Developing a Pre-Ride Routine
By April Clay, Registered Psychologist
Preparing yourself for a good ride may not be as difficult as you think. Developing a pre-ride routine is an easy and effective way to make sure your rides count. And as a bonus, you may just end up with a very thankful horse.
Riding is a team sport. You are partnered with an animal in order to achieve certain goals. As you are the leader, you determine the direction and effort necessary to reach those targets. It is your task to communicate these directives; in a way your equine teammate can understand. In this way, every ride can be thought of as a conversation.
Just like our human conversations, many distractions can enter into the picture to disrupt the message. You may drag any number of issues with you into the ring- a fight with a coworker, disappointment in a friend or stress from school. All of these mood-altering experiences have the potential to cause static in your horse rider conversation. Protecting this communication from unnecessary distraction is only one service a routine can provide.
One routine, multiple benefits
Think of what an athlete encounters when they arrive at an Olympic venue. There are a multitude of distractions both pleasant and unpleasant. Things like new people, rings, celebrations, foreign food and atmosphere can pull focus away from the task at hand. When these athletes step into their pre performance routine, they are cutting out the noise and focusing in on what is really relevant to their performance. That means for a whole lot less stress.
“Before I had a routine, my focus was everywhere. I was always watching other riders, worrying about measuring up or disappointing someone” says Beth, an established amateur competitor. “Now, I know what I should be doing at all times before I go in that ring. And everything I do relates to getting the best out of myself. I have specific steps that I follow. It really calms me down”.
Besides reducing show ring jitters, routines can help you establish a consistent approach to your ride. Karen, a dressage rider who had a tendency to be hard on herself and become negative easily, developed a way to start her ride to help anchor her mind in the positive. “Before every ride I always think of three things I like about my horse and am thankful for. This sense of gratitude helps me focus on the good stuff. It also helps me start from a really positive place. I also say “thank- you” at the end of every ride.”
You can use a routine to start a training ride or prepare you for competition. The benefits are similar. Taking certain steps can assist in reducing stress and distraction, focusing yourself on the task at hand and maximize your chances of “being in the zone” or the best state to produce a successful ride.
Getting Started
A pre-performance or pre-ride routine begins with where you want to end up: your ideal state. How do you want to feel at the beginning: mentally, physically, emotionally? What will bring forth your best effort? The routine you build should then help direct you to that ideal state.
For example, junior rider Emma wanted to start her competitive rides with more confidence. She often rode much less effectively at shows, and her nerves got the best of her. So Emma came up with three steps to prepare her to ride with confidence. “My way to confidence is to listen to music while I tack up. This keeps the negative thoughts out and improves my mood. Next I focus on my goal for warm up, a strong forward canter. Before I go in the ring I visualize using that kind of canter to ride the course. I find my routine really helps. It has me riding again instead of being scared and forgetting what I know.”
So ask yourself, what is it you need for your best ride? Is it relaxation, energy, positivity, or even courage? Routines are as individual as the riders who use them. Everyone needs something a little different, and will use a personal way of meeting that need.
Before you tackle constructing a pre-competitive routine, challenge yourself to create a system for your training rides. Call upon your mental skills like visualization, positive self talk, focus control and goal setting. How can you use one or more of these to prepare yourself for a great ride?
Another way to think about your routine is that it is your “mental tack-up”. You are readying your mind to think in the right direction.
Here some more examples.
Choose a simple formula and start experimenting
Remember that routines are shortcuts that help guide you to the place you need to be: your ideal state. So don't get too complicated. Choose carefully, as each step of your routine should meet a need of you or your horse’s. Most routines can do double duty, for example a goal may calm both yourself and your horse during warm-up. Your self-talk can be designed to alleviate your show ring nerves and ultimately provide reassurance to your mount.
Reviewing and revising your performance routine
Your mental tack up and pre-performance routine won’t always remain the same. As you develop and have different needs, then so should your preparation. Perhaps as your butterflies become more under control, your routine needs to change to more of a focus on your energy or your horse’s state. Routines can also become stale and meaningless over time, so you may want a change just to keep things fresh.
Want to get tougher? Try the Resilient Rider Online Course today! Go to www.outofyourmindcourses.com for more information
© April Clay, 2016, Originally published in Canadian Horse Journal
By April Clay, Registered Psychologist
Preparing yourself for a good ride may not be as difficult as you think. Developing a pre-ride routine is an easy and effective way to make sure your rides count. And as a bonus, you may just end up with a very thankful horse.
Riding is a team sport. You are partnered with an animal in order to achieve certain goals. As you are the leader, you determine the direction and effort necessary to reach those targets. It is your task to communicate these directives; in a way your equine teammate can understand. In this way, every ride can be thought of as a conversation.
Just like our human conversations, many distractions can enter into the picture to disrupt the message. You may drag any number of issues with you into the ring- a fight with a coworker, disappointment in a friend or stress from school. All of these mood-altering experiences have the potential to cause static in your horse rider conversation. Protecting this communication from unnecessary distraction is only one service a routine can provide.
One routine, multiple benefits
Think of what an athlete encounters when they arrive at an Olympic venue. There are a multitude of distractions both pleasant and unpleasant. Things like new people, rings, celebrations, foreign food and atmosphere can pull focus away from the task at hand. When these athletes step into their pre performance routine, they are cutting out the noise and focusing in on what is really relevant to their performance. That means for a whole lot less stress.
“Before I had a routine, my focus was everywhere. I was always watching other riders, worrying about measuring up or disappointing someone” says Beth, an established amateur competitor. “Now, I know what I should be doing at all times before I go in that ring. And everything I do relates to getting the best out of myself. I have specific steps that I follow. It really calms me down”.
Besides reducing show ring jitters, routines can help you establish a consistent approach to your ride. Karen, a dressage rider who had a tendency to be hard on herself and become negative easily, developed a way to start her ride to help anchor her mind in the positive. “Before every ride I always think of three things I like about my horse and am thankful for. This sense of gratitude helps me focus on the good stuff. It also helps me start from a really positive place. I also say “thank- you” at the end of every ride.”
You can use a routine to start a training ride or prepare you for competition. The benefits are similar. Taking certain steps can assist in reducing stress and distraction, focusing yourself on the task at hand and maximize your chances of “being in the zone” or the best state to produce a successful ride.
Getting Started
A pre-performance or pre-ride routine begins with where you want to end up: your ideal state. How do you want to feel at the beginning: mentally, physically, emotionally? What will bring forth your best effort? The routine you build should then help direct you to that ideal state.
For example, junior rider Emma wanted to start her competitive rides with more confidence. She often rode much less effectively at shows, and her nerves got the best of her. So Emma came up with three steps to prepare her to ride with confidence. “My way to confidence is to listen to music while I tack up. This keeps the negative thoughts out and improves my mood. Next I focus on my goal for warm up, a strong forward canter. Before I go in the ring I visualize using that kind of canter to ride the course. I find my routine really helps. It has me riding again instead of being scared and forgetting what I know.”
So ask yourself, what is it you need for your best ride? Is it relaxation, energy, positivity, or even courage? Routines are as individual as the riders who use them. Everyone needs something a little different, and will use a personal way of meeting that need.
Before you tackle constructing a pre-competitive routine, challenge yourself to create a system for your training rides. Call upon your mental skills like visualization, positive self talk, focus control and goal setting. How can you use one or more of these to prepare yourself for a great ride?
Another way to think about your routine is that it is your “mental tack-up”. You are readying your mind to think in the right direction.
Here some more examples.
- Visualization: Use a “video clip” to reconnect with a past ride you felt proud of.
- Music: Put a power phrase like “do your best forget the rest” to a tune and play it in your mind as you approach the in-gate.
- Breath restart: Use a cycle of three deep breaths paired with key words of your choice- example: “let-go”.
- Focusing in: Imagine your mind like a camera. It pans out to take in the entire environment around you, and then bit by bit adjust your camera to only include what is important to your ride.
Choose a simple formula and start experimenting
Remember that routines are shortcuts that help guide you to the place you need to be: your ideal state. So don't get too complicated. Choose carefully, as each step of your routine should meet a need of you or your horse’s. Most routines can do double duty, for example a goal may calm both yourself and your horse during warm-up. Your self-talk can be designed to alleviate your show ring nerves and ultimately provide reassurance to your mount.
Reviewing and revising your performance routine
Your mental tack up and pre-performance routine won’t always remain the same. As you develop and have different needs, then so should your preparation. Perhaps as your butterflies become more under control, your routine needs to change to more of a focus on your energy or your horse’s state. Routines can also become stale and meaningless over time, so you may want a change just to keep things fresh.
Want to get tougher? Try the Resilient Rider Online Course today! Go to www.outofyourmindcourses.com for more information
© April Clay, 2016, Originally published in Canadian Horse Journal
