Hi Sherrie,  Congratulations on being one-year cancer-free. 

Equisearch.com has a series of articles on Rider Fitness Tips by Heather Sansom, including this one:

Fitness for Mature Riders

She offers great insights on achieving and maintaining fitness as the body ages.

I hope you and C enjoy many happy hours riding together.

Wow!  Thank you so much Jayne!  Today was my 2nd day working with him.  I am just sooo out of shape.  I cannot believe how tired I am and how shaky I was when I got off my horse today.  I felt like I had been riding for hours and hours, not just 1.5 hours.  It really whipped me. 

 See if you can hook up with any local AERC folks too.  My best friend races and she's about to move her horse up to 50's.  We are in NC, but she races in SC a lot as well, there's a pretty active circuit in the SE.  If you can get in with some good KNOWLEDGEABLE folks who practice good horsemanship, they are great.  Unfortunately, she ran into a lot of people when she was doing the 25's who were just plain bad horsemen, blew out lots of horses and did not practice good training.  Really, you should spend about two years putting miles on a horse and conditioning before you start racing and there are plenty of skills to learn as well so you're not one of those nutters on a horse who does not know how to steer or stop.  Riding a group, being passed or left behind by other horses, drinking on command, trotting out in hand, monitoring your horse's heart rate and respiration, etc.  

Solaris -

I have joined AERC facebook page.  I am one that does do my homework and reserach with anything new I start.  I also am huge into natural horsemanship.  I am actually a Parelli student, but I also watch and take advise/suggestions for a plethera of other horsemen/women as well.  It is very important to me that I form a healthy partnership with my horse before I do anything.  He is awesome on the ground and we are finally getting back to saddle work now. 

The friend that is helping me work out now is also into NH and has taken her horse from eventing to endurance.  That is why she is starting me now for a November race, to really condition us both.  But, she only did one ride and doesn't care to do any more.  And because of my cancer recovery and Lil' C's time off, just to finish the race will be fine with me!  I have no aspirations of anything right now but to ride.  I have read that it takes 3 years to really build up a good endurance horse, so this is our first stepping stone.   

I am glad to hear there is an active SE circuit.  I will start looking to see if there are many other people local here in Charleston that I can team up with.  Help and suggestions is what I am searching for.  Could you ask your friend if I can contact her? 

And thank you, Focus!  It is encouraging to hear that someone that rides regularly and jumps is sore.  Makes me feel better about my soreness today!

Sherrie

 I felt like that after 10 minutes on my new elliptical this morning!!

 Sent you a PM, Sherrie.