xc motivation

algeredge

algeredge

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Just wondering what mental techniques any of you guys use before going xc? Rode today, and didnt really get my blood up/ride positively until the fifth fence. Bud was good anyway, and there were no napping incidents out of the start this time, but it seems to take the first few fences to switch on!!
A know a lot of people have issues staying calm, by I'm the other way round!!!
 
I had a session with Nicky Heath on this. She suggested using other methods of getting your adrenaline up, eg purposely don't leave yourself quite enough time to prepare, think about other experiences which have got you going etc. Consciously put yourself under pressure in some way...
 
Thanks for all your suggestions! I'll def try the energy drink idea. Tabledancer, who is Nicky Heath and how did they help? would be interested in some sessions if you think it'd help.
Thanks
 
listen to a song that gets your blood going- i take my iPod and listen to something like Prodigy or something similar which is up tempo and lots of bass.

that really gets my adrenaline pumping.
 
You do have to find what works for you but I'd second millitiger's advice about song. There are a few songs I'd never listen to in other contexts (Eminem's - whom I otherwise loathe :) - "Lose Yourself" is a good one, and also has an appropriate message) but they seem to get me in a more aggressive frame of mind. You can also use a saying or a part of a poem or similar and train yourself to associate it with the feeling you want, so you only have to say it to yourself in context to "switch on". I had a trainer who used to say to me before dressage tests "Make them take it away" (he was a fairly combative fellow :D ) and I've found I've kept that in my mind to psyche myself up for that situation ever since.
 
maybe i'm missing something, but i don't need anything to 'get my blood up', and i like feeling calm as i'm setting out. i hate being rushed, hassled, etc, i want to be as calm and clear-thinking as i start my xc as i do when i start my dr test. is this really odd?
(i like the idea of playing "Lose Yourself" though (i love that track), might try that...)
 
Perhaps you've just trained yourself really well. :) For some reason I get calmer (at least outwardly) under stress and my mind wanders, so I definitely need to consciously focus, not so I feel keyed up, but so I am truly paying attention. The times I've shown without the appropriate level of arousal bad - or at least dumb - things have happened. :)

I guess it depends on how you're wired. As per TD's "pressure" suggestion, I do find if I leave myself too much time to get ready I get even more mellow and more inclined to forget things etc. I'm better to have my list of things to do and allow time to do them with a bit spare, as I hate being rushed as well.
 
kerilli said:
maybe i'm missing something, but i don't need anything to 'get my blood up', and i like feeling calm as i'm setting out. i hate being rushed, hassled, etc, i want to be as calm and clear-thinking as i start my xc as i do when i start my dr test. is this really odd?
(i like the idea of playing "Lose Yourself" though (i love that track), might try that...)
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But K I think the point is that everyone is different. There is probably an optimal range of "nervousness" that allows us to perform our best ie nervous/excited enough to have some adrenaline as we tend to attack XC better when this is in place, but not so nervous as to paralyse us or so excited as to go completely mad :D

It's getting to that place which is the trick, from wherever you start on the day: different for different people and in different situations. I, for instance, get stupid nervous beforehand at a big 3 day - feel sick, have all sorts of maudlin thoughts etc but while this is unpleasant while it's happening I don't worry too much as I know from experience that once I'm on the horse it settles down and I'm roughly where I need to be mentally. At a standard say Novice/Int one day, if I've done relatively well in the D and SJ and look like being competitive I end up naturally in the right frame of mind - bit excited, bit nervous, very positive. However, I am extremely competitive, and at lower level events or if I've already stuffed up my chances I can get very demotivated and negative. In this situation I can find it hard to get my adrenaline up to the necessary/optimal level. That's what I was discussing with Nikki H, and may be what the OP is referring to.

OP Nikki Heath is a sports psychologist with lots of experience in the eventing world (used to help Pippa Funnell) I only had one session as I subsequently discovered that the one in need of the shrink was my horse not me :mad: but it was intriguing and I'd definitely go back :)

I think all the suggestions are good ones which may help different people in different situations. The other thing I've done is just signed up to the creed "Enjoy the Journey" which a number of us on here have this year: Just because I've ridden at a certain level shouldn't mean nothing is fun/worthwhile unless it helps me get back to that level or till I get back to that level. I'm determined to value all my experiences along the way with the next Team Williams babies, and not be in such a hurry. Hope this will help my attitude to XC :) :) Interesting thread, btw ;)
 
I need to be quite aggressive too, otherwise we're liable to have a stop/spook at the scary fences. This starts in the warm up, where I ride each fence as if it's a 4 ft scary thing. That gets pony thinking fwd so she's on side. I found last season that "popping" warm up fences quietly meant that we didn't get out and attack the course enough. Also, I jump the warm ups as perfectly as I can. I used to make the mistake of thinking "oh, well, we were a bit close to that, but I will sort it on the course". Not any more!

Then I come out of the start and ride the first few as if my life depends on getting over them. So I have leg on, have hold of her head, check her a few strides out and then leg back on. That sets the tone for the rest of the round, so then later in the course I can calm it down a bit. After the first few, I will generally leave her alone, just set her up a few strides out - because she's in "attack mode" from the earlier fences, I won't need to do much. If there is something "scary" like a coffin, then I will attack it again. I found last year that if I pootled gently over the first few just to get going, we didn't have the oomph for the harder ones later in the course. I really find that the first few and the practice jumps set a precedent for the rest of the round. As for my mind set for those first few/practice fence, it's "we're getting over this damned fence, come what may".
 
I think TD makes a very good point about knowing you're own "preferred" level(s) and understanding why you feel the way you feel. Anxiety is chemical, after all, so it affects people in various ways and I find some people get so anxious about feeling anxious it almost blocks out rational thought. You have to train yourself to think, "Yup, I'm nervous," but sort of put it in a box so you can go on with what you have to do. I think a lot of people would be surprised how many really top riders have suffered badly with nerves.

It also depends a lot on what you want out of the situation, your horse etc. It can be tough to find a balance between enjoying the journey and wanting to do well competitively but, let's face it, one has a lot more control over the first bit! :)

I think part of what works for different people is understanding WHY they're feeling unmotivated. Is it because they're not that interested in the outcome or because they're just naturally mellow?
 
Thanks to everyone for your help, really gave me food for though. I think Tarrsteps really nailed it on the head that when I'm stressed I kind of get calmer and switch off as if its not happening. Then I'm not positive enough over the first few and dont wake up til we're half way round when I actually start enjoyiong it! Think I might try and track down Nicky Heath and have a session with her. I know it will be trial and error but I want to ride at the first like I ride to the last! Thanks again for all your help x
 
algeredge said:
when I'm stressed I kind of get calmer and switch off as if its not happening.
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This is me, too. Two things have helped me. One is the song one - I use 'I've Got the Power' by Snap. A top rider (I think it was Tina Cook) who uses this method suggested Eye of the Tiger - corny but still a good one!
The other one is something a trainer said to me while watching me warm up once. He said 'you need to INSPIRE your horse'. Sometimes I tell myself that 'inspire her, inspire her' and it helps.

Weird how we are all affected in different ways isn't it?!
 
Snap is a good one! Also, "Right on Time" by Black Box, "Dance Dance" by Fall Out Boy, and "Canned Heat" by Jamiroquai springs to mind, although that might be because I'm old. ;) "Eye of the Tiger" just bugs me too much - it might motivate me to get annoyed, but that's about it.:D If you do a quick search there are scores of sites/forums with lists of motivational songs, proving how popular (and cheap and easy) the method is, I guess.
 
I've also had a similar problem and it was something another sport psychologist, Clare Chamberlayne, http://www.clarechamberlayne.com/, helped me tackle. As others describe, my nerves would manifest themselves in a lack of focus. I would feel like I wasn't really at the event, cold (mentally and physically) and stiff. I would sort of forget why it all meant so much to me and feel unable to concentrate and focus, just when I needed to do so most.

Clare suggested some exercises to get the adrenalin flowing - such as star jumps before you get on the horse and opening and closing your fingers loads of times really fast. This can be done on the horse while walking round in the warm-up. I found it helped me.
 
I find that if I day dream about xc and visualise myself in the start box my heart will quicken and I get excited just at the thought of it so I don't need anything to gee me up because I get natural nervous excitement because I enjoy that phase but for sjing I get like TarrSteps outwards calm even yawning, but the nerves sort of paralise me and I end up being a bit slow to think and act. I try to combat this by riding every stride, to me it was a moment of clarity when I realised I needed to ride every stride in a sj course (and dressage and xc too) when I felt I had a job even if that job was just to sit still or reposition my body just a fraction it gave my mind something to do, and so the nerves were banished.

I also find my riding improves when watched! So I sort of try to pretend to myself that I'm being filmed or photographed when jumping which in turn makes me ride more accurately and not get complacent.

I think this taps into my natural vanity and/or desire to do well and have others think I am doing a good job. You need to find what makes you tick it may not be a nice trait eg vanity, jealousy, uber competitiveness but if it makes you ride better more focused etc then it could work for you.
 
Chloe, i totally agree with the 'Ride Every Stride' theory, especially in the dressage in my case, this is one of my little motivational phrases that i keep repeating just before a test. funny, never thought about it for xc!
TD, i totally agree with the "Enjoy the Journey" creed. (If I was only ever happy when clutching a red rosette i'd be pretty chuffing miserable for 99.99999% of my life...!)
I read a philosophy article recently which said that this concentration on Goal Attainment is a relatively recent phenomenon, and leads to a lot of pretty inevitable unhappiness, not to say misery (especially with horses, since as we know they can go wrong in spite of every care, dashing dreams at the last second, etc etc.) I thought it was an interesting idea though - it's the zeitgeist we've grown up with, so it's entrenched into our psyches... odd to think that it didn't prevail previously.
 
kerilli said:
Chloe, i totally agree with the 'Ride Every Stride' theory, especially in the dressage in my case, this is one of my little motivational phrases that i keep repeating just before a test. funny, never thought about it for xc
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This only dawned on me for sjing since my Amanda lessons and it really hit home when I went on a BE CDT day and Clair Turner taught dressage in terms of maths she asked how many canter strides in a 20m circle at working canter, I think the answer was 20 so then in your head you can split each 1/4 into 5 strides then she told us how many for the 40m long side so basically dressage became a world of numbers somehow this just made great sense to me. To say canter 20 strides on this circle then 15 down the long side then back to trot for 4 strides made things so much more simple as you had a blow by blow task to concentrate on so no room for nerves or distracting thoughts....

actually I wish I could find my notes and see how many strides she said would be the long side and 20m circle in walk trot and canter......*wanders off to dig out notebook and make a mess*
 
ooh no, that's too limiting for me, i'd fixate on the numbers and forget where to go!
i meant that i need to remember (especially if the horse is sweet, easy and correct) that 'nice and happy and comfy and soft' is not enough, that i need to remember that every single stride needs to have a bit more energy, or a bit more balance, or a bit more bend, etc etc.. as you say, positioning your body, correcting, constantly checking yourself and your horse, etc etc. i can get a bit complacent when it's going nicely (not want to ask for more in case i upset things) when actually 99% of dressage judges reward the brave riders who go for it and try to get 10s. (not that i ever have, that's a nice dream!)
 
Chloe_GHE said:
actually I wish I could find my notes and see how many strides she said would be the long side and 20m circle in walk trot and canter......*wanders off to dig out notebook and make a mess*
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We're going a bit off piste here, but I've done quite a lot of work along these lines :) 2 points:

Firstly, I think a 20 stride 20m circle would be a tough call, it's more like 24 strides but even that may be medium canter from memory... But the most important thing aobut the exercise isn't the number of strides (which will vary from horse to horse) but having an equal number of strides on each 1/4 circle - if it changes you will know that either your circle isn't round (bulging out/falling in) or your pace is varying. Then once you can do a reliably even circle, then you start varying the pace working/med/collected, so doing more or less strides but always the same for each 1/4.

Second, another great variation is put 4 poles on the track round your school, A, C, B, E. Canter round the school, making sure you meet every pole perfectly and putting the same number of strides between each one - you should be able to go round and round. Then do it on the other rein, making sure number of strides is same as on first one. Sound easy? Try it!! :D When you've perfected it, start putting extra strides in, again perfectly evenly, so you can make canter shorter or longer. Finally when you can do this well as well (should be able to vary by a good 4 strides per 1/4 of a 60m school, eg do it on 9s or 13s and everywhere in between), start changing it from 1/4 to 1/4, so you might do A to E on 10 strides, E to C on 13, C to B on 10 etc etc. I love these exercises :D :D * Slinks off back to weirdos corner* Sorry for hijacking, OP :o
 
And I'll piggyback hijack TD... it's a Ken Clawson favourite to count canter strides on the long side from, say, M to F. You need to get exactly the same number of strides from M to B and B to F. 5 is a good number for working canter. Then for your medium try 4 and 4. He say that his GB team pupils can do 4 and 4 in a 20x60!!! Every time you ride a long side in a test you should concentrate on keeping those numbers exactly the same.
 
Being anxious helps me. I get quite anxious on the day and leading up to the XC so I very much ride on adrenalin (as most do I assume). I have had the very odd occassion where I've simply not been worried about the XC at all which then results in me messing up! I remember at an event 2 years ago, I'd jumped the exact course clear before so I sort of assumed it'd be a breeze and I'd taken some Kalms to try and sort out my dressage nerves... big mistake. My adrenalin wasn't up at all - it was really weird. The result was a dreadful round! I did read somewhere a while ago, some pro saying something along the lines of "if you're not nervous before the cross country then you shouldn't leave the start box" and that's so true!
 
TableDancer said:
We're going a bit off piste here, but I've done quite a lot of work along these lines :) 2 points:

Firstly, I think a 20 stride 20m circle would be a tough call, it's more like 24 strides but even that may be medium canter from memory... But the most important thing aobut the exercise isn't the number of strides (which will vary from horse to horse) but having an equal number of strides on each 1/4 circle - if it changes you will know that either your circle isn't round (bulging out/falling in) or your pace is varying. Then once you can do a reliably even circle, then you start varying the pace working/med/collected, so doing more or less strides but always the same for each 1/4.

Second, another great variation is put 4 poles on the track round your school, A, C, B, E. Canter round the school, making sure you meet every pole perfectly and putting the same number of strides between each one - you should be able to go round and round. Then do it on the other rein, making sure number of strides is same as on first one. Sound easy? Try it!! :D When you've perfected it, start putting extra strides in, again perfectly evenly, so you can make canter shorter or longer. Finally when you can do this well as well (should be able to vary by a good 4 strides per 1/4 of a 60m school, eg do it on 9s or 13s and everywhere in between), start changing it from 1/4 to 1/4, so you might do A to E on 10 strides, E to C on 13, C to B on 10 etc etc. I love these exercises :D :D * Slinks off back to weirdos corner* Sorry for hijacking, OP :o
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love it love it love it, my bank holiday wkend planned ;) ta :)

how do I favourite this I can't find the button....
 
I used to be like that until i fell off at the 5th fence in my first JRN 3 years ago since then i have been able to pyche myself up through wanting that amazing feeling of jumping out the start gate and makeing sure i am totally posotive and switched on becuase i know how much it hurts if i am not 110% switched on and 110% comitted on positive, not sure that helps but though i would share, it can be done, proably a much less painful way to do it though! (have never had an XC penalty since, touch wood!)
 
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