RIDER ANXIETY AT SHOWS

RIDER ANXIETY AT SHOWS

"How do you deal with rider anxiety (and in turn horse anxiety) when doing tests"? "How do you get to the point where your test is proactive not reactive (i.e. I can only think about current movement, rather than think ahead and prepare properly for next movement)"?

People experience competition anxiety for two main reasons. Firstly, their horse is tense in the competition environment or arena. Navigating a horse around a test whilst trying not to die in front of people is not fun! Secondly, people get anxious being judged and potentially criticized by the judges or people watching.

Therefore, my advice is to consider the horse first and get the horse confident and relaxed in the environment. This takes lots of exposure training to new environments of increasing intensity.

This will reduce the stress you are experiencing. The less stressed you are, the less reactive you will be. Then you can deal with the worry of being judged and criticized by others. You can do this a number of ways.

Firstly, be the supportive positive person at the event. Encourage and congratulate others. Tell people what they did well. Humans are wired to connect. We are wired to do good, be good. Being positive is contagious just as much as being negative and critical. So, choose to be positive and friendly and you will inspire others.

Secondly, have a clear purpose of why you are doing what you are doing. Be doing it for your horse and its training, not for ribbons. Learn to see the performance as feedback on your training. Heck, it is only a moment in time, it is certainly not a final report card that determines whether you can ride or train a horse, it is just a 6-7 minute snapshot!

Finally, practice. Practice riding tests, go to training days and small events. The more you do and experience the better you will get ❤‼