During a practice jumping session at home last week a friend asked if I would like her to take some photos or video record a round. I’d raised a couple fences to around a metre and Frank was jumping nicely. As my friend produced her phone I laughed and said that whenever anyone got the camera out I tended to fuck up….ha ha! I jumped the practice fence and turned the corner for the two big ones. Frank lost concentration momentarily, I didn’t correct this and forgot to put my leg on. Instead of lift off we crashed through the whole lot…as you can see in the video. This has happened before to me…not just riding but snowboarding too and other occasions when I have tried to ‘show off’….I wonder how often it happens to others? This ‘observer effect’ happens, even when I KNOW it’s going to happen. In real competition though, I have ways of managing my nerves, the mental preparation I go through helps me cope with anxiety and reduce the debilitating effects of stress. The strategy I use is based primarily on mindfulness meditation which I have adapted for riding. This is a simple technique which controls nerves and anxiety by focussing on breathing and helps manage negative intrusive thoughts which can be so debilitating. Managing stress in competitive riding is so important. All riders suffer with nerves to a greater or lesser extent some suffer so badly that they can’t compete at all… at the other extreme some riders seem to thrive on the stress and use it to their advantage…to excel. Most riders are on a continuum between these two extremes. Competition can be so exciting, thrilling when we win or achieve a personal best. Many riders crave the challenge of competition or the adrenalin buzz of completing a XC course it’s a kind if addiction. The challenge can, however, become overwhelming and unless we use the adrenalin rush to our advantage it can mean the difference between winning and losing. There are all sorts of factors involved in success: dedication and hard work, practice, training, coaching, support, physical fitness, determination, having a good horse, being a good rider and so on. However, none of these elements either on their own or taken all together will be of any help if you can’t control your performance anxiety. The good news is that anxiety can be managed and turned to your advantage. There are a number of techniques that can be learnt so that they become second nature. Just as you might be able to improve physical fitness be improving stamina, strength and suppleness so you can improve your psychological health using a range of mental gymnastics. Many top class athletes acknowledge the inner game and most equestrians are aware of how the huge influence of how our mind affects not just our body but also that of the horse we are riding. Horses are acutely sensitive to our state of mind…. as riders we know this intuitively. As riders we are in a unique position among athletes in that we have two minds to control…one of which is attached to half a ton of horse. How we manage our anxiety and how we control our nerves is implicit in success.
The moment the camera comes out…. we were doing fine up until then. The fence was rebuilt and we went round again…
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Frank is such an honest horse. He rarely stops. . If I lose focus, forget to put my leg on or show any other lack of commitment then chances are he won’t commit either… especially if the jumps get a bit higher. Fortunately, for me Frank doesn’t worry too much if I fcuk up…second time around… and with a bit of vocal encouragement (more for my benefit than his) he popped over the fence as if nothing had happened. I think Frank manages to control his nerves quite well and is not too badly affected by a bad experience. When I was going round that second time I focused on my breathing… I knew we had jumped higher than this before and I knew we could do it again. I gave myself a mental kick up the ass, had a mental image of clearing the fence and forgot the camera. Relaxed and focused I trusted Frank to do the right thing and gave him the support to do it.
Only Joolz and Horses 