Karzan Hughes is the founder and head coach of the Horse Rider Fitness Academy. He’s also a competitive amateur dressage rider based in Yorkshire with his Selle Français mare, Lily. Karzan says “I passionately believe that riders are equal partners to their horses. Ultimately, a horse can only truly develop balance and self-carriage if the rider is also balanced and in self-carriage.” The Horse Rider Fitness Academy supports riders with all their off-horse training and preparation, with a particular focus on rider fitness and mindset. Members of the academy are striving to improve their feel, connection, confidence and performance in the saddle.
How did you become a rider fitness coach?
My very first introduction to rider fitness was actually through Lottie Fry. It was 2020, during lockdown, and I had only recently started riding as an adult. I became fascinated by the idea of developing my body awareness, balance and position in between lessons. I remember Lottie sharing a story of her training on a BOSU ball. I can still picture the movement now: a knee drive into a single leg deadlift into a reverse lunge. I remember thinking, if rider fitness is important for an Olympic and World Champion then why aren’t more people paying attention to this?
That moment opened the door. I became increasingly invested in the complexities of how rider biomechanics influence your horse and your riding. I started to wonder whether there were better ways of helping riders use their bodies well. Activating the correct muscles and sitting correctly has a huge impact on our aids. Since then, I’ve studied the habits of many top riders and looked closely at how they approach their off-horse conditioning. Success always leaves clues. It became obvious very quickly that top riders take their rider fitness extremely seriously, whether you look at Charlotte Dujardin, Jessica Von Bredow-Werndl or riders in other disciplines.
I’ve always loved taking care of my body and looking after my own health and fitness. Before riding, I had a solid foundation in the gym, mostly through bodybuilding-style training. That gave me a useful base, but it isn’t an optimised way of training for riding. Whilst lifting weights helped me develop strength and symmetry, which is essential for your posture, it did not automatically make me effective in my seat. In some ways, it made me too stiff. I lacked mobility, suppleness, and the ability to activate the right muscles in the right way for riding.
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial streak. At the time I was working with a social media mentor who encouraged me to set up my own business. The rest, as they say, is history. The Horse Rider Fitness Academy was created through a genuine passion for rider fitness. I’ll always be grateful to those first clients who believed in me as they played a huge part in building what the Academy has become. Before I knew it, I was coaching five to ten riders online in my evenings. Alongside all of this, I’m also a lecturer in Orthoptics at the University of Sheffield, so my work has always sat at an interesting intersection of science, teaching, coaching, and performance. Over the years, I’ve studied across several different disciplines: personal training, health coaching, mindset coaching and dressage coaching. That unique blend has shaped how I work with riders today.
Why is it important for a dressage rider to have an exercise regime?
It’s extremely important. Riding is physically demanding, and in many ways, it is counter intuitive. Dressage asks us to be strong, stable, supple, and relaxed all at the same time. The idea that a dressage rider should have “strength in relaxation” sounds almost contradictory. It’s a fine balance and we are constantly trying to find it. For that reason, being functionally symmetrical, well-balanced, and able to absorb movement without bracing is essential.
Your training plan should complement your riding schedule, your ambitions, and your lifestyle. A rider producing ten horses a day will need something very different from someone riding two or three times a week. But both riders can be equally limited by time, energy, or old movement habits. If you are prone to injuries, have asymmetries, or simply do not feel as though you sit well, then off-horse training becomes even more important. I tend to think about this from first principles. If you want to improve your riding, there are two ways to approach it.
Firstly, improve your riding skills and find an excellent coach.
Secondly, improve your biomechanics and find ways of using your body more effectively. If you can position yourself well, stay balanced, and relaxed in the right places, then you have more freedom to focus on the riding itself. We’ve all been told to do something with our body, “sit up taller”, “sit deeper”, “keep your heels down”. Riders usually understand what they need to do with their body, but they’re not able to consistently access the feeling.
You are a dressage rider yourself with your own horse Lily, can you share your journey and aspirations?
I’m a Type A personality and, in many ways, a recovering perfectionist. Horses have taught me a huge amount about myself: who I am, what I like about myself, and what still needs work. Five or six years ago, I was only just learning how to do a rising trot. I bought Lily when she was three years old. I then turned her away for a couple of years before deciding to produce her myself. It has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. We’re now competing regularly and have our qualifying scores for the Area Festivals.
The journey has taught me a lot about patience and acceptance. You’re rarely as behind as you think you are. Imagine, comparing your big goal to flying to another part of the world. Sometimes, you never feel like you’re going anywhere. The reality is you’re already in the Uber and you’re on your way to the airport. You may not have taken off yet, but you are moving. It’s so easy to compare yourself to where you think you should be, or where your horse should be. That mindset is unhealthy. Love the journey for what it is. Big things take time to produce. Delayed gratification matters in business, in life, and certainly in dressage.
In terms of my ambitions, I want to ride all the way to the top. I believe I can, and I hope I get the chance to do it with Lily. One day, I want to win a championship title and ride our first PSG. I’d also love to be part of a high-performance team and help coach a rider to the Olympic Games.
Does being a rider yourself, help with your coaching?
Absolutely, being a rider sharpens the lens through which you are coaching. I’m constantly looking at how the horse and rider work together. Part of the reason for wanting to continue my own dressage education is to understand how the advanced movements influence your body. If you can feel it and understand it yourself, that helps a lot. I am constantly evaluating the rider in front of me: how they sit, how they organise their body, where they hold tension, where they compensate, and how their alignment affects the horse.
Being a rider means I understand the emotional side too. I understand frustration, ambition, self-doubt, wanting more for your horse, and those moments where you know something is off but you cannot quite put your finger on it.
What considerations should a rider give to their fitness?
A very good starting point is what I call the Five Pillars of Rider Fitness: dynamic stability, postural strength, mobility, flexibility, and aerobic conditioning. Dressage riders in particular need exceptional posterior chain strength. That includes the muscles of the upper and lower back, glutes and hamstrings. A lot of riders assume that they need to do more leg work, but the upper body is equally important, and the research supports this. Upper body strength develops your posture, control and symmetry. Lower body work should include glutes and hamstrings, as well as plenty of hip mobility.
My own routine usually includes two or three gym sessions and one or two studio classes each week. In the gym, I’ll usually follow either an upper/lower split or a push/pull/legs split. I enjoy functional strength work, and I love using gymnastic rings. In the studio, I’ll take barre and yoga classes. I love barre in particular. It’s brilliant for alignment, muscular endurance, control, and hip mobility.
For most riders, the most important thing is not to overcomplicate it. Start with a plan that is realistic, repeatable, and supports your riding rather than competing with it.
You founded the Horse Rider Fitness Academy; Can you share what that is?
The Horse Rider Fitness Academy gives riders a personalised fitness programme that is rider-focused and science-led. Each plan is built around the individual rider: their biomechanics, riding level, ambitions, goals, available equipment, whether they train at home or in the gym, and the realities of their schedule and lifestyle.
Inside the Academy, we combine rider fitness, biomechanics, and mindset support. We also host online masterminds and weekly Q&A sessions inside the community, so riders are not left trying to figure everything out alone. It’s a holistic way of developing the horse and rider together. It’s designed to give riders clarity, structure, and support, whilst keeping the work specific to their own body and riding. I’m really proud of it and riders see amazing results.
In your opinion are there are any misconceptions around rider fitness?
Definitely. One of the biggest misconceptions is that general yard work is enough. Mucking out stables and carrying water buckets keeps you active, but it is not the same as following a structured exercise plan that is designed to improve your seat and performance. Another is that riders can fix everything by riding more without addressing what is happening (or not happening) with their body. You need to look at the root cause, whether that is asymmetry, excessive bracing, or a lack of mobility. Rider fitness should be intentional. It should solve problems and help you ride more effectively.
Your highlights?
I feel incredibly lucky to coach such a wide range of individuals, from aspiring amateurs to professional riders. My work has taken me all over the world, I’ve delivered clinics across the UK, USA and Europe. Last year, I went to Germany. The standard is extremely high. It still feels surreal at times. It raises your standards very quickly.
One of the things I love most is the range of stories you get to be part of. One week, you’re celebrating a member’s 70th birthday and helping them feel strong enough to keep doing the thing they love. The next week, you’re supporting an elite rider who goes on to win a championship. That contrast is really special to me, because it reminds me that great coaching is not only about ribbons. It is about helping riders feel more capable, confident, and connected to what they love.