Here’s Something That Can Make You a More Confident, Successful Rider

What makes a competitive rider successful? Well, one thing’s for sure. The rider winning all the blue ribbons at the moment isn’t necessarily the most successful one.

You can do that by getting a great horse that wins despite your poor riding, or by entering classes that offer no real competition. In other words, you can do it without really putting yourself to the test or improving your skills. Unfortunately, that leads only to hollow victories.

Meaningful victories, on the other hand, come when your performances demonstrate personal improvement and growth. And riders with a healthy view of what competition is all about understand this, because they know success is more about accepting challenges and rising to the occasion than it is about beating other riders and their horses.

It’s about putting yourself in positions that stretch your capabilities, so you can test your limits and get better over time. It’s about becoming all you can be as a rider, and helping your horse be all he can be, too, win or lose. And it’s about being able to enjoy the whole process immensely, rather than getting stressed out about putting yourself in the spotlight or competing against other riders.

That’s what separates the successful rider from the one that never really improves. That’s what produces the kind of rider you look at in a year or two and marvel at how far she’s come. That’s what produces the kind of rider you should want to be.

The Five Keys to Success

What is it, then, that most helps you become this kind of rider?

In our view, it comes down to five things:

• Developing superior riding skills
• Developing your inner strength
• Improving your training productivity
• Achieving peak performance in the show ring
• Improving your knowledge of horses and horse-training

These five things are what give you the confidence and self-assuredness you need to take on greater challenges and perform your best when it really counts. They’re what give you the drive and persistence you need to keep pushing forward through difficulty. They’re what give you the capabilities you need to make the most of every practice session and perform your best in the show ring.

In the end, they’re what separate the rider who succeeds over time from all those talented people who stagnate or abandon their dreams altogether.

Next…

Click the link below to discover more about how you can improve yourself in each of these five areas.

After that, take a look at our core product areas focused on riding instruction, peak performance, horse training and industry-specific training. They’ll give you an even better sense of how you, too, can become a much more successful competitive rider, or help others improve their performance.

Finally, make sure you sign up for Lindsey’s blog before you leave. Its articles explore all five of the areas just discussed and offer her unique insights into how riders can improve their results dramatically.

Join us as we explore how you can improve your performance and become all you can be as a rider.

Riding Skills