Pilates for horses: Henry de Bromhead's secret to the successful jumper

There are not many trainers whose horses improve for the switch to fences quite like those of Henry de Bromhead, and the trainer has revealed that the secret to his success is dressage.

Talking to the Racing Post as part of a wide-ranging feature interview in Sunday's newspaper, De Bromhead said he radically altered the way his horses are trained to jump after reflecting on the injury that perhaps cost Sizing Europe victory in the 2008 Champion Hurdle.

"The point-to-pointers are so well schooled that half of our job is already done," he said. "You just have to keep them agile and nimble. I don't think any horse can jump a fence unless they arch their back so you're trying to keep them as agile as possible.

"Dressage is great for them, not only mentally but agility-wise as well. You're getting their head in on front and their backside in behind them. Mentally, they're not galloping up a gallop every day. They go off and do this dressage work some days.

"I think it's the same as Ryan Giggs and Brian O'Driscoll talking about pilates. I really do. It's about their core. If you look at showjumpers, it's all dressage they're doing in between their jumping. The more they can stretch their backs, the more likely they are to jump well. You have to try new things. Some work, some don't, but you have to try."

Notebook: massive improver since he was sent chasingCredit: Patrick McCann

The results are clear to see. Special Tiara went from being rated 116 over hurdles to winning the Queen Mother Champion Chase and this season's revelation Notebook looks like he is on a similar trajectory. But it was another outstanding jumper, Sizing Europe, who inspired the unusual training regime.

"It was deflating," De Bromhead said when asked how he felt after that Champion Hurdle 12 years ago, in which Sizing Europe was 2-1 favourite and went from travelling best of all coming down the hill to finishing 14th of 15 after suffering a lower back injury.

"I was gutted, but it's just part of racing. What we have learned from that has been massive. Doing the pilates for horses has been huge for us. If you can learn lessons out of these things, then great."

Read more from Henry de Bromhead in The Big Read, available to members from 6pm on Saturday or in Sunday's Racing Post newspaper. Join Members' Club here