expanding my education through the C.H.E.K Institute.

I became certified as a Holistic Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach Level 2 and completed further study in corrective exercise, scientific core training, back training, and program design.

Later, I qualified as a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, which helped me understand the body in an even more integrated way.

But although the qualifications gave me knowledge, the horses kept giving me perspective.

Because horses do not care how many certifications we have.

They respond to what they feel.

They feel whether we are balanced.
Whether we are bracing.
Whether our seat is available.
Whether our body is organised enough to allow movement.

And over time, they taught me something I had not fully understood in my twenties:

The goal is not simply to become stronger.

The goal is to build a body that can support softness.

What I Believe Today

Today, I believe good riding is not created by forcing the body into the right position.

Position is the outcome.

It is what appears when the body has enough suppleness to allow movement, enough strength to support that movement, and enough organisation to stay responsive rather than rigid.

A rider can be very strong and still feel blocked.

A rider can be very supple and still feel unstable.

We need both.

Suppleness opens the door. Strength helps you live there.

That principle now sits at the heart of everything I teach.

First, help the body rediscover movement.

Then build the capacity to support that movement.

That is how change becomes more than temporary.

It becomes something the body can trust.

In My Forties, I Feel Better Than I Did In My Twenties

The beautiful part of this story is that I now feel the difference in my own body.

In my forties, I honestly feel stronger, more capable, and more connected to my body than I did in my twenties.

Not because I train harder.

I do not.

I train with more understanding.

I know what my body needs.
I understand what my riding asks of it.
And I no longer chase fitness simply for the sake of being fit.

I train to create support.
To stay resilient.
To move well.
To build a body that can remain strong enough to soften.

And that is helping my riding in ways general fitness never did.

I feel more organised.
More aware.
More balanced.
More capable of supporting the horse without becoming hard in my body.

It has also changed the way I think about ageing.

I do not feel as though my best years are behind me.

Quite the opposite.

I genuinely believe my best years of riding are still ahead of me.

That is one of the things I most want other riders to understand too.

Your body is not finished.

It is still adapting.
Still learning.
Still capable of becoming stronger, more supple, and more resilient when given the right environment.

Why I Created Dressage Rider Training

Dressage Rider Training was created from this journey.

Not to make riders fitter for the sake of fitness.

But to help riders understand their bodies and train in a way that genuinely supports their riding.

To restore suppleness where movement has been lost.
To build strength where support is missing.
To improve balance, control, confidence, and longevity.
To help riders feel more available to the horse underneath them.

Because most riders do not need more willpower.

They do not need another cue to sit taller, keep their leg still, or relax more.

They need a body that can actually support what they are asking it to do.

That is where lasting change begins.

We Are Half Of The Partnership

As riders, we give so much thought to our horses.

Their fitness.
Their nutrition.
Their soundness.
Their recovery.
Their future.

I believe we deserve that same level of care.

Because we are not simply passengers.

We are half of the partnership.

Our strength matters.
Our suppleness matters.

Our health, confidence, and longevity matter.

When both horse and rider are supported well, the whole conversation changes.

The rider becomes quieter.
The horse becomes freer.
The connection becomes clearer.

And riding begins to feel less like something we are trying to hold together, and more like something we can genuinely move within.

That is the work I feel privileged to be part of every day.

Not simply helping riders exercise.

But helping them build bodies that support the riding life they want—now, and for many years to come.

Warmly,
Nicola