2012 Readers' Choice Award Winner - For almost 30 years, Pippa Hodge has been an advocate for the benefits of horses and therapeutic riding for riders with mental and physical disabilities. Originally from England and now living in Langley, BC, Pippa is a paediatric physiotherapist specializing in Clinical Hippotherapy and a founding member of the American Hippotherapy Association, an organization dedicated to educating and promoting excellence in the field of Equine Assisted Therapy.

2012 Readers' Choice Award Winner, outstanding horsewoman, entrepreneur, and mother turned great-grandmother, Dianne Tidball takes on everything at a full gallop. Her love of horses was kindled in childhood, when, growing up in 1930’s Shanghai, she took to riding a polo pony. During the Second World War, her Polish mother and British father relocated the family to Canada.

Mara's love for the horse and volunteerism within the horse industry was legendary. For six years, Mara was Vice President on the Canadian Equestrian Federation Board responsible for Breeds and Industry, founding member of the Canadian Horse Council, initiator of the Horse Industry Association of Alberta, regional representative and Board member of International Arabian Horse Association Half and Anglo Arabian Registry, and more.

For this article, I interviewed yoga for riders specialist Louise Sattler of Galloping Yoga. We discussed various concepts and exercises that come from the yoga tradition and align very nicely with sport and conditioning practices for developing flexibility. For a busy rider, the exercises below are accessible and easy to do almost anywhere.