Are you a horse rider who is struggling with a lack of confidence, anxiety or nerves in your riding?
If the answer is yes then it is safe to say you are not on your own. Many horse riders suffer from a lack of confidence, anxiety of nerves. It doesn’t matter whether you are a seasoned professional, a complete beginner or somewhere vaguely in the middle at one time or another you may find your confidence dips.
This can be extremely frustrating if in the past you have considered yourself a confident rider and all of a sudden the tables have turned. There are a number of possible reasons why you may lack confidence and suffer from anxiety and nerves. One of the first questions you need to ask yourself is:
What makes you nervous when riding your horse?
There could be a number of answers to this question that perhaps include;
- A fall
- Negative experience
- Jumping
- Cantering
- Competing
- Riding a new horse
- After a break from riding
- Loss of control
- General anxiety and worry about riding, and negative ‘what if’ thoughts
I’m sure many will have their own reason to add to this list.
So now you have taken the first step in identifying the root cause for feeling anxious or nervous whilst riding, what do you do?
How can you conquer your fears?
How can you become the confident, calm and courageous rider you’ve always wanted to be?
In what way can you achieve your goals and ambitions?
It may seem like a huge roadblock to overcome, but it is all very achievable once you know-how.
I’ve developed a 3-step framework which will help you go from nervous, anxious and scared about riding, to becoming more confident, calm and positive.
Rider Confidence Framework
- Mindset Magic
- Confidence Toolkit
- The 4R’s
Let’s take a closer look in more detail about what my 3 step framework consists of and how it all works.
Mindset Magic
If you have been wondering how to create a new, positive, strong and sustainable mindset around your riding then you’ve come to the right place. Our mindset plays a huge part in how we feel when we are riding. If our mind is not in a positive place we often experience a lack of confidence. This ultimately puts us in our own way and prevents us from progressing with our riding and achieving our goals. In the first step of my programme, we discuss the mindset in great detail to give you a thorough understanding of:
- How your mind works
- How your mind keeps you stuck and makes your comfort zone get smaller and smaller
- What mindset is, and why it’s really important for riders
- Techniques to create a more positive mindset
- The principles that will help you in all aspects of your life, not just riding!
Confidence Toolkit
The second step in my programme is centered around my confidence toolkit. This looks at ways in which you can help yourself to push through those mental roadblocks holding you back with your riding. If you are looking to challenge those limiting beliefs that are holding you back, recover or rebuild your confidence and take your riding to the next level then my confidence toolkit shows you:
- A wide range of tools and techniques which will help you overcome negative thought patterns and negative emotions
- Exercises include NLP and sports psychology principles
- Dismounted and ridden activities to help you stay calm, positive, focussed and effective in the saddle
- How these can be applied to so many different scenarios and can be tailored to your own needs
The 4Rs
The third and final part of my programme is known as the ‘4R’s’. Understanding the concept of the 4R’s and what they mean will help assist you in the long term. It will show you how to coach yourself to continue building and maintaining a positive, calm and confident mindset around your riding.
‘So what are the 4R’s?’ I hear you say?
Well, in short, the 4R’s are:
Reflection – Looking at what went well in the past and how you can apply that to the future.
Resilience – The capacity to recover and bounce back after difficulties you may experience when riding.
Rest & Recovery – Restore, replace, repair and rest so you are ready to put in the best version of you into your next session.
This framework provides everything you need to overcome those mindset gremlins, fears and lack of confidence so that you can grow into the rider your horse needs you to be!
