An Equestrian's Entire Routine, from Waking Up to Saddling Up | Allure

i've actually had my teeth knocked out of place twice so i've had several several injuries over the years hi my name is sanovia stewart i'm an equestrian and this is how i work it i'm going to take you through 24 hours of my beauty and wellness routine so i've been equestrian for over 20 years i started riding when i was around six or seven years old i've won countless ribbons over the years and done two performance medals in 2017 my horse got horse of the year typically my shows are on the weekends but i also have a full-time job working in the biotech pharmaceutical industry i've learned to kind of balance it but it is a little bit difficult to balance a full-time job as well as competing in dressage i also have a farm where i grow industrial hemp and different vegetables so it's hard to kind of keep all of that together but i just kind of make it work so i'm just waking up in the mornings i typically have some water um beside my bed got some alkaline water and i'll just take a few steps try to wake myself up a little bit the first thing i like to do is just kind of lay there and think about what all i need to do for the day and get my thoughts organized from there i go ahead and shower for the day i do put quite a heavy emphasis on washing my face and making sure that my pores are clean so i use this biore rose quartz with charcoal and it really kind of gets down deep i really like it because i sweat a lot when i'm riding horses or just outside in general my biggest thing that i have a recurrent issue with is styes so i really have to make sure that i keep my face clean around my eyes because that is something a skin issue that i have that's chronic so i actually will place a piece of fat back meat and i'll place it on my eye and hold it there for about 10 minutes or so and the salt within the meat will kind of draw that infection that's in under the skin and it'll draw it out and typically the style will be gone within a day or two i got the idea from my grandmother she's got a lot of old school remedies and that's one that i've found that's worked for me as far as body washing two different things so first thing i use is dr miranda's castile soap with hemp and lavender it's organic it's got lots of different oils in it the organic coconut oil palm kernel oil olive oil hemp oil the jumbo oil it has lots of things in it's great i love it also i use this dove dental exfoliating beauty bar as well as far as my hair when i'm out on the farm or at the barn i typically will pull my hair to the back and just have it in a ponytail but i want to make sure that my hair is nice and moisturized in the morning i have found that this line of products smooth shine it has black seed oil and coconut oil i use it both in conjunction with each other so this is just kind of like a serum a protective gel i have to make sure i keep my hair moisturized and on particularly hot days i'll usually have a bandana to kind of absorb some of that sweat so that my hair is not wet all day when i'm outside in the heat most importantly before i go outside is i use sunscreen i know a lot of people don't use sunscreen but i definitely think that's very important i just use a generic sunscreen this is from walgreens at 50 spf i have a facial sunscreen for my face and then i just have spray for the rest of my body i definitely put on deodorant because i'm going to be outside sweating quite a bit the type that i like to use is secret clinical with charcoal i've found that it really lasts throughout the day i don't have to reapply or anything it's a good deodorant then i also use a deodorant called lume that's a different type it's the consistency of a lotion that's a deodorant that you can put other places and i don't know a proper way to say it but i use the lume deodorant between my legs to try to keep odor down so basically lume is a crotch deodorant this is advertised as pits feet and privates in equestrian you will experience injuries one way or another over the years i've actually had my teeth knocked out of place twice plastic surgery done on my lip because of the hole that went through my lip and i hit a jump head first i've also shattered my ankle that was back in 2012 so i had to have surgery i've got a plate and screws and i've had several several injuries over the years for breakfast in the morning i typically keep it kind of light so i do really like raisin bran up like that since i was a kid i use almond milk so this is just the unsweetened version i probably haven't drank regular milk in quite some time also i do these probiotic dailies for my stomach health i got this little mini cantaloupe so i just kind of threw that in there for the morning got this from our local community garden if it's a morning that i've got a little bit more time i'll actually do cook a breakfast and do bacon and eggs typically those come from the farm so i try to keep my diet locally sourced when you're riding horses you don't want to eat a lot of fatty things and just junk food because it really kind of just makes you feel crappy so you want to feel on top of your game so eating nice wholesome vegetables and meats that's very important to being able to maintain health and ride the first thing i do once i've gotten ready for the day is to take care of whatever chores i have on the farm so i do like to have a nice big hat on to kind of keep the sun out of my face living on a farm for me i really love it it's quiet it's laid back but there is quite a bit of work that's associated with living on a farm different tasks that i may do prior to work it could be watering plants it could be setting up irrigation it could be bush hogging which is basically mowing with a tractor it could be plowing or cutting up fields to get the land ready certain times of the year you're picking vegetables one day on the farm is never the same typically i spend an hour hour and a half at the farm and then i change into my riding clothes typically what that is is riding breeches a belt boots i try to keep baby wipes and clean towels just to be able to wipe my face while i'm at the barn because i'll be sweaty and dirt everywhere i also keep bug spray that's very very important in the summertime because there's horse flies there's deer flies ticks i put fly spray on my horse and then i also put insect repellent on myself as well with my horse he actually has his own beauty and wellness routine so i have to brush him put show sheen on make sure he's nice and shiny clean his hooves put hoof conditioner on they can get sunburned especially on their nose so i put a little sunblock on his nose to prevent sunburn if he does get scabs from sunburn i actually just use this zinc oxide decitan baby rash formula and that'll clear it right up another item that i use is gallstown i use this on the areas where he's kind of scratched his hair off and i found that it actually helps in growing the hair back pretty fast and so i do all these things prior to riding to make sure that he's comfortable and clean before we start from there we will go ahead and practice and so we work on different movements that are going to be in our upcoming dressage tests and really try to refine those movements with dressage it's typically it's in the arena and it's kind of mundane but to give my horse a little bit of variety and flavor to the training i do some cross training where i take him out on the trail before we even start get some scenery so that he doesn't feel like he's just stuck in an arena i just wanted to kind of warm up his legs and let him have a little free time and free up his brain before we head into the arena and start practicing for the show tomorrow my horse is very opinionated and he will let me know if he needs a little bit of variety or something different in his routine typically i can tell by his ears if a horse puts his ears back you can tell that something's bothering him it's sometimes just i know i can just look at him and tell that he's stressed and i need to do something different when i practice i typically do about 45 minutes to an hour which is basically an exercise session with my horse and we work on the different movements that we're going to have in our dressage tests my coach she comes by once a week and we have an hour session where we really refine some of those movements and i get some assistance with that once i've finished practicing the first priority is to take care of my horse so he gets a little cookie after we work he's a little chunky but i get a little teeny piece take all of his tack off the saddle the bridle and then typically like in the summertime he needs a shower down to really cool down so i'll give him a shower since this would be a day before the show i would actually take it a step further and give him a full bath he's got lots of products i actually use human products on him to get him really nice and shiny and clean prior to a show so once he finishes having a bath i'll move forward to braiding him uh [Music] that does take quite a bit of time for the longest time i was not able to make proper braids but i finally learned how to braid and it takes me about an hour my horse he's a good sport about it he stands still and lets me braid his hair once i finish braiding his hair i do have to put something on to protect it the technical term for that is a sleazy i actually just call it a do rag for the horse and so it goes over his mane up under his legs and stays on there so that the braids stay intact my horse is very mischievous and he will try to rub his braids out prior to a show so that's something that i definitely have to put on to ensure that his braids are fresh for the next for the next day once i have my horse clean i've washed his legs i've braided him i need to clean my equipment so that all of that is ready to go for the next day once i have that done i actually go ahead and pack the trailer so i put my equipment on there and then i also have to bring a lot of items for my horse since i'll be traveling with him water hay i have to make sure that his bedding is in there and i just make sure the day before show that i've got everything ready to go so that the next morning i can just back my truck up hook up the trailer put the horse on and head to the show it is about time for me to go to work so i'm about to clean up a little bit and change into my work clothes and head to work i start work at 1 30 pm and i get off work at 10 pm i have to make sure everything is done prior to work for lunch i typically will have made something the day before and i just do meal preps when i do that i typically will cook a lot at one time one of my go-to lunches would be smoked salmon with corn and squash just whatever really i have harvested that week so off to the next adventure i'm gonna head to work my shift is second shift so i work 1 30 to 10 pm luckily i've gotten everything done that i need to for the show tomorrow i head home after that and i try to really wind down at that point i am back home now from work and i'm about to stretch then i'm going to take a shower i'm going to take care of my hair my face all that and i'm going to sleep definitely the day before show i need to stretch i focus on my hip flexors and my hamstrings to really just kind of loosen my body up so that i'm able to ride properly i have a very bouncy horse so being stretched out that makes it just so much easier the next day once i'm off at 10 pm i try to keep it light so i'll typically often i eat the same thing that i had for lunch so if i've got some salmon and whatever vegetables that i picked today i'll just eat that for dinner i do shower twice a day especially in the summertime if i'm sweating i'm out on the farm or riding all that similar process to in the morning i wash my face in the shower with the biore rose quartz and charcoal which this is similar to the product i use after i freshen it up from riding and i do a heavy emphasis on washing my eyelids to try to prevent styes body wash shavers this morning dr bronner's castile soap with him the lavender once i get out of the shower i'm gonna brush my teeth take care of my hair and i am going to bed because it's been a long day and i've gotta be like super early in the morning as far as taking care of my hair at night i moisturize again i use a few different products at night time i use the same one as is from this morning the smooth shine it's kind of like a serum gel that goes on to the hair and it just kind of locks in moisture for my dry scalp i grease my scalp and this is bronzer brothers double strength super grow and last but not least i also have this serum it's called grow it back i have had shedding and stuff right now my hair is doing pretty good but i do use it because it's got really good ingredients and then i also will put on a satin bonnet to really protect my hair while i'm asleep okay guys tomorrow is the big competition day i want to thank allure for following me around today and we'll also see you tomorrow all right good night the day of a competition i typically get up quite early it depends on whatever ride time i have for the day typically i'll have a morning ride time which would mean i'm getting up around 5am and heading to the barn as far as a beauty routine before a show with my hair it doesn't really matter because i'm gonna sweat it out anyways but i make sure that i pull it back and i actually have a hair net for shows so that i just pull it back into a barrette and have a net on it so that it looks nice and neat when i'm competing it's not important that i put on makeup or anything like that you're sweating there's dirt everywhere and it really just would kind of get in the way so i just don't even bother i just don't put on makeup the first thing i do is i check my truck box and i make sure that i have everything i need in case there's a roadside emergency i make sure i've got my air compressor in there i've got jumper cables i've got a jack spare tire make sure everything is there because it's very important if you're traveling with a horse to be self-sufficient and be able to take care of things if they arise from there i hook the trailer up i got the hitch hooked up i just need to let it down using a little wd-40 then i go check my horse and the day before i will have washed him and washed his legs but typically he will have played in mud the night before so i've gotta i've re-washed his legs again and then i put protective boots on him in the trailer so these are zema's shipping boots i put them on to protect his legs on the trailer just in case he was to nip it on something or he likes to do things like that too from the day before i will have already pretty much packed everything so it's just a matter of hooking the trailer up checking my horse out and getting him on the trailer getting ready to head to the show before a show i like to get pumped up by listening to music luckily i live way out in the country so i can blast it as loud as i want to not necessarily any genre it could be hip hop it could be country classical just whatever i'm in the mood for to kind of stimulate my brain before heading to a show once i first arrive the first thing i have to do is go check in with the show management i have to show paperwork that shows that my horse has been vaccinated and he's healthy and i sign in i get my number that will go on his bridle so i got zuma off the trailer and we are getting ready to put the saddle on so a lot of my day with the horse is actually beauty and wellness for him because i want to make sure that he looks top-notch when we're in the arena and a lot of people in equestrian they do have their own groom i don't have my own groom and i think that it's actually helpful in the bond with the horse to really be involved and completely involved with your horse prior to a competition so my moments right before i go into the show arena is i like to take several deep breaths because i get anxious sometimes well pretty much all the time if i'm showing so i like to take a deep breath and really calm down and think about the pattern that i'm about to ride in the dressage test and then right before i head in the arena i just say a little prayer and then i just kind of smile and and get into it with my horse once we're in the show arena there was a point where i kind of sat back and reflected and i was like oh wow i'm doing quite a bit for my horse but i'm not quite taking care of myself and so i've learned to make sure that i'm taking care of myself and my horse over the years but it has taken some time to get that balance there i typically i make sacrifices for my horse but i have to remember that i have to take care of myself for my horse to be able to be taken care of the most challenging part of my career would be to keep that balance and bond with my horse even though i have a lot of other things going on that's very very important in dressage you and your horse really need to have an understanding to be able to dance together and compete and so it is challenging with the farm and my full-time job to really keep that bond with my horse and that understanding i have had some naysayers over the years about making a career out of equestrian and continuing to ride throughout my adult years a lot of people have like they see me and they're like oh you're still riding horses i'm like yes i'm still riding horses a lot of people think that equestrian is kind of a phase and something that you'll age out of and that just has never happened to me being an equestrian and particularly in dressage it's just a passion of mine and i think that i'm gonna be doing dressage until the day i die all right it's almost lights out it's been a long day i've gotta get up quite early tomorrow so i am about to go to sleep but thank you allure for following me around today good night

Channel: Allure

Views: 119,041

Rating: 4.9721155 out of 5

Keywords: african american equestrian, african american horse rider, allure, black equestrian, black horse rider, day in the life equestrian, dressage training, entire routine, horse rider, scnobia stewart, work it, work it allure

Id: DAPjj3fJTeQ

Length: 18min 35sec (1115 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 18 2021