Jec Ballou - Equine Athlete

In the second volume of her Equine Athlete series, Jec A. Ballou illuminates key pitfalls in most horses’ athletic development and provides guidelines for how to avoid them. The video uses compelling side-by-side images to illustrate for the viewer three key conditioning aspects that determine success when improving a horse’s movement: -Posture -Tempo -Structuring the Workout.  Breeds featured include Morgans, Andalusians, and Arabians. For more information, visit www.JecBallou.com. Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/JecAristotleBallou

Because of horses, Jec gets out of bed every day with a smile.

A popular presenter at Midwest Horse Fair, Mane Event, Western States Horse Expo, Southeast Equine expo and nationwide clinics, Jec Ballou delivers straightforward tools to help equine athletes across multiple disciplines. Combining an expertise in horse fitness and dressage, her methods deliver riders measurable success in an environment that prioritizes kindness to the horse. 

Widely appreciated as the author of best-selling 101 Dressage Exercises for Horse and Rider, Jec’s aim is to meet what she sees as an enormous need within the industry for simple, clear, and practical information. 101 Dressage remains one of the top sellers of all equine instruction books and has been translated into five foreign languages.

Jec’s second book, Equine Fitness, was named #2 among the best horse-related books by the American Horse Publications awards when it debuted. It has helped countless riders condition their horses for better performance and guided dozens more through rehab periods following injury or prolonged time off.

In her newest book 55 Corrective Exercises for Horses , Jec demonstrates how we can actively work to improve the horse’s posture and movement, whether he is an active performance or pleasure mount, an aging or older horse that benefits from gentle exercise, or one being rehabilitated. Ballou’s cross–training techniques are simple and accessible, and her guidelines for analyzing the horse’s posture and movement help readers develop their own training scheduled.

Most prominent in the dressage competition scene, she has trained and competed through the FEI levels but has also competed in long distance trail riding, Ride & Tie races, breed shows, and almost everything in between. She won three consecutive East Coast championships in distance riding, becoming the youngest rider in history to win the prestigious Vermont 100 Mile Competition. A proponent of interdisciplinary study, she serves as an advisor to the Western Dressage Association of America. 

Jec’s lifelong study of classical dressage includes ten intensive training residencies in Portugal, two training residencies in Holland, and one residency in Germany with the late Egon von Neindorff along with three trips to Australia to study under Manolo Mendez. She herself is also an athlete, competing regularly in ultra-marathon races and mountain biking, and enjoying backcountry adventures.