Every sport in the world has a performance menu. Basketball has jump height data, speed metrics, rate of force development benchmarks.
Equestrian athletes? That menu didn’t exist.
Until now.
Bringing the Collegiate Model to Equestrian Training
Coach Sando worked in collegiate athletics where teams got it right. The strength and conditioning director, head athletic trainer, sports nutritionist, sports psychologist, tutors—everyone relevant to an athlete’s performance sat in the same room. They shared files. They coordinated.
The goal was singular: get the best athlete on the field every Saturday or Sunday.
“I loved the theory. I loved the application of it. I loved working with the team,” Tony explains. “I wanted to bring that to what Coach Sando Training is.”
The name itself comes from that collegiate environment. Not Tony Sandoval the person, but Coach Sando the program. A program refined and improved continuously over time.
The distinction matters. This isn’t general fitness. People recognize the word “fitness” but they don’t recognize “high performance.” That’s the gap.
Four Pillars of the Equance System
The high-performance system needed to stay simple. Four pillars that work together, not in isolation.
Pillar 1: Physical Preparation
Different types of strength matter. Stability. Balance. The things riders understand conceptually but need a systematic approach to develop.
This isn’t random exercise. It’s targeted training addressing the specific physical demands of riding.
Pillar 2: Mental Performance
Confidence doesn’t appear by accident. It gets built through deliberate practice.
The mental performance component includes improving show resilience, documenting shows, reviewing notes, and creating new goals. A continuous improvement cycle that keeps riders progressing.
Pillar 3: Nutritional Guidance
This isn’t the “Hey, lose weight” approach. Yes, weight loss can improve health and performance. But the sports performance approach asks a different question.
What do you need to be fueled properly so you can make the best decisions possible?
Nutrition helps with nerves. The adrenaline that burns calories and causes riders to hyperventilate themselves into tiredness. Most riders don’t eat before shows because they’re too nervous.
They think they need more cardio. Wrong diagnosis.
The problem is never just one thing. It’s a combination. The nutritional component coordinates with the training side. The nutritionist knows what riders are doing in their workouts. She provides enough calories for proper recovery while maintaining healthy weight loss when that’s part of the goal.
“We’re giving this athlete all of the tools necessary to make sure that they can accomplish their goal in spite of themselves,” Tony notes.
Pillar 4: Pain-Free Performance
The number of riders who compete hurt or have never been to physical therapy was alarming at first.
But addressing this gap made Tony a better strength and conditioning coach. The system has helped many people with injuries get back to riding. Not just riding again, but riding closer to their pre-injury levels.
Pain shouldn’t be part of the sport. It’s addressable.
The Technology Advantage: Data Where None Existed
Vald Performance, a company out of Australia, offers assessment solutions for athletes. Portable technology that brings lab-quality testing anywhere.
“We used to use different types of technology in the collegiate and professional realm, but they were never portable,” Tony explains. “One day I got a call from a friend who worked for the company. I was like, I know what all this is. You just needed to be in a lab to make this happen.”
The partnership started. Clinics began. Data collection had a purpose beyond just collecting data.
The goal: figure out what makes an equestrian athlete for a specific discipline.
Basketball has comprehensive data. Every sport has this menu you train to help athletes improve. Equestrian? Non-existent.
So Tony set out to travel to states that are riding hubs. Run clinics. Collect data. Build a scoring system that gives riders exact numbers.
What type of strength do you need? What’s happening with your body when you’re balancing? How far off is your asymmetry?
The data identifies the big rocks to focus on. Training plans become specific to the individual rider while focusing on the KPIs that actually improve riding performance.
The Assessment Process: From Video to Training Plan
When someone gets on a Zoom call with Coach Sando for the first time, riding videos come first.
Biomechanical assessment of the riding begins. People always ask: “Are you like a trainer? Are you going to tell me how I’m riding? Do you even have the expertise?”
Nope. That’s not the role.
“My role is to look at how you’re riding. Start diagramming some things so that you can see your asymmetry. Look at your horse and its movement and see how good the partnership is.”
Not the skill of what riders are doing. What the body looks like. What could potentially be causing asymmetries. Leaning one way or the other. Not looking balanced. Making the horse react a certain way. The horse comes with certain injuries or imbalances themselves.
That analysis pairs with a postural assessment done online since 2018. A series of postural pictures and movement screens that reveal what tools the body has to ride.
The correlation is 100%. What shows up off the saddle in movement screens is exactly what happens when riders are on their horse.
Can’t balance on one foot off the horse? Can’t balance on the horse.
Asymmetry gets a number now. How far off you are becomes quantifiable. That creates the training plan roadmap. It determines injury risk and how to design the program.
Integration: When All Arms Talk to Each Other
The mental performance coach knows what’s happening in training. The nutritionist knows what workouts look like and how many times riders are in the saddle each week.
Everyone communicates.
When weight loss becomes part of the goal because it will impact the horse, the nutritionist coordinates with the training side. Enough calories for proper recovery. The range where riders see healthy weight loss while everything else looks good.
The nutritionist also addresses consistency and the behavioral changes that need to happen.
One arm talking to the other arms. That’s how collegiate teams work. That’s what riders deserve.
Recovery: Better is Better (Not More is Better)
There’s resistance to training science in equestrian circles. “It’s never been done before” and “This sport has been doing awesome without it” come up constantly.
Tony’s defense? “You know what was also awesome back in the day? Outhouses. But somehow indoor plumbing made things cooler.”
Not saying what came before was an outhouse. Just that science develops. Training evolves. Methods improve overall athleticism.
Recovery means being able to meet the demands of life. Having the physiological ability to handle stress and the physical components that require recovery.
The program doesn’t preach blood, sweat, and tears. Riders don’t need to work at 100% of their 75% available capacity. That creates overspill.
Programs get mapped for optimal recovery. Workload gets managed. Training ties to how many times riders are in the saddle throughout the week.
The goal: every time you’re riding, you’re not clogged with stress or mentally tired.
Mental tiredness impacts reaction time. You’re not there when it matters. Most important? Your horse knows when you’re too stressed, tired, hungry, or fatigued.
Patience decreases. The ability to handle bad reps drops. Frustration increases.
Riders need high frustration tolerance when they’re on a horse. Then they can breathe. They can enjoy themselves.
Bad days happen. But proper recovery can manage most of them.
Recovery has three components:
Nutritional: Education on how to recover through eating well.
Mental: Performance journals that mental performance coaches assign. Somewhere to dump all your ideas so anxiety doesn’t build.
Physical: Proper workouts that help recovery. Dedicated routines for breathing certain ways, stretching certain ways, recovering from a nervous system standpoint.
What Riders Notice (And When)
Results vary by rider. But the staff shares messages clients send. Patterns emerge.
As early as one month, people notice something different.
“I’m noticing my leg is doing something that it hasn’t done before. I’m noticing I’m a lot calmer. I’m noticing that I have a lot more energy.”
That’s after one month.
They’re managing load. The amount of work they’re doing gets optimized. Riders are the toughest, hardest working athletes out there. They do crazy things under duress and adversity because they love their horse that much.
Sometimes Tony has to reel them in.
“If you do these things and I know it’s not going to feel like a workout, but I want you to think about it as a training session. It’s a tool.”
Follow the plan for a month. You’ll probably feel better. More health. More energy. More recovered.
“Oh my god, I feel so much better and I’m not even working hard.”
You are working hard. But your definition of hard work is “more is better.”
Coach Sando’s definition? Better is better.
General Fitness vs Sport-Specific Training
The strategies and methodologies aren’t groundbreaking in the sense that they’re new to sports science. They’re sports performance philosophies learned from colleagues, schooling, and experience.
What’s groundbreaking is the application to equestrian athletes.
The critical differentiation: being generally fit vs being fit to meet the demands of your sport.
People ask: “Does that mean Pilates is not good or yoga is not good or my general fitness classes, my Orange Theory?”
Those are great. Not saying they’re not good.
“But if you look at those classes, ask yourself how many of them own a dressage horse. They’re just not tailored for your sport, period.”
There are very specific things important for equestrian sport that need to be addressed by a professional. Otherwise it’s an oversight.
General fitness gets results. Of course you’re going to feel better.
But getting to the next level? Your horses do next level stuff. You want to match it by doing something more specific to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes the four-pillar system different from working with separate coaches for each area?
Integration. In the four-pillar system, the mental performance coach knows what’s happening in your training. The nutritionist knows your workout schedule and riding frequency. Everyone communicates and coordinates. One arm talks to the other arms. In traditional setups, your nutritionist doesn’t know what your trainer is doing. Your mental coach works in isolation. The four-pillar approach mimics how collegiate teams work: everyone shares files and focuses on one goal, which is your optimal performance.
How does data collection improve equestrian training when no baseline existed before?
Every sport has performance benchmarks. Basketball has jump height, speed, rate of force development. Equestrian athletes had nothing. Data collection through Vald Performance technology creates scoring systems that quantify strength needs, balance assessment, and asymmetry. You get a number that shows exactly how far off your symmetry is. That identifies the big rocks to focus on so your training plan addresses the specific KPIs that improve your riding, not just general fitness.
Why do riders who can’t balance on one foot off the horse struggle with balance on the horse?
There’s 100% correlation between what shows up in off-saddle movement screens and what happens on the horse. Your body’s tools for riding get revealed through postural assessments and movement screens. If you can’t perform a movement pattern on the ground, you can’t perform it in the saddle. The biomechanical limitations don’t disappear when you mount. Addressing them through targeted training improves on-horse performance.
How quickly can riders expect to see results from sport-specific training?
Many riders notice differences as early as one month. Common observations include legs doing things they haven’t done before, feeling calmer, and having more energy. These “newbie gains” come from proper load management. When you’re managing workload correctly and not overspilling your capacity, you’re healthier, more energized, and more recovered. Some riders are surprised they feel better without feeling like they’re working hard, but that’s because their definition of hard work is “more is better” when the actual standard should be “better is better.”
What does the pain-free pillar address that general fitness misses?
The number of riders competing hurt or who have never been to physical therapy is alarming. The pain-free pillar specifically addresses injuries and helps riders get back to riding closer to their pre-injury levels. This requires understanding equestrian-specific movement patterns, asymmetries that cause pain, and how rider physical issues create problems for the horse. General fitness doesn’t assess or address these sport-specific injury patterns.
Why don’t most riders eat before shows and how does nutrition solve this?
Most riders don’t eat before shows because they get too nervous. But nerves expend energy. Adrenaline burns calories and can cause riders to hyperventilate themselves into tiredness. They think they need more cardio when the real problem is fuel management. The sports nutrition approach addresses what you need to be fueled properly so you can make the best decisions possible. It also coordinates with training workload to ensure proper recovery while maintaining healthy weight loss when appropriate.
How does mental tiredness affect riding performance?
Mental tiredness impacts reaction time. When you’re mentally clogged or stressed while riding, you’re not fully present. Your horse knows when you’re tired, stressed, or fatigued. Patience decreases. Your ability to handle bad reps drops and frustration increases. Riders need high frustration tolerance to breathe and enjoy themselves on the horse. Performance journals provide mental dumping grounds to reduce anxiety. Workload management tied to riding frequency prevents mental exhaustion.
What’s wrong with the “if I ride more I get better” approach?
Riding is a skill-based activity that develops skill. Strength and conditioning develops the physical abilities to perform that skill. They’re not interchangeable. More riding doesn’t replace proper physical preparation just like shooting more basketballs didn’t help Michael Jordan beat the Pistons until he added strength and conditioning. Your horses do next level stuff. To match that, you need sport-specific training that addresses equestrian KPIs, not just general fitness that makes you feel healthier.
Why does the system focus on working at 75% capacity instead of pushing 100%?
You don’t need to work at 100% of your 75% available capacity. That creates overspill. Programs get mapped to suit recovery so riders understand workload management. Training ties to weekly riding frequency so you’re not mentally or physically exhausted when you need to perform. The goal is sustainable high performance, not grinding yourself into fatigue. Recovery is about meeting life’s demands while maintaining the physiological ability to handle stress.
How does rider asymmetry specifically affect horse health and performance?
Biomechanical assessment reveals how riders lean one way or the other, creating imbalances. These asymmetries make horses react certain ways or contribute to horse injuries and imbalances. When you can quantify asymmetry with actual numbers, you can design training plans that address the root cause. Your horse’s movement and partnership quality depends on your body’s symmetry. General fitness classes don’t assess or correct riding-specific asymmetries.
Key Takeaways
No sport has ever improved without adding the physical component. Basketball, soccer, golf—every sport changed when serious strength and conditioning entered the picture. Equestrian athletes deserve the same systematic approach that’s proven across all athletic disciplines.
Integration beats isolation every time. Having separate providers for nutrition, mental performance, and physical training without coordination is inefficient. The collegiate model works because everyone communicates and shares information with one unified goal: optimal athlete performance.
Data creates the menu that didn’t exist. Every sport has performance benchmarks and metrics. Equestrian athletes had none until portable technology made assessment possible. Quantifying asymmetry, balance, and strength needs transforms vague “get fitter” goals into specific, actionable training plans.
Off-saddle performance predicts on-horse performance with 100% correlation. What your body can’t do on the ground, it can’t do in the saddle. Movement screens and postural assessments reveal the tools your body has to ride. Addressing limitations systematically improves riding performance.
Recovery is not optional—it’s strategic. Working at 100% of your 75% capacity creates overspill. Proper workload management tied to riding frequency prevents mental and physical exhaustion. Your horse knows when you’re tired, stressed, or fatigued. Recovery from nutritional, mental, and physical standpoints keeps you present and capable.
Better is better, not more is better. Riders are hardworking athletes who will grind through adversity because they love their horses. But optimal performance doesn’t come from maximum effort. It comes from smart training that addresses specific KPIs while maintaining proper recovery.
General fitness gets general results. Pilates, yoga, Orange Theory—they’re all beneficial for general health. But ask yourself how many people in those classes own dressage horses. Sport-specific training addresses the unique demands of equestrian athletics that general fitness overlooks.
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