By: April Clay
Question:
I returned to the show ring last summer after more than a 20-year break! I had a couple of good shows, but there was one where my young and inexperienced horse threw something unexpected at me and stopped dead in a class and refused to move.
We got through the competition without being eliminated, but I was really rattled and was aware for the rest of the show that I was not a) riding as well as I could; b) being a good leader for my horse; or c) focusing on the task at hand when in the ring.
We muddled through, but muddle is really the key word - I just couldn’t get it back together! Our performance (mine and the horse’s) really showed it, too.
Next season, I don’t want to act like a rookie if something doesn’t go right. What can I do, other than school to the best of my ability, to prepare?
Answer:
Time away from the show ring can leave you out of touch with your riding ability. Many athletes become physically and mentally “rusty.” Because the experience of using your riding skills is so far away, you may feel doubt and a loss of confidence.
To begin with, I would suggest you recognize that, even though you have a lot of years of riding experience, you are in many ways beginning anew. Take some time to bring yourself back to the basics, as you need to be reminded of all the knowledge and skill you already have inside of you.
Even if it seems silly to review all the building blocks of riding and showing, I think you will find you emerge with a little more faith in what you do know.
It may also be helpful to attend as many small shows as you can, or even stage some mock shows at home if possible.
Even easier still, simply visualize yourself at show settings in your mind. See yourself in this environment riding effectively and coping with challenging situations. It is very likely you also need to reacquaint yourself with being in a performance setting.
As to what happened at the show, it seems to me that when your horse stopped unexpectedly it threw you completely off your game. However, it’s not unusual for horses (especially green ones) to throw a little of the unexpected our way. It’s one of the great challenges of horse sport. So don’t be too hard on yourself for this, but do try to figure out (if you haven’t already) why he might have behaved the way he did.
Do this so you can understand your horse’s performance and see if you can’t do some work to prevent such an occurrence in the future. Debriefing in this manner helps reaffirm that you are learning from past performances, and leaves you feeling as though you are more in control in your role as a rider.
As to the analysis of your performance, after this error occurred you had difficulty moving on and making the best of your ride. This can happen to amateur and professional riders alike, and is called “getting stuck in a mistake.” I think what this incident tells you is that you need to have a strategy in place for recovering from errors.
Sometimes this is difficult for riders and other athletes to learn, as in training we tend to stop and analyze mistakes when they occur. Often, we allow ourselves to start over again. This, of course, is to be expected, as you do need to understand how to improve.
However, we sometimes inadvertently end up training ourselves to “stop” instead of move on from mistakes.
I suggest to riders that they flag one day every one to two weeks that will be their “work through” day. On this day, the object is to practice moving on from errors. This helps to give you some experience in coping with things when they go wrong.
As to the strategy you will employ to help you move on, it us up to you to find out what works best. Some suggestions are: when a mistake happens, practice redirecting your focus back to the next element in your ride, with a key word, for example “slide” or “corner.”
You can try giving yourself a key phrase like “eyes forward” to remind you to look up and continue with your ride. A third strategy is to visualize yourself parking the mistake in a stall or putting it away in a bag for later analysis.
Whatever you choose, it is important that you practice using the strategy at home so it becomes a tool that you can confidently use when in the show ring.
Chartered psychologist April Clay is a former A Circuit rider and a member of the Canadian Mental Training Registry. She performs seminars and consultations in equine sports psychology including: Individuals or groups, On the ground or mounted, Email consultations. The perfect topic for your next association meeting! To find out more, call (403) 714-2529, email: april@bodymindmotion.com or visit www.bodymindmotion.com.
