Riding to get fit

RIDING has taken on a new slant at Lavant House Stables, Lavant, near Chichester, where a group of regular riders have been meeting for an adults' coffee morning on Fridays, followed by a riding session aimed at spurring them on to burn up calories.

The coffee mornings were the brainchild of office manager at the stables, Angela Crane, who started them in the New Year as an innovative way to lose weight and get fit.

Angela, a rider herself, explained: “We have had six riders, who used to go out on their own, meeting for the sessions on Friday mornings. The idea was to come for a fun and fitness coffee morning and go out riding afterwards, perhaps longer and faster than usual, combined with grooming horses, to burn off a minimum of 400 calories.”

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She added: “They go off at a faster pace than normal and it is generally a more energetic morning.

“It has encouraged those who normally ride on their own to meet others for a very physical two hours. Not only is everyone getting more trim but it has been a good way of making friends.”

For full story see Sussex Horseworld in the West Sussex Gazette. March 2, 2011. Read the page every week for equestrian stories across the county.