Our mindset has a huge influence in everything we want to achieve and perform so learning how to master it can really help to enhance your confidence and your enjoyment. Your mindset is built around your thoughts, attitudes and self beliefs which determine your feelings, behaviours and thoughts during different situations. The lens you use to view yourself, the conversations you have with yourself and your approach to learning and personal development will directly influence your approach in your unique personal journey towards your success and fulfilment.
What does a confident rider look like…?
This is one of the questions I like to start with when I’m working 1:1 with clients. I’ve noticed over the years that a confident rider has real self belief in themselves and have developed a great system so trust in their process. They continually work on developing their technical skill; their physical fitness (which includes their strength, balance and posture) They develop a clear understanding of their mental self talk and emotional reactions and understand the strategies required to perform at the level, in the discipline, they aspire to ride at. They leave no stone unturned in their pursuit of knowledge and understanding seeking constructive feedback for further personal growth and learning.
So you can see Confidence in the saddle isn’t a have it or don’t have it, you have to work on it, no matter what level you enjoy.
Confidence is built on many integrated layers within those four areas-Technical Skill, Physical Fitness, Mental Skills and Strategic Knowledge. All of which we have the control to improve 🙌🏼 Knowing and trusting in yourself and your training systems and the team around you help create the very best environment for you to thrive in and be confident.
All four of these areas need equal attention to detail and hold as much importance as each other if you want to compete at your best for an optimal performance then all four areas need your attention.
You’ll be working on your technical, physical and strategic area with your ridden coaches so let’s start with looking at the mental side and for me the first area we should look at is Self Awareness.
Starting to understand how you view YOU is the first step to knowing yourself so you can start to draw on your inner resources to develop more confidence.
Here are few questions for you to mull over so you can start to observe and understand your riding self better…
1️⃣I ride because…. Knowing your WHY is extremely important for your motivation.
2️⃣ My Values- how do I bring them into my riding and relationship with my horse
3️⃣ My strengths are….at least three please, and YES you do have them
4️⃣ I’d like to improve..choose three to balance your strengths, who can help and support me
5️⃣Ask your coach what I do well in my lessons and how I can improve an area for next time
6️⃣Am I taking the same care for my physical health fitness, hydration, sleep and nutrition as well as I take care of my horse? You’re a 50/50 partnership!
7️⃣What would like to achieve in the coming year, what are the steps that I need to take and who will be in my support team. We’ll look deeper into Goal Setting later in the series.
Answering these questions will give you an accurate assessment of where you are right now.
Journaling is a great way to start to notice helpful and unhelpful pattens that may be holding you back, but it’s not for everyone! Some write a few notes on their phone and others can write reams and reams-do whatever works for you, there is no right or wrong! It’s an exercise in understanding YOU. Developing good self awareness is the first step to developing confidence.

Ask for your coaches feedback, it will pinpoint areas for technical improvement and they will all have some physical takeaways too, to help you improve your balance, co-ordination and posture! Small improvements each week will elevate your technical skills and slowly you’ll notice that in a few weeks there are some great things happening!
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