'If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough’
‘Think of the horse, not yourself’: rider loses nine stone to get back on board
A rider who lost over nine stone as she felt too big to ride her horse is now back in the saddle, which was the motivation to keep going.
Abbi Newton was 23st 3lb at her heaviest, in September 2021, but by the following summer had lost enough to ride her thoroughbred-warmblood mare May. She is now 13st 9lb, and as determined as ever.
Abbi told H&H she has ridden since she was tiny but her weight increased gradually until she felt it was not fair to ask May to carry her weight. But of course when that exercise stopped, her weight increased even more.
“Mum was riding and competing her and it felt so bad, it kicked my backside into losing weight so I could get back on her,” she said.
“All the bad stuff was out, and the good stuff in; I joined the gym and swam three or four times a week and was out walking. It was willpower, and the thought of riding; I just wanted to be competing again.”
By July last year, Abbi had reached her goal riding weight.
“It felt unbelievable,” she said. “It was so good to be back on board and her face was like ‘My mum’s back’. I started riding and doing fitness work and we shared the competing.”
Abbi added that she did not “go on a diet”; it was a lifestyle change that she will maintain.
“I still have things to enjoy; you can’t cut everything out or you end up going wrong,” she said. “I’m ‘good’ 90% of the time, and I’m sticking to it.
“I feel so much better, I’ve gone from wearing horrible loose-fitting black stuff and hiding myself to being out in my Fairfax & Favor boots. It feels nice to want to be in front of people instead of hiding away all the time.”
Abbi said her competition goal now is to reach the British Riding Club championships, as she had done before her weight gain.
“The biggest thing was horse welfare,” she said.
“I thought it couldn’t have been nice for her, carrying me around, it wasn’t fair on her. You have to think of the horse, not yourself, it’s so much better for her now.”
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