Halfway through a dressage lesson a few weeks back, I was struggling. My legs were killing me, I was huffing and puffing, and I could already tell that my right triceps were going to be useless until at least Tuesday.

This, in itself, is not that remarkable—I spend a lot of time struggling in dressage lessons, and I’m not sure my horse feels much better about them.

“Lengthen your lower leg! Wrap your legs around her!” my trainer said, for what had to feel like the 50th time.