What this episode is all about & how it can help you:-
- The importance of reflecting on the past year
- How becoming aware of changes can help your future decisions
- Grading yourself for 2017!
- Using all this information to move forward into the new year
The new year means that is time for a clean slate when it comes to your riding goals. New diaries, new resolutions and new plans. That is a whole of ‘new’ happening.
However, before we get too caught up with the ‘new’; I feel that the best gift you can give both yourself and your horse going forward into the new year is to first review what was. What worked, what didn’t. What changed, what needs to change.
Are you ready to ‘show up’ and take an honest look at your past year? Super – let’s get started…
I want to help you today to make a plan for your riding this new year that will result in both you and your horse moving forward. I have seen it repeatedly, how riders get into the arena, they get their horse, they are full of ideas. Then maybe it takes a setback or three, or perhaps it takes things not going exactly as they were supposed to happen, and then the whole plan is gone and everything falls apart. I don’t want that to happen to you.
We are going to go through a lot of things very quickly today, but don’t fear I have made a handy worksheet for you which you can get HERE . It will give you more time to think about your answers.
1. Reflecting on the Past Year
What was a success for you in 2017, when it comes to you and your riding? I don’t feel that this must necessarily be something to do with competition or a competitive success. It could be something as simple as your relationship with your horse is a lot stronger because he trusts you more, or vice versa. It could be that you managed to go on a hack, or outride, or trail on your own. It could be that you got fit enough that you could feel your seat in the saddle, and not only that you could impact your horse with it. Imagine that! If that is not a goal for 2018, can I just suggest that maybe you make it one.
I want you to get reflective on this, and figure out what was a success in 2017. What achievements are you most proud of? Again, it doesn’t have to be competitive. For me it was getting back into the saddle on a regular basis. That was an achievement! It starts 2018 off on a whole new footing for me. So, work that out and have a think about it.
How did this achievement (whatever it was) improve your relationship with your horse? I want you to get a little bit deeper, and really pick out the pieces.
Because if you are going to make goals going forward that make you happy, and that you align with as a person – you need to figure out what was it that made that goal worth doing, or worth getting, or worth reaching.
Also, what didn’t go so well in 2017? This will often be your starting point when it comes to ‘improvement goals’ for the new year.
What challenge did you maybe fail to overcome? What happened? Why did it happen? What distractions did you have to deal with this year? Was it the sort of year that threw a lot of things up in the air for you, or was it the year that you really got things figured out? If you didn’t reach your goals, why didn’t you?
Now I know that they are very big questions. Again, you can get your free worksheet HERE which will allow you to go through these questions in your own time.
2. Awareness of the changes that happened
Understanding what changed about you as a person and as a rider can be eye-opening for many equestrians. Was there a pivotal moment or an ‘aha’ moment in your riding this year? Very often this is something you will have heard, read or seen before but for some reason, it just clicked now makes perfect sense.
How have you changed as a rider in this past year? Have you become more patient, have you become more quiet; always a good thing! Have you become more diligent?
Perhaps you are now more consistent? Consistent in your aids, consistent in your riding, consistent in your reactions and responses. How have you changed as a rider?
What would you have done differently this past year, and why would you have done it differently? If there was something that maybe didn’t go to plan, or something that hindsight being twenty-twenty you can look back and say that if I had that over I would make a couple of changes there. And why? It is not only realising where you would make the changes, it is understanding why you would make the changes, so that we don’t allow the same thing to happen again going into the new year.
What do you want to leave behind in 2017? What do you want to just close the book on? That chapter is over, it’s finished, it’s gone. There is nothing you can do about it, and you know what even if there was, you are choosing not to.
The other side of this is knowing what you want to bring with you into the new year.
3. Identifying Your People
Who supported you the last year in your riding? This might not be an equestrian person per se. This could be a husband who maybe cooked dinners. This could be the person who drove the horse-box. This could be the person who brought the horse in from the field, so that you had enough time to spend on your riding. It could be of course, an instructor, a trainer, a friend.
Who supported you, and who has made the biggest positive impact on your riding in the past year? It doesn’t necessarily have to be a ‘who’, it could be a ‘what’. It could have been a blog, it could have been a video, it could have been a course, it could have been a program. It could have been a lesson, it could have been a specific person.
Realising who or what has had the greatest impact will allow you replicate that in the coming year. It also helps you build momentum.
Who, if anyone, has held you back? Oh yes, there is always the people there who hold you back. I want to do a whole program on this soon. It may be people at the barn, an instructor or trainer, a husband or a partner, a boss, an employee…
Who would you like to connect with in the new year? This could be a person that you already know, and you just want to take that connection further, or deeper. It could be somebody that inspires you. It could be somebody at the yard or the barn, that you find that when you are around them you just have clearer thoughts about your horse riding, and what to do in the saddle. It could be an online person. Who is it? Who would you like to connect more with in 2018? If this is an online person, it could be as simple as commenting on blog posts, by the way. It doesn’t have to be ‘in person’ connections.
4. How did you show up in 2017
Oh… This is a goodie! You can get worksheet HERE to go through it all. It is good because in there, you can grade yourself and your performance this past year. A report card of sorts on 2017, and how you showed up as a rider and an equestrian.
For extra bonus points you can also look at what grades you want to finish this new year with – 12 months from now…
5. Moving Forward into 2018
Finally, moving forward into the new year. What new goals or achievements will you be working towards? What sort of rider do you want to become? What do you want to feel in your riding this coming year? How do you want to feel about your riding this coming year?
This all begins with making a decision, identifying what you are looking for, and then put your mind to getting there.
And from all of this information I want you to choose your word for 2018.
My word is supple. Physically, mentally, emotionally supple. Supple in how I ride, in how I respond and in how I approach things…
I would love to hear what is your word for 2018.
Happy Riding
Lorna
Links mentioned in the episode:-
- Get your Reflections Worksheets by clicking HERE
- Episode 1023 on Planning Out Your 2018
- Blog Post – Riding Alone; Are you Making Progress?
