Have you ever noticed the feelings that come up when you return to a place which you have not visited since childhood. There is almost always that feeling of familiarity, blended with the realisation that things have changed. Somethings are gone, somethings are new, and yet the essence of your original memory remains. Returning to riding is a little like this. It…
So you have made the decision to get back into the saddle. You feel great about it. Making a decision, one way or another, often has a way of settling us a little, even if the road ahead is less than smooth. But there you are, big girl pants on; all mounted up, bum gently lowered into the seat of your saddle… And…
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder – and riding horses is no exception to this. Unfortunately, this ‘fondness’ is one of the big reasons many riders, on returning to riding, end up feeling quite underwhelmed very quickly when back in the saddle. If you have ever had to take a break from riding, planned or not, you will know…
So there you are, walking along and at some point or another, you find yourself having to ask for trot. You might walk a little faster, perhaps include a little jig jog or two until, 4 or 5 seconds later, you are finally trotting. This is not ideal at all! But what is it about transitions between walk and trot,…
I’m going to just assume that because you are reading this, confidence, or the lack thereof, has become a theme in your riding. If so, you are in good company. Unfortunately lost confidence is an all too common issue for a lot of riders. I say ‘lost’ confidence, because there seems to be an extra challenge in losing your confidence,…
The final day of our challenge – and today I want you to turn your attention back to yourself and your horse. We are so close to the end of the year I want you to have a think about where you are right now. Is this where you thought you would be 12 months ago? Did you reach your…
