A horse rider who founded her business after a life-changing fall has built a successful company helping others regain confidence and control in the saddle.
Clare Henry launched RiderCise in 2016, three years after a terrifying accident with her horse Annick that left her with a concussion and shattered her confidence.
The fall helped the 41-year-old, who had been working as an Executive PA and private personal trainer, realise that being fit wasn’t the same as being rider-fit.
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“In 2013, I suffered a fall from my horse Annick that changed my life,” Clare, who lives in the UK, told Founder Insights.
“The wind blew the label on my new back protector and Annick took off around the arena at speed and with such power.
“I couldn’t stop her. My saddle slipped and it sent Annick bronching.
“I hit the floor hard and as she came past, her hind hoof kicked the peak of my hat.
“She missed my face by centimetres.”
The moment Clare looked up and saw a worried looking Annick standing at the gate changed everything.
“My heart broke,” she said.
“I wasn’t worried about me. I was worried about her. I knew then that I had to help her, I needed to be better.”
Clare, who had qualified as a personal trainer in 2004, spent years building her own fitness but the fall proved she wasn’t conditioning herself with riding in mind.
She said: “As a fitness specialist, I spent years working on myself to ensure I was strong, lean and had an aesthetic look to my body.
“However, that experience proved to me that I wasn’t conditioning myself with riding in mind. I wasn’t holding up to my side of the partnership.”
It took Clare about a year to feel comfortable riding Annick on her own again.
The fall destroyed her confidence and at first she wouldn’t ride without being led or on a lunge line.
“I never want to feel that way again,” she said.
“I never want to see Annick worried or scared. Ever.”
RiderCise now offers sport-specific off-the-horse training programmes that develop horse riders to be stable, able and confident in the saddle.
Clare’s core clients are women aged 45 and over who have lost their confidence and control over their bodies.
Her breakthrough came in 2017 when she trained Sally Toye for the Mongol Derby.
Sally became the first Brit home in 11th place and suffered no aches, pains or injuries in the 1,000km race across the Mongol steppes on semi-feral ponies.
“That gave me real confidence in my entrepreneurial skills,” Clare said.
In 2021, she launched the first Rider Specific WOD Platform.
The business has adapted over the years, with Clare keeping track of trends while remaining focused on sport-specific equestrian programme design.
“The biggest reward is seeing riders transform to the riders they knew they were,” she said.
“Getting messages from people saying how you’ve helped them change is heart-warming but most of all, I know that those horses are now living a life where they are no longer having to compensate for their rider.”
Clare now runs her business full-time, focusing on Facebook advertising to reach riders who need help.
“Being the best I can be for my horses and helping others achieve the same,” she said.
“Riding is a privilege and I think that many people have forgotten this.”
