Improve your Rider Confidence: Three steps to get the changes you want 

In this short article, I share three steps to improve your rider confidence using a set of simple and effective tools to help you shift your mindset, and improve your rider confidence to get the changes you want to start building your riding confidence. 

When you think about working on your confidence levels it can be easy to get weighed down by the challenges that you my face. This three step exercise can help you to take a step back and observe your challenges from a different point of views.

The technique helps you look at what is going on and make a plan to the best way to move forward. It can be used in all aspects of your life to create harmony between you and your horse as communication is key to your relationship and moving forward. 

I recommend that you grab a pen or paper, laptop or table to write down your answers to the below questions, as the physical act of writing down your thoughts can trigger other thoughts which can help guide you towards becoming a more ‘rounded’ confident rider. 

Step One

Ask yourself ‘what could I do now to help me become a more confident or positive rider?’

Firstly, list all of the things that you could do in your current position (no matter how small they may be) that could benefit you and your horse. 

Secondly, list all of the things you are not doing at the moment, which maybe you could do more regularly, restart or get further coaching around to aid your connection with your horse. 

Thirdly, think about what you could start to incorporate into your daily or weekly activities with your horse to help you enjoy riding again.

Step Two

Now you need to think about things that you could stop doing which may be having a negative effect on your confidence with your horse. It is important here not to beat yourself up over things, but to think of things objectively. Don’t tie these things into yours or your horses emotions as this can easily set you back.

1. Think about what is not working for you (and your horse) at the moment. Where are things going wrong? Often we do things that are unhelpful in a situation, which could be getting in the way of improving your confidence and achieving your goals through continual repetition of limiting beliefs ‘I can’t do this because of X, Y,Z’. 

2. Ok so now think about whether you have any bad habits that you could limit? Would this open up new possibilities or different opportunities for you if you were able to change them?

3. Think objectively again, don’t judge yourself – you are trying to determine the ‘bad’ habits you currently have and ultimately let them go (easier said than done, but it is a great place to start), now think ‘what can I stop doing right now to see if that has an impact?’ 

Step Three

What are you doing at the moment that is helping you be a more confident rider that you should continue?

Now think or write down all of the things that are helping you move towards your goals (short-, medium-, long-term) at the moment. Are there any that you could apply across other areas of your life, which in turn could help you improve your ridden fulfilment and confidence? 

Review your list and think about how these could be incorporated into your daily routine, if these positives become a daily habit, then you should see a steady improvement over time. Remember small increments build up over time and can lead to huge changes over time.  

If you have any comments I would love to hear from you in the below box. 

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