Stop beating yourself up!
That voice inside your head, yes the one that tells you that you’re not good enough? It’s lying to you. That voice that asks you ‘why can’t you just do it?’. It’s lying to you. That voice that watches other riders and says ‘You’ll never be able to ride like that’....
Watch your language
How often do you say “I should ride” or “I should have done X, Y, Z”? In my opinion, ‘should’ is one of the most tricky words we can use. By saying ‘should’ we instantly make ourselves feel inadequate, less that good enough and guilty. By using ‘should’ we basically...
How to stop thinking ‘what if’ when riding your horse
Do you ever think ‘what if' when you're riding or about to get on board? What normally follows ‘what if? Well, depending on your perspective, common phrases include: ‘What if I fall off?’ ‘What if he bucks?’ ‘What if he takes off with me?’ ‘What if I look like a...
The Role of Fear for Riders
The root of the majority of rider confidence issues is fear. Fear of failure Fear of being judged Fear of letting people down (or your horse!) Fear of not being good enough Fear of getting hurt Fear of an unknown outcome Fear of the worst case scenario It has...
Set yourself up for riding success
All too often, I meet riders who lack self-belief and confidence, who have this bizarre drive to step so far out of their comfort zone that they’re either frozen with terror or become all gung-ho. It’s as if they are so desperate to overcome their fears that they jump...
Get out of your own way
When we get stuck, it’s really easy to try and find coping mechanisms to make us feel better. Finding less difficult things to do than the thing we’re stressed about. Procrastination is a common coping mechanism in all sorts of ways, for example spending so much...
Who’s in your team?
“We are the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with” Jim Rohn As horse riders, it’s essential that we surround ourselves with people who support and challenge us to be the best we can be. All too often in the horse world, I come across people who are at...
Overcome anxiety about riding in front of other people
I know lots of riders who really struggle to ride their horses when other people are watching. Collecting rings can be the most intimidating places for riders! My favourite advice in relation to this issue is ‘control the controllables’, which I think originated from...
Overcoming anxiety and overthinking around your riding
Are you an ‘overthinker’? If you are, bet the niggly, negative voice in your head never shuts up. I bet it’s filled with a whole heap of ‘what ifs’, ‘shoulds’ and ‘can’t’. Maybe your mind is spinning with those hurtful thoughts like a washing machine on a spin...
What do you want to do?
What do YOU want to do? Not what everyone else thinks you should do. Not what your yard buddies think. Not what your coach tells you. Not what your friends and family think you ought to do. Not what you think you SHOULD do. What do YOU want to do with YOUR horse? ...
So what are you afraid of?
So come on, what are you really afraid of… Falling off? Getting hurt? What other people think? Looking like a fool? Upsetting or hurting your horse? Being out of control? All of the above?? As humans, fear is an entirely natural and important emotion, as it is...
You’re one decision away from being a confident rider
It’s easy to forget, but in any given moment, you can choose to think, feel and act differently. Those stories that you’ve told yourself for years? They’re not real. Lacking self-belief because someone in a position of authority 10 years ago once told you that you...