Global Horsemen--Mental Preparation For A Winning Ride by Richard Shrake

Talk with any athlete who is a world class competitor in his field, and he will soon tell you that mental preparation is just as important as physical preparation. Whether it is tennis, golf, track and field, rodeo events or horse shows, the coaches and competitors say that 75 percent of their winning ways come from the mental side.
If you've ever watched the Olympics, you've probably noticed how each competitor was able to put his mental game plan together: they focus mentally, on a perfect run or pattern. The horse show ring is not any different. The pressures of winning are the same in any sport.
I can really relate to this. In my life, I have not only been lucky enough to compete as an exhibitor and trainer on a national level, but have also been there to support many students and owners through the same pressures.
I first want to stress that proper mental preparation does not mean saying to yourself, "I am going to win the all-around next weekend and then the world championship". All that does is inflate your ego, and set-up high pressure expectations that will hurt you more than help you.
What proper mental preparation does mean is to visualize yourself competing in each event. Fix in your mind the image of just how you will go through your class, every step of the way, and imagine yourself performing perfectly.
Mentally review just how you will ask the horse to make his transitions and other movements called for. If the class is trail, imagine how you will approach and negotiate each obstacle. If it's a reining class, go through the pattern, reviewing how you will make your circles , and the procedure for asking for lead changes, spins and stops
Feel yourself moving the horse's shoulder over and putting more weight in your outside stirrup as you ask him to change leads. See yourself and your horse having quiet, balanced, clean rides on the rail for pleasure classes, with a quick, straight back up. If you are going into a showmanship class, visualize your horse setting up in less than four seconds, and working so light.on the lead shank
Not only does this type of mental exercise contribute to a better performance, it is also an excellent way to control nervousness. It makes you feel you are in control of what happens, and is a wonderful tool for reducing pre-performance anxiety.
I've found there are two times and places that this activity works well. One is while in the truck, on the road to the show. There are few distractions- the phone isn't ringing, you're not trying to locate pins for your number, and people aren't coming up and trying to talk to you. The other time is in the warm-up ring, or in a quiet corner, just before your class is to begin.
In the warm-up ring, concentrate on keeping your horse's attention and building his confidence by working on the same basic suppling exercises or other fundamentals that you work on at home. Your horse will be more secure in doing something he knows well, and he'll be relaxed.
If you change your routines from home to show, you are only asking your horse to take on a new personality at the shows. He will not be able to do something at a show that he hasn't already learned at home. For those of you who wonder why your horse works differently at the shows than he does at home should remember that you are the pilot -- the horse is only capable of responding to messages he gets from you. He doesn't just "decide" to be bad at shows. Occasionally, outside factors might cause a reaction in your horse, but just remember, he needs to look around, just as you do. When you get the show grounds, take him for a ride, let him become aware of everything around him. Take him inside the arena and just let him walk around freely.
If you have spent a lot of time building confidence and putting together a strong game plan at home, don't change it at the last minute at the horse show. Take those good positive plans and ride over to the corner of the warm-up ring by yourself. Then take a few moments to go over the plans in your mind.
The worst thing you can do is to worry about the movements that you or your horse have trouble with. The more you worry about something, the greater the chance that your horse will "blow it" by picking up unconscious negative cues from you. Negative thoughts produce negative performance.
A classic example of how negative thinking works happened to one of my students several years ago at the American Junior Quarter Horse Association World Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This girl was a superstar, and had won several dozen all-arounds at Quarter Horse shows.
In the qualifying round for the horsemanship at Tulsa, she place first by four points. She was a lead-pipe cinch to the win the world title. On the day of the finals, about ten minutes before the class, we went over the pattern that would be used. She knew it by heart, and knew just what she had to do to make a perfect run. Then, being the proud coach of the next world champion, I puffed up and walked around talking with everyone. About two minutes before the class, this girl's mother came down out of the stands and told her, "Whatever you do, don't let your horse drop a hind lead change for a couple of strides like he did at the Oregon show two weeks ago -- this is almost the same pattern.
Well, the rider went into the ring worrying about her past mistake, and sure enough, her horse made exactly the same mistake again because the girl had lost the mental focus necessary to cue the horse correctly. Needless to say, she did not win the world championship. The mother didn't realize what she had done, and I was just as guilty for not staying with the girl. If I had, I could have prevented her from planting such a negative thought immediately before the class.
Negative thoughts can have bad effects in all walks of life. For example, I know a minister who counsels prisoners. Of the prisoners he has worked with, 95 percent were told at some time by their parents that they were so bad they would end up in prison. And they did. These men never received any positive input from their parents, only negative.
The same thing applies in our teaching and training, and I've done one experiment that proves it. At several clinics, I randomly split the riders into two groups. As the first group prepared to ride the final test, I said to them, "It's been a pleasure to work with you because you have ridden so well and have shown marked improvement. You are handling your horse well, keeping your hands soft and slow, you are sitting balanced in the middle of your horses, and I've hardly seen you make any mistakes, It's exciting to work with people who ride this well". Then I had them go through the pattern.
To the second group, I said something like, "I know this pattern is too hard for you because you have been making mistakes all morning. Your timing is off, your rhythm is off, and your hands are harsh and too quick. I should have selected an easier pattern for you, but go ahead and try this one".
I've done this experiment a few times, and always, the first group makes 20-40 percent fewer mistakes than the second group. It just goes to prove that if you tell someone he's dumb, he will make dumb mistakes.
If you get on a horse every day and think, "This dumb ol potlicker is worthless", he probably will be. But if you get on him with a more realistic attitude, such as, "There is great talent there somewhere, and as a trainer it is my job to find it", your attitude will be reflected in the horse's performance and progress. You have to find something positive about every horse and build on that. If you have a totally defeated attitude about a horse, he will be worthless.
You also must apply the same philosophy to riders. One time I was judging a show with a well-known horseman. In one class, he judged a little girl who had nothing but grief......she couldn't get anything done with her horse. But as he walked down the line-up of horses, he told the girl, "You have a real pretty horse and he has a super walk".
When I commented on how surprised I was that he could find something good to say about the girl, he replied, "That's the key to helping riders. You can always find something good to say about them, and that will encourage them to go on and try even harder".
I've learned how very true that is. But you've got to be honest with people. If a rider really has a terrible go, you can't tell him he was terrific, because he'll know you're not telling the truth. But there will always be something he did well.

To wrap this up, here are several thoughts:

1. Before riding your horse through the gate, always have a game plan in mind and know exactly what ;you are going to do, and when you are going to do it. If it's a reining class, ride the pattern several times in your mind, mentally reviewing the process for asking for stops, lead changes and so forth. And know exactly where you will make your circles, lead changes and stops, If it is a western riding class, know just where you will make your lead changes, and picture your horse going over the log in perfect form. If possible, also walk the pattern on foot in the arena, either during the lunch break or before the show starts.

2. Don't let other riders "psych you out". Some riders will do this deliberately, and others do in unintentionally by telling you something like, "The far corner sure is spooking the horses", or, "The footing is too deep for the horses to stop well". When you hear such comments your mind starts to worry: "Wow, I'm afraid my horse will spook", or "He's not going to be able to stop!" Wipe those negative thoughts away and think positively. "My horse never shies and he won't start now", or "He's such a good horse, he'll find a way to stop!"

3. Suppose you go to a show and your horse blows the first class. All too often, the tendency is to start making excuses and to think you might as well go home, The trick in such a situation is to learn from your mistake; determine why the horse blew the class, and then work to correct the problem. We can all learn from our mistakes, and then we will be better riders. Never let your attitude defeat you. I always tell my riders that classes in a horse show are like innings in a baseball game: Each one is different, and one shouldn't have anything to do with the other.

4. There is a wide variety of instructional videotapes on the market today, and they are an excellent tool for learning. Watching a videotape is almost like a private lesson every time you watch it. Furthermore, you are more relaxed while viewing it than you might be in a lesson.

If you watch a tape frequently enough, pretty soon your subconscious takes over, and when you get on your horse you will be making the same moves with the same timing and rhythm that you saw on the tapes. This positive reinforcement helps to prepare you for the show ring without negative input. Again, remember, your winning ways come from your attitude and mental preparation as well as your physical preparation.