Strides for Success

Tag: new year

  • Planning Your Month to Make Progress in Your Riding

    Planning Your Month to Make Progress in Your Riding

    [fusebox_track_player url=”https://op3.dev/e/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/dailystridespodcast/1224_Planning_Your_Month_to_Make_Progress_in_Your_Riding.mp3″ title=”Planning Your Month for Progress in Your Riding” social_linkedin=”true” social_pinterest=”true” social_email=”true” tweet_text=”Here’s how to plan your horse riding this month…” hashtag=”podcast #horseriding #equestrian” twitter_username=”strides_success” ]

    Planning.  I love making plans.  They are always so exciting to create, but often fail to deliver the necessary results when we try to act on them. This is usually because we are not planning correctly when it comes to our rides.

    This is a system you can use to help you plan your months in your riding that will help you move things along…

    This episode of the Daily Strides Podcast has been plucked from a week of lessons from Daily Strides Premium called “Planning for Progress in Your Riding”. The full week of lessons are available right now when you join Connection

    Start Slow with Your Goals

    I am all for big goals.  I love them.  You know the type of goals that make you think “Really, could that happen? Is it even possible?”.  However, if you are new to the whole ‘planning your month for progress in your riding’, I am going to suggest something more ‘doable’.

    What is there, right now, in your riding that is pretty doable for you and your horse to achieve or make happen this month?

    Think of things that, given your current set of circumstances, won’t have a lot of resistance show up along the way.  Now, initially, you may think ‘but that is too simple’.  However, I am going to ask you to trust me on this one…

    Trust me, if you can reach that small goal over the coming 4 weeks, you will also begin to achieve something else – MOMENTUM! 

    Your Current Circumstances & Lifestyle

    Having a goal of riding 4 days a week for the upcoming month is great.  Except if you only managed 2 days the whole of the previous month.  Or, even worse, you didn’t make it into the saddle at all the previous month!

    Your current circumstances probably won’t magically transform overnight because you have set a goal that requires them to do so. So it makes sense to set goals that work with how things look right now…

    It’s also helpful to realize if your current lifestyle or circumstances are not helping you when it comes to planning your month for progress in your riding.  This will allow you to begin making small shifts and changes, month on month.

    By gradually changing what your ‘current circumstances’ look like over a longer period of time – you can be in a completely different place 12 months from now. 

    Creating Stepping Stones

    What makes progress possible is the daily, consistent, little steps you take to improve your conversation with your horse. These are what matters.

    Set the intention that every ride this month will have a focus that leads you towards your bigger goal – then do just that.

    By remaining consistent in your approach, both you and your horse can build the momentum you need in your training to really and truly make the coming 4 weeks count for you in the bigger picture.  

    And, doing that 12 months in a row… Who knows where you can be, come this time next year

    Happy Planning!

    Lorna

    Planning for Progress in Your Riding

     

    This episode comes from a full week of lessons on this topic.  In this group of lessons, I will show you my proven, step-by-step monthly practice that I use with my riders, which will result in you actually beginning to see results in your riding.

    When you join Connection; my monthly online membership for equestrians, you will the full week of lessons on this topic.  You will also get weekly audio horse riding lessons (5 per week – each 12 minutes long) to use in your riding. 

    Guided audio horse riding lessons, weekly bonus live training, personal accountability, monthly challenges, and so much more… And all of your training is available on a private podcast feed so you can listen while you are with your horse :)

    Find out all the details and join today HERE

    Extra Resources for Riders

  • Reflecting & Moving Forward in Your Riding

    Reflecting & Moving Forward in Your Riding

    Reflecting on the Past Year going forward into the New year

    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

    [smart_track_player url=”https://op3.dev/e/traffic.libsyn.com/dailystridespodcast/1024-Reflecting-on-and-Moving-Forward-in-Your-Riding.mp3″ title=”Reflections and Moving Forward in Your Riding” social_linkedin=”true” social_pinterest=”true” social_email=”true” tweet_text=”Grading yourself as a rider and how it can help you in 2018… ” hashtag=”Equestrians #reflecting #goals” twitter_username=”strides_success” ]

    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:-

  • A System to Plan Your Year in the Saddle

    A System to Plan Your Year in the Saddle

    A System to Plan Your 2018 In the Saddle

    What this episode is all about & how it can help you:-

    • Reviewing the past year – what worked, what didn’t
    • Planning out the coming 12 months using quarterly themes
    • Including other ‘stuff’ in your plans to help keep it realistic
    • Building out the next 4 to 6 weeks

    [smart_track_player url=”https://op3.dev/e/traffic.libsyn.com/dailystridespodcast/1023-Planning-Out-Your-2018-in-the-Saddle.mp3″ title=”Planning out Your 2018 in the Saddle” social_linkedin=”true” social_pinterest=”true” social_email=”true” tweet_text=”Simple, step by step system to planning a year of progress in the saddle…” hashtag=”Horseriding #Planning #Goals” twitter_username=”strides_success” ]

    So how was 2017 for you and your horse?  More importantly, do you have a clear plan going forward into 2018?  For many riders, one of the big factors to 2017 not being as ‘great’ as it could have been is due to how they approached the year.  It is easy to enter January with big ideas, bigger goals and near impossible resolutions…

    What if, today, we rather invested a little time formulating a plan for the new year.  Something actionable that, when all is said and done, you feel is definitely possible for you to not only achieve, but also if given the right circumstances, surpass.  Interested?  Great!

    Review Your Past Year

    Firstly, you need to clearly lay out how things went in 2017, and how it has impacted where you are right now with your riding journey.  Try and go as deep as you can with this; the good, the bad, what worked, what didn’t.

    What I find works well for me is to think back and choose a couple of really stand out positive moments.  This helps me to start the process and also, gives me a guideline for some things that I perhaps want to make happen again in 2018.

    Becoming clear on what makes you happiest.   Then simply using those moments as a compass for plotting a course towards making more of that happen, or involving more of than in your current lifestyle in the new year..

    Once we have 4 or 5 of those positive experiences, we can turn our attention to the not so great.  Obviously, there are going to be a few of these littered throughout your past year.  Whatever your challenge was, it is important to understand it.  Have a look at what didn’t work, why didn’t it work, and what you could do differently to make it work.

    Choosing Your Word for the Coming Year

    From here, you can begin thinking about the coming 12 months.  What I would suggest you do is to pick a word for this coming year.  This word will help simplify decisions.  Is it aligned with the word, or not.   This word is what you want your riding journey to represent in the coming year.   Mindful, connected, compassionate or patience are some possibilities.

    Once you have this word choosen, you are going to begin seeing how you can weave it in to the quarterly themes that you choose for your riding.

    Planning Your Quarterly Themes

    A year can seem like a long time.  We all know and realise that it is not, but approaching it as one big chunk of time can often cause one of two things to happen.  Overwhelm or fatigue.

    In order to navigate around this, but still keep your ‘year goals’ on track, I suggest breaking the year into quarterly themes.   Each quarter will be a piece of the puzzle which will make up the year goals, but they will also have separate goals of their own.  A little like “sub” goals.

    Try and choose your themes in a way that act as stepping stones towards the big ‘year’ goal.  But see them as individual goals in and of themselves.  From here, break each goal down over the twelve weeks, 90 days or 3 months.  However you decide to do it, is up to you.

    Start by pretending you have achieved that smaller, quarterly goal and then work backwards to where you are right now.  This will give you a clear picture of what has to be done on a monthly, weekly and then daily basis to reach the goal from your current situation.  Then simply make sure that the theme works with your choosen word, therefore keeping you aligned with your values.

    Keep the Plan Realistic by Including ‘Life’ Events

    Before you finalise any of your quarterly plans, make sure you have also included any life events into your schedule or calendar as well.  The non-equestrian related happenings that we all have going on in our lives.   These include holidays, work events, birthdays, retreats, travel, school holidays or anything that has the potential to throw your regular calendar off a little.

    These things are important and they will have an impact on your time, your focus and attention and also, perhaps, financial situation.  Doing it this way also allows you to consider your energy levels.  You can ‘tweak’ your quarterly themes to work with you, rather than against your current lifestyle.

    The Final Step; the Next 4 to 6 Weeks

    The final piece of planning out your 2018 to get what you want is get really detailed on what the coming 4 to 6 weeks will look like in your riding.

    I realise that Christmas is a busy time for many people and, due to this, may not be the best place to start.  Find a date that you can realistically start things.  Spend a week or two preparing everything if necessary.  The riding place, the stables, inoculations, dewormer, farrier, leather repairs…  You and your horse are a team and as team leader, it is your responsibility to make sure that everything is in place when you do decide to move forward with your plans.

    Plan it all out, and then plot out the 4 to 6 weeks.  Look at what the theme was and now get specific on what you are going to work on each week leading towards that end goal, the 90-day goal.

    For example, it may be working on your half halt.  This builds up to your trot, which then builds to the canter.   Theme out each of the months inside of the 90 days, and then start filling in the details. I want to work on my half halt, which means I am going to dedicate 20 minutes on that day working on my seat and how I am using it in the saddle.

    As you work on each week, find exercises that are going to help you with exactly that.  They are going to keep you accountable and moving forward in your riding.  This is the key to getting the results you want in the coming year.

    Happy Riding

    Lorna

    Links mentioned in the episode:-