“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me” – Agree or disagree??

I disagree vehemently. Words have power.. and the more power you give to words, the more they can help or hurt you.

Something I am slowly learning is to quell the monsters in my head and to have more belief in my own abilities, and to give myself credit when it is due. Being a perfectionist, I would be really hard on myself.. to the point where I could not let go of a mistake and would beat myself up over it. Nowadays, I have learnt to let it go a little more (maybe from hearing that song play on the radio 600 million times!). If I make a mistake at a jump, I worry a lot less about it knowing that I don’t have to make the same mistake at the next jump.

A student of mine the other day said “I know I get nervous when I ride and I know I have to get over it”… but in her next breath, she then says “I think I want to buy a pony as opposed to a bigger horse, as I am a nervous rider.”

Now, words have power. The more power you give them, the more it becomes reality. If you keep telling yourself you are a nervous rider, then that is what you probably will end up being for the rest of your riding career.

This is one of those times where you have to fake it until you make it. Reprogramme your thinking, reprogramme your thought processes. Instead of saying “I am a nervous rider”, you can say “I am working on being more confident as a rider” or even better “I am a confident rider”. It is really mind over matter!

It is all part and parcel of trying to get your brain to work with you, not against you. There have been many times also where I have gotten on a horse and been so preoccupied with other things in my head, things that I am stressing about, that I have not been focused on my ride… which inevitably turns the ride to s*** too.. I end up making mistakes and then getting more upset and it is a vicious cycle.

That is not fair, for the horse or the rider! All that other s*** will still be there when you get off your horse.

So, make sure that you don’t give your words too much negative power… Enjoy your ride and live in the moment!!!!