for the horse: As the ground gets better just go out for gallops, trot for say 5 minutes then walk, than canter for a bit. Slowly increase the time spend cantering and trotting until all you do is canter for a good solid distance. Thats how my mother and i have done it for years.

for you: for your stamina try jogging or if you have a pool available swim. Also try sit ups to help your abs. The best thing for getting your legs strong though is riding, ride as much as you can for as long as your horse can take it.

Don't forget to do a lot of stretching too. It will help prevent injuries. I like to do aerobics as well as jogging to keep fit. I do light weights about 3 days a week as well. I don't have to do as much exercising because I ride between 10 and 15 horses a day, and that gets me into decent shape to begin with. Ride without stirrups. Michael Page always tells me and his other students that one should be able to do a posting trot without their stirrups for 15 minutes without stopping. If you can ride more than one horse do it, it will help you get into better shape and make your legs and core stronger.

this is how i condition my horse : lots of trotting and circles, then cantering, small gymnastic lines with 2ft and under jumps, and once in a while i let him go for a nice long easy gallop.

I also do riding lessons once a week and that actually really helps the both of us.

And how i condition myself, is i do some yoga, then i do rowing, weights, sit ups with weights, then i walk then i run, then i do some more weights.

:)

i do a lot of no stirrup work along with riding a ton of horses ! also its a good idea to ride your horse twice a day sometimes to get them [& you !!] ready for showing =]