- It my first show in many, many years
- It is my first time taking Spencer off the property for an event
- It has been harder to ride at home than I expected. More on that below…
To try and come up with some strategies to help my nerves, I’ve been reading “Inside your Ride: Mental Skills For Being Happy and Successful with Your Horse” by Tonya Johnston and it has a lot of great ideas and strategies. One big thing is preparation – not just of your equipment – but your riding and training as well.
I’ve got the tack preparation pretty well sorted out, but the riding part has been lacking. I’m a bit disappointed in myself, but I didn’t really have a clear idea of how my ring/nerves would hold up now that I have him back at home. It would have been ideal to keep him at the boarding stable until the first show, but that wasn’t really financially feasible at the time.
I’ve been thinking over my goals for the show and I’m feeling ok about things. The riding won’t be stellar, but I have lots more shows to improve on that. For now, my goals/focus are going to be on the following:
- preparing my tack, clothing and horse (banding, bathing, etc.) to the best of my ability – there is a learning curve here, but I feel fairly comfortable with 99% of it. A friend is coming over Sat. evening to help get Spencer ready
- focus on the in hand classes and use those to calm my nerves and get used to the environment
- create a good off-property experience for both of us as a team
- use the riding classes to get used to riding in a show environment with other people and distractions. Spencer has been shown for years, so he knows what to do. I need to work on trusting him and focusing on my riding.
5 comments:
Those sound like good goals. You know how often horses that you think might be spooky at shows are actually just fine? I found the same thing can apply to us. I was nervous for sure but it's like there was so much going on I just had to focus on what I knew how to do.
I also just tried to accept the fact that I was full of nerves and mentally scoff at them. More like an annoying mosquito - ya, ya, you're there, go away now.
Whatever happens you will come out of it that much wiser about the process and how things work. Getting over those mysteries is half the battle.
Also, give yourself some credit. You know how to ride and that's what you're there to do :-)
Sounds like you have a good plan, good luck and remember to breath
Excellent goals! And that is fantastic that you will get a sand arena. Much safer footing and sands drains very well!
Good luck and can't wait to hear about the show!
Oh yes, fernvalley is right - breathe! I used many and frequent long, deep breaths while waiting in between rounds. It made husband nervous but allowed me to try to regulate my internal turmoil!
You are going to be great, I wish I could be there.
You are so fortunate in that your place was set up pretty good for you & horses but is also flexible enough to change things, like the ring location :)
Post a Comment