Sports Pysch Thread

[LEC]

I absolutely loathe the word confidence - its so meaningless so hence my title is avoiding that. If you asked 100 people to break down what they mean by confidence then there would be a myriad of answers, yet it gets bandied round as a one size fits all answer.

I thought this thread could be a cool little thing to share experiences on working to improve your mindset as sometimes it only takes reading one thing to strike a spark which results in success. Competing in horse sport is hard, especially as an amateur. I think we all can suffer from mindset issues around the sport so throught I would share some of my experiences. I am pretty interested in the subject as well so shared experiences are useful.

My issue is eventing Sjing - I know its my weak phase and I am guilty of not working hard enough to improve it. Last year I had worked hard to get to my first 2* and it ended in disaster having completed 90% of the course clear. I had two jumps left to go and managed to fall off, pretty humiliating. The one thing I have in abundence is resillience. I spoke to my trainers who watched the videos and told me my Sjing canter was off, my trainers don't pat me on the back and say well done, I got the hard truth. I am also on a careful horse who bottled it as just lost her confidence from being slightly off in the canter and having to work harder. Weirdly the thought which ran through my mind as going round was OMG I am still clear and nearly at the end and then I fell off. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and though I had done a lot right, there were things I could have done better.

So here are the things I have learnt:
1) I am a planner. I need a plan. I had some sports pysch sessions before and the one thing we really worked on was the concept of 'walk and talk'. I now have a plan for the warm up. I make a plan while walking the course - the walk bit and I say my plan out loud as it cements it better in your mind - the talk bit. I spend much longer visualising my course walk as the one thing we discussed was that I can learn a dressage test weeks in advance and practice it, xc I always walk around in about 45 minutes but its 45 minutes of just thinking about xc and coming up with a plan and yet Sjing I would walk the course and do maybe 5 mins of having a rough plan. Every SJing round now has a plan unless I am training but I still try and plan more than I did. After all practice makes perfect.

2) I listened to a Sam Watson podcast and he is someone who had Sjing disasters at world level. He said he went home and has worked hard at being better. His method was to do more polework and cavaletti. I don't have loads of horses so don't want to put mileage on their legs. So now I do this. It can be incorporated in flatwork. He has a thing where he has to jump a pole accurately 10 times. If he fails he starts again. Then he keeps increasing it. Such a simple thing but will train your eye and not put any wear and tear on the horse. I am now much more disciplined in my training. I also listen to a lot of podcasts as I find them quite motivating and I watch a lot of videos of the top riders jumping.

3) I joined BS - Last year I would do the odd bit on a ticket and unafililiated SJing over 1.10m but nothing prepared me for international arenas with full track at 1.15m. I had gone to a 3 day show BS where I jumped a massive 1.10 single phase which ended at 1.20m but this was built up to with 1m courses and 1.05m over 3 days. Unafiliated is not the same and I need to travel around to more venues and jump bigger at BS. It is hard, really hard. I am on a tight budget and have limited time but I prioritised it over actually eventing as what is the point of eventing if you are not good enough and still getting stressed by Sjing?

4) I accept mistakes happen. I used to HATE it when things went wrong in training. Now I am much more accepting of it (I still don't like it) and then work hard to make sure it doesn't happen again. If another mistake happens I would be furious with myself if it was the same mistake as been too lazy to sort it. I spend a lot of money on training. I would rather train to a higher quality and compete less to make when I compete better.

5) I have spent 6 months really working on my position. Its still nowhere near where it needs to be but its getting better. I have to think about it everytime I jump as one of my terrible habits was I could get unbalanced and be slightly in front and on their shoulders. I have worked out through watching hours of videos that its all about the hips - not the shoulders. My arms are next as want them to be softer and I tend to have chicken elbows. Its a free thing we can work on by ourselves but has huge implications.

6) Finally if you are not bored to tears yet, I was watching the Michael Jordan last dance documentary and they said what made him the amazing athlete he was, was that he always stayed present.
' Most people struggle to be present. They meditate and visit ashrams. Most people live in fear because we project the past into the future. Michael Jordan was never anywhere else. His gift was that he was completely present and that was the separator.' XC I always stay present and for dressage but I am terrible at not for Sjing. So this is another thing I am going to work really hard on. On the whole I am really good at being present but I am determined to be in the moment. I think riders like Andrew Nicholson are very good at it. They don't worry about the past, or the future. They just ride what they are sat on and deal with that day and round.

Covid and lame horses have absolutely screwed everything this year eventing wise, but I have a plan and I am patient!

 

[milliepops]

Good idea for a thread
I am skiving on a Teams call so not really able to formulate my thoughts at the mo but will be back later and enjoy reading other peoples

 

[humblepie]

That’s very good and whilst I think you have to be careful not to over think there are definitely mind blocks and separately identifying something and working on it. I did one sports psych session years ago. I had gone from decent level local showing to having a horse competing HOYS and RIHS qualifiers and I found I was feeling out of my place warming up. Everyone looking glamorous horses going beautifully blah blah blah. What helped was thinking each competition is afresh and some of those seasoned professionals may have been looking at my horse and thinking that horse does well and classing him as a contender as it were. I learned to accept he took a while to work in and not panic he didn’t come out of the box perfectly on the bit ?. Many of the others had serious working in sessions so don’t panic wait and it would come right. Look forward to other posts.

 

[milliepops]

i liked the comment about being present. I think that plays a big part in success, because it's being attentive to the little things then and there that really adds up, not going through the motions ever - I don't event any more so I would put my attention on the Charlottes and the Isobels of the world and I don't reckon they would be hacking round a schooling session letting a bad halt go cos it's been a tough day and they are daydreaming about what's for tea

Michael Jordan comes up again for me in a sports psych-ey way, not sure who has read Carl Hester's autobiography but there's a quote of his in the front that goes

Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, and others make it happen

I think that's relevant because - bit like the tongue in cheek moaning thread in TR it is helpful to acknowledge which category you fall into with things. I am trying to make it happen in my discipline, whereas I'd probably say I WISH my nutcases would turn into nice hacks but tbh it's not high up enough in my list of priorities so for now it's something I'm not succeeding at.

I would say my issues ARE connected with confidence in 2 ways, partly confidence in my ability/worthiness to compete at the higher levels - its intimidating to trot off into a warm up full of olympians on horsepower I will never be able to match. Particularly when your horsepower is a nappy native.

In the other sense I have confidence wobbles now and then that my crackpot horses will ditch me and I struggle to trust that I am pretty sticky.

So there's 2 versions of Confidence

for the first, the biggest help for me is my trainer. Oh jeez do I miss his input if he or I am away and it's a month between lessons. I go off the rails quite quickly, not particularly in training terms, I was self taught for a long time and I'm happy to chip away at things independently and I'm very motivated. But my self belief derails, that's the bit that needs propping up otherwise I get despondent. the adrenalin rushes are hard won in dressage, there's lots of lonely work in between fun achievements and I definitely get a bit blue about it when things are hard.
But I know that now. I think understanding how your mind works is a big help I know I need someone positive and I need to see them fairly often to stay in control of myself. I'm on site now which needs a sacrifice in other areas but I feel like it's the right move to progress.

the heart palpitations version of confidence is harder to fix because the horses are different every day. Some days it's all going swimmingly and other days they are both difficult in different ways. I haven't had anything straightforward to ride for quite a while and it was only recently that I sort of nodded to myself and accepted that was pretty hard going. It's fine, I chose it, the alternative is to give up and it's my decision to keep going with re-schoolers because I prefer that to no horses. But I'm not fearless, and I've known a few people I'm close to have really narrow escapes from lifechanging injuries.
At the moment I'm addressing that with a combination of safety precautions on bad days (ride indoors!) good repetition (keep getting on, keep riding the exercises, whatever the trigger was keep approaching and retreating so it becomes normal) ... and if I properly start to feel worried, I trust my instincts because they are there for a reason.

I don't really struggle with competitions. I generally don't go until I'm well prepared, and other than the "I'm not worthy" thing, by the time I get in the ring I am fairly focussed. The thing I've really worked on with that is squeezing every spare metre out of the arena that you can get. People often read dressage tests as just the movements. Something that I carried over from XC riding to pure dressage was visualisation and I try to do that to work out where to prepare things, where to rebalance the horse, notice all the "free" time you have in between things and try and use it rather than let it go by in a blur between the numbered things on the sheet. Ride corners deliberately. use the space. Often that free space carries a mark, just for trotting round a bit. Writing for judges is a good reminder that while as a rider that movement is just going from A to B, you actually need to get there in the best version of your horse's way of going that you can muster. that requires a bit of mental discipline and concentration - back to that being present thing.

that's my stream of consciousness for now.

 

[blodwyn1]

I had a horrific riding accident last year where I got dragged and seriously injured. I was struggling to ride again and was paralyzed with fear. I have been out on a lead rein and trying to get through the pain threshold. Then a very dear friend was found dead in her house from a sudden heart attack. I thought sod it and have ridden off the lead rein and even tried trot yesterday. I think everyone's targets are personal and if I ever even manage an intro again I will be ecstatic!

 

[Alibear]

Can I share a little bit of a secret thought here? We're a nice bunch aren't we? I've never been at a high level but I did have a few fleeting months where I could turn up to any local low level competition and expect to be placed. This was was after a lot of work and challenges that we all know happen when training a horse, rider and creating a partnership. The thing is the competitions I did well at , the actual rounds and tests were emotionless to the point of nearly being boring, that seemed to be the key thing to me. We were never nearly there, nearly clear or ohh that was a good extension. Because there was no time for that, we were in the moment throughout concentrating on the balance we had at every stride and preparing for the next corner, stride, fence, movement. I've never got it back in the 20 years since and perhaps my memory is playing tricks on me, but I suspect not because the few good moments I've got since then, have all had that same quality of being emotionless. I'm starting to think that emotions need to be kept for when you're not on your horse, which is a lot harder than it seems...

 

[milliepops]

Can I share a little bit of a secret thought here? We're a nice bunch aren't we? I've never been at a high level but I did have a few fleeting months where I could turn up to any local low level competition and expect to be placed. This was was after a lot of work and challenges that we all know happen when training a horse, rider and creating a partnership. The thing is the competitions I did well at , the actual rounds and tests were emotionless to the point of nearly being boring, that seemed to be the key thing to me. We were never nearly there, nearly clear or ohh that was a good extension. Because there was no time for that, we were in the moment throughout concentrating on the balance we had at every stride and preparing for the next corner, stride, fence, movement. I've never got it back in the 20 years since and perhaps my memory is playing tricks on me, but I suspect not because the few good moments I've got since then, have all had that same quality of being emotionless. I'm starting to think that emotions need to be kept for when you're not on your horse, which is a lot harder than it seems...

that's interesting (and yes, we're a nice bunch!)

I think maybe the emotion comes after? like LEC mentioned above, when you start to think about something other than what you're doing in the moment "oh this is going well, I'm going to go clear, whoopee" you've basically taken your eye off the ball and that's when things can go wrong. but you can feel elated as you go through the finish markers, whoo hooo clear round ? Unless it's something far below your level of ability in which case there's probably more time for "this is fun" thoughts.

 

[LEC]

I would say my issues ARE connected with confidence in 2 ways, partly confidence in my ability/worthiness to compete at the higher levels - its intimidating to trot off into a warm up full of olympians on horsepower I will never be able to match. Particularly when your horsepower is a nappy native.

In the other sense I have confidence wobbles now and then that my crackpot horses will ditch me and I struggle to trust that I am pretty sticky.

So there's 2 versions of Confidence

Self worth/belief and safety are I think pretty normal. Self belief is such a tricky one. I think every single person has it. Oliver Townend for all his success has real imposter syndrome when you listen to him on interviews. Knowing that, always makes me pick myself up. Thats the thing about being present, just not worrying about it. A hard thing to master.

The safety thing is tricky as your brain will always try and protect you. Especially if you have had some falls. I ended up getting TFT for sort my issues out

 

[scats]

This is a really interesting thread. I struggle with sometimes feeling like I should be doing better, but not even for me, for other people. It sounds ridiculous but there are a few people on our yard (lovely people) but they don’t understand dressage and the first thing they say when I leave is “I hope you win” and the first thing they ask when I return is “how did you get on?” but I know they mean what placing did I get! Then, even if I am really pleased with how it’s gone, I feel a bit rubbish having to say that I came fifth or whatever. Totally ridiculous really, as it shouldn’t be about other people but I’m the only rider on the yard and so I suppose it’s a bit of a novelty for people and I know they are actually very supportive. I think it’s a throw back from being very successful as a teen (showjumping). I won most of the time, it was almost a given. I remember the horrendous pressure I would put on myself that if I had a bad show, I’d be the talk of the yard. I don’t think I’ve ever left that behind.

Im actually pushing myself this weekend, totally out of my comfort zone (from a health point of view) I have booked to have a lesson with a GP dressage rider/coach. I’ve noticed the same little things cropping up on test sheets and I feel like they shouldn’t still be cropping up so I’m going to get someone else to have a look. I’m hoping it will become a regular thing, though expense may mean it’s monthly rather than fortnightly!

 

[Alibear]

that's interesting (and yes, we're a nice bunch!)

I think maybe the emotion comes after? like LEC mentioned above, when you start to think about something other than what you're doing in the moment "oh this is going well, I'm going to go clear, whoopee" you've basically taken your eye off the ball and that's when things can go wrong. but you can feel elated as you go through the finish markers, whoo hooo clear round ? Unless it's something far below your level of ability in which case there's probably more time for "this is fun" thoughts.

Yes emotions are definitely for afterwards, and I suspect its keeping focused on all the 100s of tiny parts that go into a good test, round or schooling session that keeps them at bay? I'm really rubbish, I think I know a test well enough and think I'm focused and then I realise I missed so many parts out. Like you say remembering to use every metre of the arena or line and placing every step, picking up to prepare for the next movement/fence/line at the ideal time not too soon and not too late and that can vary depending on the circumstances at that exact moment. On Sunday I stupidly asked for an extension right next to a spooky banner, when I could have got away with asking stride later and avoided a the blip I got. Then I got over focused/confident on a walk extension and let my reins get too long so threw away a halt transition, which is usually our highlight. I did remember to plan for the judges chairs and navigated them successfully but then threw the next movement because I'd concentrated on the chairs so much I hadn't prepared for it enough. I always feel so stupid for not being able to think it all through deeply enough. It'll come back with time and practise I hope

 

[LEC]

This is a really interesting thread. I struggle with sometimes feeling like I should be doing better, but not even for me, for other people. It sounds ridiculous but there are a few people on our yard (lovely people) but they don’t understand dressage and the first thing they say when I leave is “I hope you win” and the first thing they ask when I return is “how did you get on?” but I know they mean what placing did I get! Then, even if I am really pleased with how it’s gone, I feel a bit rubbish having to say that I came fifth or whatever. Totally ridiculous really, as it shouldn’t be about other people but I’m the only rider on the yard and so I suppose it’s a bit of a novelty for people and I know they are actually very supportive. I think it’s a throw back from being very successful as a teen (showjumping). I won most of the time, it was almost a given. I remember the horrendous pressure I would put on myself that if I had a bad show, I’d be the talk of the yard. I don’t think I’ve ever left that behind.

Im actually pushing myself this weekend, totally out of my comfort zone (from a health point of view) I have booked to have a lesson with a GP dressage rider/coach. I’ve noticed the same little things cropping up on test sheets and I feel like they shouldn’t still be cropping up so I’m going to get someone else to have a look. I’m hoping it will become a regular thing, though expense may mean it’s monthly rather than fortnightly!

you are too hard on yourself. I think with people Who have no idea explaining % is often too hard, it’s just meaningless but rosettes are really easy to understand. Maybe you should pull out a highlight instead to tell them about? I got a 7 for my free walk and last time I only got a 6? Maybe with something like I have been working really hard to get it better. Really simple for them to understand plus you then reiterate the positives rather than focusing on something that is out of your control (how many in a class, judge, Calibre of competition etc)

 

[Bernster]

Thx for taking the time to write some thought provoking posts.

the in the moment piece I assume is a bit of mindfulness (not that I know much about it), being present, being focussed. I try that during the moments of fear/anxiety which is usually in the lorry on the way there. It used to be the night before and not being able to sleep but actually that seems to have passed for now.

Various things have helped me but the biggest I think was sessions with a sports coach. I now have various tools to help me deal with my issues and just a better awareness of how the mind works and how i can help ‘fix‘ it.

A few tips here and there also resonate, like Thinking about what you can see, hear, feel, smell - to get you back into the here and now. And what the plan or goal is - get him off the leg in warm up; look up, leg on, hands forward.

Current contentment has been helped by a fantastic post from inside track eventing on facebook, about stopping thinking of ‘only’ or ‘just‘— that‘s turned my thinking around and I’m so much happier with where I’m at and less bothered about where I *should* be, or where others are.

 

[showjump]

Thank you for taking the time to write this post. Its just want i needed to hear!
After preparing with an arena hire last week, warming up good and then not getting over fence one. We were eliminated. Cue tears and frustrations and just not knowing what to do for the best. My mare is tricky, always has been but in the ring always reliable.
I also fear getting home and being asked 'how i got on', I've got to the stage i'm not telling people i'm going to a show, so i don't have to have that conversation. I wonder if when i'm prepared i overthink thing, put too much pressure on - and the wheels fall off? So of the best days have been last minute and off the cuff!
I feel like I have so many things in my head, and the remember (the course, the number of strides down the distance, is my rhythm and canter good enough, strides, am i tipping backwards, are my hands low enough) that i actually forget to ride!
I need to battle with this, and try my hardest to compare to others. Facebook etc is awful for this, i see everyone else having fun each weekend. Albeit most don't put up their nightmare outings do they?!

 

[LEC]

I feel like I have so many things in my head, and the remember (the course, the number of strides down the distance, is my rhythm and canter good enough, strides, am i tipping backwards, are my hands low enough) that i actually forget to ride!

No wonder your brain is going to explode! I would go for the day and have one aim. my advice would be around the canter as pretty much everything else will fall into place if you do. You need to break it down more so you can quantify it. Whether thats that you have enough energy in the canter (don't break into trot) have the correct lead, ride round every corner with power etc. Make your plan in the course walk - corners for instance, I need to ride this line and kick here as will lose power and then forget about everything else. Warm ups are really stressful so you could have it around the warm up.

I never count strides when I am riding unless a specific exercise. I will walk the distances on courses to make a plan about whether its long or short and how I need to ride but I would never go right this is 5,4,3,2,1, right jump this upright here is another related 4,3,2,1. I just cannot process that amount of information when its far more important that I have a good canter and I ride my corners. Same xc, I am an ok xc rider and I will know whether its long or short again but its far more important that I know my line and how I am going to approach the fence and in what canter. I just make a plan and aim to stick to it.

 

[GinaGeo]

What a brilliant idea for a thread - thank you.

LEC - At a very different level to you, but Jumping was also my Achilles heel when we evented.

Mindset is something I really need to work on. I remember being at a Regional Qualifier a few years ago, the only one we'd qualified for as the weather had been awful. We did a super dressage test, and I knew he was a solid Cross Country horse, and would jump clear on the Optimum Time. I was last to jump and I knew we could win, we even had a fence in hand. Well it was carnage, I can't really tell you what happened but I do know our Show Jumping penalties was higher than our Dressage score. I think we were only just allowed to go XC, where he stormed round as I knew he would and finished bang on the optimum time.

I guess for me it comes down to complete trust in my training and in my abilities.

When riding Dressage Tests I find it quite easy to slip into that emotionless "in the zone" state, I can ride for every mark and I can visualise riding the test, how it will feel and how I need to prepare. I think I find a dressage test quite controllable, I know the horse can do it, I know exactly where I need to set it up and I can practise it to my hearts content. I can go down that centre line completely prepared. I can tell when I'm not quite sure of the horse or the level, because visualisations will give me the "whatif" moments, but I can practise through them and know what I need to do to stop it happening.

However. The moment Show Jumping is involved it all goes out the window. I can't practise the course and I don't think I'm in the moment enough to do a good job as a rider. I've always been conscious that I don't want to overjump my horses, I haven't a huge great string and it is hard for me to get enough practise in for it to become second nature. I do know that if I come out of the jumping ring I most likely could not tell you what happened when. In truth I can't really remember it - it's a blur. I really struggle to visualise jumping, my brain isn't in control of my muscles well enough to know how to recreate it and the Sports Psychology sessions I took myself didn't help once I was in the ring.

Mickey my Connemara frankly doesn't give a stuff what I do, and as long as I let him bowl along and don't kill the canter he will get the job done. He's a proper dude of a pony. Solo however is far less forgiving and expects me to a decent job. We quickly lose faith in each other and that's what lead to our jumping confidence crisis of 2018 where I found myself riding round a course in a lesson unable to breathe, sobbing. I didn't recognise myself and decided to call it a day. We haven't been in the Jumping ring competitively together since.

I now have a nice young horse who will be ready to go and do some bits and pieces over winter and next year, I've been back out jumping Mickey and Solo is jumping courses at home again and I've decided that it is time I learnt to ride around a course of jumps, with composure and control.

So a few things I'm planning on doing to start heading in the right direction again:

1. I'm heading out this evening for my first Jumping lesson since the one I decided we were done. New Trainer - well thought of. Will see how it goes.

2. I love the pole exercise - that would do me brilliantly and It's going on my homework list.

3. Get back on the Gridwork. When we were jumping at our best (at one point we could jump round 1m15 Tracks) I was doing a lot of gridwork. It refilled both of our confidence pots. It's tricky to do at home, so might need to find somewhere to do this regularly.

4. Visualise. I really need to get this sorted. I think your talking yourself through it exercise might be useful here.

5. Go out Jumping. I need to stop avoiding it because I don't like it. Once I'm happy we've got some consistency at home I really ought to join BS.

6. Stop telling everyone that I hate Show Jumping and that I'm not very good at it. It's become a great excuse and is also a self-fulfilling prophecy - my brain believes a little bit more every time I say it.

 

[showjump]

No wonder your brain is going to explode! I would go for the day and have one aim. my advice would be around the canter as pretty much everything else will fall into place if you do. You need to break it down more so you can quantify it. Whether thats that you have enough energy in the canter (don't break into trot) have the correct lead, ride round every corner with power etc. Make your plan in the course walk - corners for instance, I need to ride this line and kick here as will lose power and then forget about everything else. Warm ups are really stressful so you could have it around the warm up.

I never count strides when I am riding unless a specific exercise. I will walk the distances on courses to make a plan about whether its long or short and how I need to ride but I would never go right this is 5,4,3,2,1, right jump this upright here is another related 4,3,2,1. I just cannot process that amount of information when its far more important that I have a good canter and I ride my corners. Same xc, I am an ok xc rider and I will know whether its long or short again but its far more important that I know my line and how I am going to approach the fence and in what canter. I just make a plan and aim to stick to it.

Thanks Lec, i know my heads going to go bang!!
Im a bit of a stress head where strides come into play. I have been told i can see one from a long way out, so then that causes issues in that the times i cant see 'one' i do one of two things.. kick like hell or get on the bridle pulling. Argh. I know that i need to not look for one, and keep the rhythm and it will happen i just need to trust her and keep coming. I also do a silly tweak down my rein if i havent seen one (something i really need to crack) its not even visible from the ground but its making my mare doubt. I think your pole exercise will really help me here, and im going to try it.

Ginageo- i also think i need some gridwork session (hard at home like you say) but think it will really help my feel more comfortable and happier over larger jumps. Also need to apply your no.6- need to tell myself i am good at BS and remember why i choose to compete, so the good days!

Im training today, and out at the weekend. My aim to to jump the jumps, not worry about duff strides or anyone watching me. Just me and my mare over number 1 and over the last. I will be a happy bunny- i can work on the rest one bit at a time.

 

[LEC]

So a few things I'm planning on doing to start heading in the right direction again:

1. I'm heading out this evening for my first Jumping lesson since the one I decided we were done. New Trainer - well thought of. Will see how it goes.
.

I hope it goes well and you click - one thing I have become really disciplined in is writing down my homework from the trainer. I ask for 3 things I really need to work on and write them down on my phone. If it needs some exercises then I ask for suggestions. I can then be at home and pretty disciplined in what I need to do and not overload myself with trying to be clever. It also promotes better conversations with your trainer.

 

[GinaGeo]

I hope it goes well and you click - one thing I have become really disciplined in is writing down my homework from the trainer. I ask for 3 things I really need to work on and write them down on my phone. If it needs some exercises then I ask for suggestions. I can then be at home and pretty disciplined in what I need to do and not overload myself with trying to be clever. It also promotes better conversations with your trainer.

Thank you - Fingers Crossed! That sounds like a very good plan. I have started keeping a journal for the horses which I think will help as well!

 

[LEC]

Thanks Lec, i know my heads going to go bang!!
Im a bit of a stress head where strides come into play. I have been told i can see one from a long way out, so then that causes issues in that the times i cant see 'one' i do one of two things.. kick like hell or get on the bridle pulling. Argh. I know that i need to not look for one, and keep the rhythm and it will happen i just need to trust her and keep coming. I also do a silly tweak down my rein if i havent seen one (something i really need to crack) its not even visible from the ground but its making my mare doubt. I think your pole exercise will really help me here, and im going to try it.

Actually rather than doing less you need to do more and train your eye better. At the moment you can see your stride and then you paralyse yourself with not making a decision, or you make the wrong decision (which is actually fine if under 90cm as at least you made one and will learn.) You need to train to make the right decisions more often.

This is where the pole exercises come in. You only need about 4 poles.

1) dump your 4 poles anywhere - doesnt matter where and keep coming round to them. Set yourself a target of hitting each pole on the correct stride in balance 10x if you fail you start again. Don't kill the canter though to cheat!

2) Place 2 poles roughly 5/6 strides away from each other. Practice coming down in 4,5,6,7 strides. Can you come down in 5 strides 10x? Can you come down in 6 strides 10x? Now can you go through all the numbers 3x without making a mistake - 4,5,6,7? Start again each time you miss, land on a pole, stumble etc

3)Can you count down 5 strides into a pole and nail it? Go round your 4 poles randomly dotted about and count down 5 strides. You miss or make a mistake start again until you manage it 10x. If you get good increase it - can you count down 10 strides away till you will go over the pole?

I promise you if you did this 3x a week for a month it would rapidly change the way you make decisions. Is it easy - no, will you get fed up - yes, will you see a terrific improvement - yes, but its up to you. Only you can improve yourself and this places no wear and tear on the horse. They just think they are cantering round. They cannot get pissed off by your mistakes, in fact they will get happier when you jump because you will be 100% better.

I would love to say I was a shining example but some days I can nail 10 easily and other days I cannot to save my life. I am lousy at counting down backwards to the pole but I am pretty good now at picking and mixing the number of strides between two poles. I also do a tonne of cavaletti work now which I never used to do. Tend to have them on 5 and 5 strides and will then mix it up. I have found it has made a huge difference. I am a guilty half halter jumping and slowly I am getting better.

 

[GinaGeo]

Actually rather than doing less you need to do more and train your eye better. At the moment you can see your stride and then you paralyse yourself with not making a decision, or you make the wrong decision (which is actually fine if under 90cm as at least you made one and will learn.) You need to train to make the right decisions more often.

This is where the pole exercises come in. You only need about 4 poles.

1) dump your 4 poles anywhere - doesnt matter where and keep coming round to them. Set yourself a target of hitting each pole on the correct stride in balance 10x if you fail you start again. Don't kill the canter though to cheat!

2) Place 2 poles roughly 5/6 strides away from each other. Practice coming down in 4,5,6,7 strides. Can you come down in 5 strides 10x? Can you come down in 6 strides 10x? Now can you go through all the numbers 3x without making a mistake - 4,5,6,7? Start again each time you miss, land on a pole, stumble etc

3)Can you count down 5 strides into a pole and nail it? Go round your 4 poles randmly dotted about and count down 5 strides. You miss or make a mistake start again until you manage it 10x. If you get good increase it - can you count down 10 strides away till you will go over the pole?

I promise you if you did this 3x a week for a month it would rapidly change the way you make decisions. Is it easy - no, will you get fed up - yes, will you see a terrific improvement - yes, but its up to you. Only you can improve yourself and this places no wear and tear on the horse. They just think they are cantering round. They cannot get pissed off by your mistakes, in fact they will get happier when you jump because you will be 100% better.

That's going in my homework book for the next few months!

 

[showjump]

That's going in my homework book for the next few months!

You and me both!! Im on it

 

[SmallSteps]

Thanks Lec, i know my heads going to go bang!!
Im a bit of a stress head where strides come into play. I have been told i can see one from a long way out, so then that causes issues in that the times i cant see 'one' i do one of two things.. kick like hell or get on the bridle pulling. Argh. I know that i need to not look for one, and keep the rhythm and it will happen i just need to trust her and keep coming. I also do a silly tweak down my rein if i havent seen one (something i really need to crack) its not even visible from the ground but its making my mare doubt. I think your pole exercise will really help me here, and im going to try it.

Ginageo- i also think i need some gridwork session (hard at home like you say) but think it will really help my feel more comfortable and happier over larger jumps. Also need to apply your no.6- need to tell myself i am good at BS and remember why i choose to compete, so the good days!

Im training today, and out at the weekend. My aim to to jump the jumps, not worry about duff strides or anyone watching me. Just me and my mare over number 1 and over the last. I will be a happy bunny- i can work on the rest one bit at a time.

A very nice man once told me that there are only two strides: the right one and the wrong one. If you check or extend once you switch, if you keep checking/kicking you switch then switch back then switch back then switch back.... I haven't seen a stride since the 90s but I can get a good canter and stay out of the way - whilst trying to sit up, wrap my teeny legs round and make it look deliberate of course lol. I'm an amateur so up to 1.20m horseface needs to take some responsibility for the jumping part, over that I can see a "no stride" and switch.
You know this stuff but honestly if you watch Big Star's final (1.65m?) gold medal round Nick doesn't get a great stride to any fence - it is a jump off - but it's a brilliant, straight, even canter. Similarly if you take a look at the 1.50s in the sunshine tour or similar where people are setting up for the year trying out new horses, new tack etc, they're taking strides out, they're chipping in, it's all over the shop but it's all good. After all everyone's favourite exercise where you ride a distance in 5 strides, in 4 and then in 6, is all about being on the wrong stride deliberately and riding it like you meant it. So maybe we don't mean wrong stride, we mean wrong canter.

Apologies for going a little off-topic, apparently my work avoidance is peaking!

 

[GinaGeo]

SS - that's basically what I've been doing. Kicking and pulling in an attempt to find something. It invariably ends up with me finding nothing and has the bonus of a pissed off horse. I like the thought that you don't need a perfect stride, just a good enough canter to make it work.

We had our Jump Lesson yesterday and I think it might be just what we need.

It was a real cement the basics lesson to check the buttons are there. We worked on the canter and a lot on rhythm. I am guilty of schooling for dressage but not for jumping so it was good to get the reminder that I need a different canter. All jump lessons I've had in recent times have been jumping through combinations with the intention of jumping a course, so it was brilliant to work on exercises instead.

We worked over a pole, in outside and inside flexion highlighting the need for straightness and a quality jumping canter. Progressed to popping over a straight bar on a circle and then incorporating a Figure 8. Once it went up I started over riding the last few strides. Turns out I need to keep the canter, ride the turn, support with my leg and let him do the jumping bit. I've got into a naughty habit of kicking and then pulling out the corner in an attempt to "find a stride", it destroys the rhythm and distracts him from his job.

She then put two jumps on the diagonal so I could practise a long and a short approach and exit, and keep the balance on landing and get the right lead. Flying Changes are a real sticking point for us and it really disrupts the rhythm having to fumble about through trot. So the importance of keeping his balance to put him on the right lead on landing is particularly important. I don't think I've had a lesson that worked on this, where it didn't entail being told "land on the right lead" without any explanation as to how. And the long exit meant that there wasn't a direction change to help me out. It really highlighted the importance of planning ahead and to think about his balance and the lead I wanted after the fence before I even got to it.

Just what I needed and our first step to becoming better Show Jumpers. I've booked a couple more lessons, one with the baby just to work on getting the jumping foundations in there and another for Solo.

Homework is to school the jumping canter, work on the adjust-ability and ride over poles. LEC - you could have written it I am sure!

 

[HufflyPuffly]

Interesting thread!

I am, for some reason, very good at being in the 'now' for dressage, I can be quite clinical about it from practicing, warm-up, test learning, test riding and dissecting afterwards, I feel all the emotions afterwards, very occasionally beforehand but in the there and now I can shut off the emotion and do what's needed.

Jumping is a funny one, in the actual round I used to do the above ^ to a degree, but I am so ring rusty from not competitively jumping and not having as much jump training that my self belief is in tatters. I've started to second guess my own riding during rounds and not know what I should be doing, which has unsettled me more as I normally can go in and know what I need to do and try and get the job done, the voice of doubt on approach to a fence is paralyzing my ability to ride like a normal person!

It hasn't helped that I've been having lessons with someone who wanted to control the strides and takeoff to a fence, so Skylla has started waiting for me to tell her when to go, I'm then going "I don't know", Skylla is tutting at me and it's a big mess. I think I realised how far my 'confidence' in myself has slipped by jumping Topaz, who I obviously have jumped for years and I got the fear with her too, expecting her to stop (seriously she is mega and will jump on her own she loves it that much) or panicking about take off...

Now I have recognised this I can work on it (clinical view point coming back and making me feel much better for having a plan!). Firstly I've gone back to the first instructor who got me and Skylla jumping as a partnership and secondly I've given myself homework to trust the canter, let her jump the fence and stop panicking. This means I need to jump more and stop being daft, and LEC I have nicked your pole exercises and started working on it, I can get her to compress the stride very easily but harder getting it right and telling her to go on a bigger stride, so very obvious what my issues are .