By Jamie Graham
Implementing cross-training has changed my life, both in and out of the saddle, so four years ago, I decided to launch my business, Haybales and Barbells, to help equestrians around the world learn about the benefits of fitness and become stronger and more balanced riders for their horses.
My name is Jamie Graham, and I live in Plymouth, Minnesota, with my wonderful husband, my Danish Warmblood, Quilan, and our two rescue dogs, Bruin and Kuma! In 2020, during the pandemic, I founded my company, and what started off as a passion project has now become my full-time career.
As a Certified Personal Trainer, Youth Exercise Specialist, and Master’s Level Recreation Therapist, I have been passionate about movement and exercise for the past 15 years. Learning about movement and physical recreation has helped me overcome various eating disorders, mental health struggles, and ultimately changed me for the better – as a rider and as a person.
When I was on a riding hiatus during graduate school, I was heavily involved in fitness training and was not riding at all. When I got back in the saddle, I realized that I was a much stronger and balanced rider, despite not having ridden in years! I quickly connected that because I had been conditioning my body consistently during my riding hiatus, I was able to feel stronger and more confident in the saddle. I spent the next few years continuing to train out of the saddle and working as an equine-assisted recreation therapist and therapeutic riding instructor, while also developing my own equestrian fitness training philosophy.
Fast forward to 2020, and I decided to take a leap of faith, launch my business, and bring my equestrian fitness training philosophy to riders worldwide!
My fitness training philosophy for equestrians is that riders should equally train their balance, cardiovascular fitness, strength, mobility, and flexibility in order to be well-rounded riders. I apply this training philosophy to all my programs.
Balance training helps riders be more centered and stable in the saddle while improving cardiovascular fitness, which allows us to ride for a longer duration without being out of breath. Mobility training also helps equestrians ride with more suppleness and fluidity, while strength training helps us with our posture, riding aids, and out-of-the-saddle chores. Flexibility training is crucial for preventing injuries and adequately recovering so that we can perform at our highest level when needed.
My mission for Haybales and Barbells is to educate equestrians around the world about the benefits of cross-training – not only for their physical health but also, equally as important, for their mental health. Haybales and Barbells is not a weight loss program; we don’t focus on the number on the scale, calories, diets, or how you look on the outside. Our main focus is how strong and balanced you feel in the saddle, and how you feel on the inside, rather than how you look on the outside.
This principle is very important to me because, as someone who grew up being indoctrinated by toxic diet culture and who struggled immensely with body image, it is important that I do not perpetuate this ideology. As someone in the fitness industry, I feel responsible for helping to change the narrative from “fitness is for aesthetics and a number on the scale” to “fitness is about strength and empowerment.”
Cross-training has allowed me to be the best version of myself physically and mentally for my horse, and my goal is to preach that to the equestrian community, in hopes of helping others achieve that as well.
Being strong and well-conditioned has helped me tremendously in developing a partnership with my new horse, Quilan. I purchased him in February 2024, and he arrived from Florida in early March. He is a completely different ride from my previous horse, and has challenged my body in ways that I never have before! I truly believe that if I did not cross-train consistently and take care of my physical and mental health, I would be struggling to ride him, and it would have taken me a much longer time to feel comfortable with his gaits.
Although our partnership only began a month and a half ago, I already feel very comfortable with him. Figuring out a new horse is difficult, but it has also been very rewarding, and I am very excited for our future together! He has tremendous talent, which motivates me to stay well-conditioned and physically strong, even more so because he can only reach his maximum potential if I work on myself at the same time!
For equestrians who want to begin their fitness journey but don’t know where to start, you are not alone; this is one of the biggest barriers to beginning a fitness training routine for a lot of riders – and it is understandable! It may seem simple, but the most important thing you should do is to just start. Start by signing up for a program, taking daily walks, signing up for a fitness class with your barn mate, carving out fifteen minutes in the morning to do a bodyweight workout, whatever it is, taking the first step and starting is the most important thing!
Once you get started, my next advice is to continue and slowly progress with your workouts. As equestrians, we are all go-getters and high achievers. But if you get into cross-training too quickly, going from zero to all-in, your chances of injury, overtraining, and inability to sustain your new workout routine highly increase. Starting with shorter workouts a few times a week can help you build your confidence, find out how to fit your workouts in with your rides, and prevent injury!
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