Sabrina Hidiroglou combines her experience of being a dressage rider alongside her business as a rider focussed yoga teacher helping equestrians move better, feel stronger, and become more effective partners for their horses.
Based in Ottawa, Canada, Sabrina has been an equestrian for most of her life, working by day in a corporate role. Outside of that, you’ll usually find her either at the barn, teaching yoga, at the gym and sometimes Latin dancing. Explaining her dressage journey, Sabrina says ” I’ve been an equestrian for most of my life. I started riding when I was eight years old and was lucky enough to get my first horse at ten. I began competing early and was drawn to dressage by the time I was twelve. Over the years, I’ve had several incredible horses, and with my current horse, Zinté, I’ve been fortunate enough to train all the way to the Grand Prix level.”
Sabrina began career as a riding instructor in her early twenties and spent the next decade teaching. During this time, she was introduced to yoga. What began as a personal practice quickly became a passion, and eventually she completed her teacher training. Over time, she transitioned from teaching riding lessons to teaching public group yoga classes, eventually combining her passions for riding and yoga, Sabrina started teaching yoga locally in barns which led to her creating an online platform so her students can practice remotely.
Alongside being a Grand Prix dressage rider, you are a yoga teacher; Can you tell us more?
image courtesy of Samantha Mirzaee
I started teaching yoga in barns in 2019. In 2020, I moved my classes online and created a membership so my students and riders could continue practising wherever they were. One of the first programmes I developed was based on the Dressage Training Scale. It includes an introductory class followed by six modules inspired by each step of the scale.
Today, the membership includes strength, stability, mobility, myofascial release, recovery, meditation and sculpt classes as a well as a beginner friendly class. I add new content regularly. Most classes are around 30 minutes long but also includes shorter 10 to 15-minute classes. Alongside the membership, I teach clinics at barns that include yoga. I also recently started working with a small number of riders one-on-one and provide personalised coaching.
My goal has always been simple: to make yoga practical and accessible for riders, whether they’re professionals, coaches or balancing horses with a full-time career.
Why is it important for dressage riders to exercise outside of riding?
Dressage asks us to be supple, strong, balanced, coordinated and symmetrical. We also need to maintain enough endurance to stay effective throughout an entire ride. Riding develops skill, but it doesn’t always address the physical limitations we bring into the saddle. Most riders spend much of their day sitting at a desk, driving or looking at a screen. Others spend hours coaching or riding multiple horses a day. Those repetitive positions shape how our bodies move, creating stiffness, muscle imbalances and movement patterns that inevitably show up in the saddle.
As dressage riders, none of us are perfectly symmetrical. We all have a dominant side and naturally compensate for it. Many riders rely heavily on their inner thighs while underusing the muscles that stabilize the outside of the hips. Over time, this can reduce pelvic stability and place greater strain on the lower back.
The same thing happens through the core. We use our core every time we ride, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re using it efficiently. Without training our bodies off the horse, it’s easy to compensate with the larger, more superficial muscles instead of recruiting the deep stabilizers that support the spine and pelvis. Our upper body is no different. Riding can create tightness through the chest and shoulders. That imbalance often contributes to neck tension, shoulder discomfort and difficulty maintaining a soft, independent contact.
What benefits does yoga give in the saddle?
image courtesy of Samantha Mirzaee
Yoga develops many of the same qualities we strive for in dressage: body awareness, balance, coordination, breathing, stability and focus. These are all skills that transfer directly into the saddle. One of the biggest benefits is improved proprioception, your awareness of where your body is in space. The more aware you are of your own position and movement, the easier it becomes to make subtle adjustments that improve your seat and the clarity of your aids.
Yoga also helps riders release tension while building the strength and stability needed to maintain an independent seat. It can improve mobility through areas that are commonly restricted, such as the hips, thoracic spine and shoulders. It also helps develop the deep core and postural muscles that support alignment. Beyond the physical benefits, yoga teaches mindfulness. It helps you become more present and less reactive. That ability to notice without immediately reacting is incredibly valuable in dressage, where horses respond to even the smallest changes in tension, emotion and intention.
Perhaps the greatest change I see is that riders become more aware of how they use their bodies. They begin to recognise asymmetries, compensation patterns and areas of unnecessary tension they didn’t realise were there. As your awareness of your own body grows, so does your awareness of your horse. You begin to notice subtle changes in their movement, balance and way of going, allowing you to respond with greater feel, empathy and precision.
Would you recommend combining yoga with other forms of exercise?
Absolutely. I see yoga as one piece of the puzzle rather than the entire picture. No single form of exercise can give us everything we need as riders. Strength training is incredibly important because it builds the capacity to support good posture, improve bone density, develop pelvic stability and create the strength needed to maintain an effective position in the saddle. Cardio is equally valuable, particularly as you move up the levels, where both physical and mental endurance become increasingly important.
Yoga complements both by improving mobility, coordination, balance, body awareness and breathing. It teaches you how to move more efficiently, recruit the right muscles at the right time and recover more effectively after training. It also develops mindfulness and helps regulate the nervous system, allowing riders to stay calmer, more focused and less reactive under pressure. Yoga helps develop both physical and mental suppleness, helping you become a more adaptable rider for your horse. Together they create a body that’s both strong and adaptable.
What equipment is required to start?
image courtesy of Samantha Mirzaee
All you need to get started is a mat and comfortable exercise clothing. If you attend a class at a local studio, they will provide yoga mats and blocks.
How many yoga sessions a week do you recommend?
If a rider is just getting started, I recommend once a week to get into the habit. Consistency is much more important than duration. For most riders, I recommend two or three sessions each week alongside riding. Some days that might be a short mobility session before you ride, while other days it may be a longer recovery practice after a competition or hard training session. Even ten to twenty minutes a few times each week can make a noticeable difference. I think the sweet spot for most riders practicing at home is about 30 minutes. Yoga doesn’t always have to be an hour long to be effective.
Are there any misconceptions about yoga?
One of the biggest misconceptions is that you need to be flexible before you can practise yoga. The truth is that yoga helps you become more mobile over time. I often compare it to training a dressage horse. We don’t begin with collection. We start with the basics before asking for more advanced movements. Yoga follows the same principles. You meet your body where it is today and build progressively over time.
Another common misconception is that yoga is simply stretching. While flexibility can be part of the outcome, it’s only a small part of the practice. Yoga also develops strength, balance and body awareness. It teaches you how to use your breath. It teaches you how to move more efficiently and how to recognise unnecessary tension, both physically and mentally. For riders, that’s where the real value lies. The goal isn’t to see how flexible you can become. It’s to create a body that is strong, supple, balanced and responsive. Suppleness in dressage means the absence of physical stiffness and mental tension. I believe that applies to both horse and rider.
Has being a dressage rider yourself helped shape your yoga programme?
image courtesy of Samantha Mirzaee
Definitely. Training my own horse from Training Level all the way to Grand Prix has shaped me not only as a rider, but also as a teacher. Every lesson I have learned, both in the saddle and on the yoga mat, has influenced the classes I create and the way I coach riders.
I understand the physical and mental demands of the sport because I’ve lived them. I’ve experienced the asymmetries, the back pain, the frustration of feeling limited by my own body, the pressure of competition, and the constant pursuit of becoming a quieter, more effective rider. That journey hasn’t ended. If anything, the higher I’ve progressed, the more I’ve realised how much there is still to learn. I think that’s one of the greatest lessons dressage has taught me. Never stop being a student. Remain curious, ask questions and be willing to challenge what you think you know. I try to bring that same mindset to both my riding and my teaching because growth comes from staying open to learning.
I also believe that many of the principles we value in dressage have direct parallels in yoga. We spend years developing our horses, yet we often forget to cultivate those same qualities in ourselves. Yoga gives riders the opportunity to do exactly that, developing a body that is as balanced, supple and responsive. Perhaps most importantly, being a rider means I understand the realities of my students’ lives. I know what it’s like to spend the day at a desk before heading to the barn, to juggle work and horses, and to want exercises that genuinely transfer to riding.
How can a rider join your yoga programme?
They can head to my website www.sabrinahidiroglou.com