Don't Think, Just Ride
In the years I've spent teaching lessons and helping friends with their riding, "Don't Think, Just Ride" is something I've said A LOT. Over-thinking can cause so many problems and so much tension in so many riders, and especially for riders who have the muscle memory and skills to get the job done, thinking too much just holds them back. Once a rider stops all the over-thinking and negative self-talk, things tend to magically get better.
But as with so many things I teach other people, I don't always teach myself to master the same skills. Funny how that happens ALL THE TIME.
As you all know, since the end of the summer jumping has been causing me a lot of anxiety. I was getting super worked up every time I headed towards a fence, worrying that Dino was going to stop and I was going to fly over his head like the guy they shoot out of a canon at the circus. In reality, I have the skills, fitness, and ability to jump my pony around just fine, but my mind was telling me otherwise.
But somewhere in the past couple weeks, all of my anxiety just left. It went south for the winter. It peaced out. It's GONE. I stopped over-thinking, and worrying, and just rode. And I jumped Dino around a nice little course with absolutely no stress whatsoever. It was awesome. And yesterday I got the opportunity to ride a neat lesson horse at a friend's barn, and ended up jumping him 3'6" without batting an eye. Neither of us could believe that I had jumped a new horse that high without getting anxious about it! It felt so, so good. I can't wait to keep building up the confidence and positivity!
But as with so many things I teach other people, I don't always teach myself to master the same skills. Funny how that happens ALL THE TIME.
As you all know, since the end of the summer jumping has been causing me a lot of anxiety. I was getting super worked up every time I headed towards a fence, worrying that Dino was going to stop and I was going to fly over his head like the guy they shoot out of a canon at the circus. In reality, I have the skills, fitness, and ability to jump my pony around just fine, but my mind was telling me otherwise.
But somewhere in the past couple weeks, all of my anxiety just left. It went south for the winter. It peaced out. It's GONE. I stopped over-thinking, and worrying, and just rode. And I jumped Dino around a nice little course with absolutely no stress whatsoever. It was awesome. And yesterday I got the opportunity to ride a neat lesson horse at a friend's barn, and ended up jumping him 3'6" without batting an eye. Neither of us could believe that I had jumped a new horse that high without getting anxious about it! It felt so, so good. I can't wait to keep building up the confidence and positivity!
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