Story and Photos – Rebecca Ashton

Last year I interviewed Adelinde Cornelissen while she was in New Zealand. I already knew she was very interested in rider fitness, but it wasn’t until we sat down and really got talking that I realised how interested she was. Being an obsessed advocate myself, and training many riders in this area already, it really struck a chord and it must have been obvious because next thing I knew Adelinde was inviting me over to The Netherlands for a session with her and her trainer. “Are you tough enough?” was what she wanted to know. Well…there was only one way I was going to find out. There was no way I was going to knock back an opportunity like that.

“How do you feel?” Adelinde asked with a sneaky smile as we walked from the car to Tjalling van den Berg’s gym. Tjalling is Adelinde’s fitness trainer and his reputation preceded him. Remy Bastings, another Dutch rider (as well as Scandic’s first rider) who came with us warned me, “Last time I came, I nearly fainted twice.” I knew Tjalling was tough. I was about to find out how tough.

I was joining Adelinde for her weekly two-hour fitness session which keeps the Dutch dressage champion not just in peak physical condition, but mentally on the ball too. We began by lining up on the mats with other riders and Tjalling greeting us. From that point on I was known as “The Kangaroo”. The Dutch coach, whose background is training Olympic gymnasts has many trainers working for him, all of whom have different areas of expertise and each steps in to teach his or her discipline as the session progresses.

We started with some Tai Chi to focus on breathing. This is one of the most important areas as far as Tjalling is concerned. Good breathing changes your energy and changes your focus. Keeping the breathing low, your mind focused and never being off balance was the key to these exercises. It took good concentration and body awareness, knowing where your weight was at all times so you couldn’t be pushed over, something that was tested with regular occurrence as the coaches would try to shove you off balance. You had to have one foot securely grounded before lifting the other foot off the ground. Balance and muscle control was key.

Then it was time to up the heart rate and introduce some cardio. We had to run around as a group, dodging and distracting each other, then when told, stop and try to pull each others’ socks off. The one with the most socks won. There were no rules and anything went, including crash tackling, as I found out when side-swiped by Adelinde. Once in a heap on the ground, my legs were grabbed and one sock and I parted company, but not without a fight. These Dutch are brutal! No wonder they dominate the global equestrian sport with a competitive attitude like this! I have the bruises and scraped elbows to prove it. Despite this, there were a lot of laughs as well.

In some exercises we were paired up. When I decided to partner up with a young girl thinking she would be an easy target and I would be able to overcome her with my strength, I realised this competitive attitude is instilled from an early age! We had to kneel facing each other, hold on to each others’ shoulders and try to push our partner over on their back, judo style, holding them down for three seconds. What I thought would be instant success on my part took a good few seconds.

It was obvious Adelinde had done this training for sometime. Another exercise in pairs was when one person had to try and run forward while the other person held them around the waist and tried to hold them back. Even when I felt like I was matching Adelinde in strength and she was struggling to move forward, she would almost mentally wait it out, stay calm with no inclination of failure crossing her mind. She knew she would get me in the end….and she did. She seemed to have total control of her mind, and off she ran with me pulling myself up off the ground behind her.

When I gave her a congratulatory pat on the shoulder, Tjalling looked straight at me and with his dry humour and a straight face told me, “If she beats you, you are not nice to her. You kill her!” That determination is the difference between being very good and being the best.

The first part of the session continued like this, slow, breathing-focused movements interspersed with high cardio. The further we went on, the harder it was to lower my focus and breathing and maintain balance and stability, especially when I was sweating and my body shaking!

This was when John van Apeldoorn, the mental coach stepped in. He has such a calm and grounded presence and is there to get athletes really aware of what they are feeling in their body and how they can change things. It was so useful because he talks to you in the heat of the moment rather than on the analysis couch afterwards.

Where Tjalling is constantly trying to push you out of your comfort zone and getting you to make mistakes, John is helping you find your way through it, getting you to think about the process, make a plan and stay calm and focused. It’s the perfect balance; a kind of good cop, bad cop relationship.

Tjalling’s daughter Berber then took us through some core work on the ball. Balance and focus were tested when, as we were standing on the balls like frogs, other trainers were throwing balls at us and talking to us; lots of distractions. The minute you lost focus on the present moment and your fitball, you were doomed to failure (and 10 push ups as Tjalling’s issued punishment). John kept reminding us not to think about what just happened when you were distracted or what might happen in a few seconds time.

Next it was some rotator cuff and hamstring stretches before walking the beam with a weight full of water. As the water moved around, it threw you off balance. I thought I’d found a way to balance with it, tipping the water to one side. While some may consider this cheating, I saw it as overcoming an obstacle. But true to Tjalling’s method, as soon as this happened, he pushed me out of my comfort zone once more. “Why are you going so slow?”, he yelled at me. “Faster, faster!” at which point, even tipping the weight wouldn’t help and I fell off the beam and into my 10 push ups. Adelinde was just as unforgiving, “You call those push ups?” she backed up her coach with a smile.

John took me over to a big, foam block which rested on more foam, making for a very unstable surface. He wanted me to go from standing on one side, rotating the block with my feet, to stand on the other side of it. This was a real test of mental focus as well as balance and core efficiency.

With the first attempt I was off, but jumped back on to try again. John stopped me almost immediately, asking, “Now you did the first thing as before, you moved your foot in the same way, so what do you think will happen?”

It seemed so obvious but showed how unfocused I was and how my slight frustration had affected my concentration. John continued, “You have to have a plan before you begin, whether it is stepping on this block or riding a kür. Always have a plan.”

I tried again, changing my plan by placing my feet and distributing my weight differently. I was more successful but couldn’t hold my balance right at the end. John enquired, “Did you feel nervous that you had succeeded and were you fearful you were going to lose it?” and it really got me aware of the mental process I had taken.

John continued, “Your energy is in your head and not your feet. You have to feel more and think less. Your balance is negatively affected when you think too much. Success is in the feeling.”

The mental coach proved this further by using muscle testing. Once back on solid ground he asked me to think of my hair and he pushed me hard, almost knocking me over. Then I had to think of my feet, and I barely budged when pushed again just as strongly. “It works, huh?” said John smiling.

He then sat me on the edge of a pommel horse, my palms together out in front of me. John instructed, “Think that when you ride, you and your horse are separate,” and he prised my hands apart quite easily. “Now think that you are both the one being, “ and my hands stayed firmly together.

This confirmed to me that thought affects your energy and energy your strength. It’s not just about how big your muscles are. This is very similar to what is taught in martial arts.

Tjalling came over and asked John, “Is she out of her comfort zone yet?” John laughed, “She’s still smiling,” so I was instantly sent over to Jelle for some boxing.

Boxing is one of Adelinde’s favourite exercises because of its focus on breathing, balance and quick reactions. Jelle gave me a few solid shoves to test that my stance was good and grounded. Initially he didn’t tell me how to stand but let me work it out for myself. Then it was on to technique. Jab, protect, hook and then I copped a gentle knock to the face. “You’re not protecting your face,” Jelle added with a smile. There was so much to think about, especially when moving the feet was added. Jelle drilled me with instructions, not just to get me moving correctly but to distract and frustrate me. I had to try and remember everything while remaining calm and focused.

Jelle kept upping the difficulty until he had me boxing while standing on the high beam. With the added challenge of the exercise being at the end of the two-hour session, my body and mind both fatigued and Jelle constantly telling me to punch harder, it took quite a bit of discipline for me to not just say, “Enough!” They would have let me finish, but I would have cheated myself out of a very good exercise in overcoming obstacles.

To finish, I was allowed to lie on the balance beam and relax with my eyes closed, trying to feel what was going on in my body and getting out of my head. Berber guided me through this and when I was beautifully relaxed, Tjalling thought it would be hilarious to push the kangaroo off her perch. Shocked, I went crashing to the floor, glad for the padded mats that surrounded the beam.

It was just a joke but turned into a good exercise when I had to deal with the raised adrenaline and relax once more. John was there to talk me through, getting my focus low in my body and my breathing steady once more.

By the end, I complained that I wasn’t fit enough but of course, both John and Adelinde pulled me up on my negative speak. John explained, ‘You are very fit, but with everything in life, there is always another level.” So, onwards and upwards!

Sit in on a press conference and talk to top riders, most come across as the nicest people in the world; very sweet and butter wouldn’t melt in their mouth. But something tells me that this facade hides a tough-as-nails, never-give-up attitude. To develop a very focused, unwavering determination to be the best, with the physical fitness to back it up, the sort of training that Tjalling van den Berg offers is hugely advantageous. Control over the physical and mental aspects of the body; of the muscles, heart rate, breathing and mind should not be left to chance. This is where the last few points of percentages are gained and where, when riding skills and horse ability are almost equal, the podium positions are chosen.

What stood out about Tjalling’s training is that it is so varied. He calls it Eco-coaching as it is all-encompassing. He looks for ideas from all sporting endeavours and gets the athlete to interact with his or her environment in all manner of ways.  Adelinde never does the same thing twice. This means that she never gets used to an exercise and never gets complacent. The basics are tested using many different approaches, which helps her remain concentrated and keeps her awareness of body and mind at an optimum. Also, the bombardment of different exercises and many instructions being yelled out can be overwhelming, but this is just another way to test the mental aptitude of athletes. If you can’t handle that in a controlled environment, you’ll never handle the pressures of the top sport and all the obstacles to be overcome at that level. Having a mental coach to talk you through problems as they occur as opposed to what you remember about them afterwards made an enormous difference. Sports psychology in action.

Many thanks must go to Adelinde, Tjalling, John and all of the Eco-Coaching team who were welcoming, exceedingly helpful and gave me 100% focus. Such good fun and so much learnt.