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Personal Performance
When I Can’t Spend As Much Time As I Want Practicing On My Horse, How Do I Keep Moving Forward in My Skills?
Here are two closely related questions I received on this topic:
1. How can you get enough physical practice off the horse to build enough time to be really world-class (the 10,000 hours)? Will visualization really work?
2. The closest trainer is two hours away, so I do the best I can on my own and take clinics as often as I can. I was wondering how often I should be riding my two horses to stay competitive? I really seem to get hard on myself when I can't find the time to ride as often as I think I should.
It can be frustrating when you can't spend the hours in the saddle you want. This is a common brick wall because of "real life" work and family. It's easy to feel overwhelmed and discouraged that you are not getting anywhere or even backsliding.
The key is to find solutions that will help you make friends with your situation. Resistance and frustration unchecked can cause you to keep spinning in the thought pattern that there's never enough of whatever ... time to ride, time to improve ... to the point that you don't enjoy and appreciate what you do have.
Looking for and adopting solutions (although not perfect), allow you to make the most progress possible.
Here's a three-step sequence to help you maximize whatever physical practice time you do have.
Step One: Sort out your goals.
What do you want to achieve in the big picture? What do you want to achieve this year? Break these two questions down into both measurable goals and riding goals. A measurable goal would be to qualify for a year-end award. A riding goal might be to develop your seat, feet, and hands.
Focus on performance-based riding goals like better balance. This is the only thing you have control of.
Consider the time you can dedicate now to your riding. When you set your goals, did you set yourself up for success by making the time period realistic? You can determine if something is "realistic" FOR YOU by tuning into how good you feel as you think about it. It's as simple as that. We can all get into trouble by pushing too hard, too fast. How you feel as you think about something is always your best personal gauge for making decisions. ALWAYS. Challenge yourself, but make sure you keep it fun. There's no one standing over you with a gun demanding you go at breakneck speeds.
Step Two: Maximize (put a power punch into) your physical and mental practices.
The best possible scenario anyone could have to develop their skills as fast as possible is to dedicate almost all of their time to physical and mental practice; like Olympians do, for example. But most of us lead lives that demand we juggle priorities. So here are some suggestions to maximize the time you do have:
Give serious time to mental practice. Nothing occurs without happening in your mind first. While you cannot develop technical skill without physical practice, your mental practice can accelerate your progress incredibly. Research has shown that your body does not know the difference between something vividly imagined and the real thing! You actually develop neurological pathways with mental practice! Learn the tools of self-talk and visualization. Practice getting into a state of focused, high positive emotion and then experience wonderful rides in your mind. I cannot overstate the power of this.
Map out a clear, sequential riding practice plan with your trainer that is precise. Let him or her know how committed you are. Bounce ideas back and forth in terms of the number of times you can show up and how your sessions will be structured. Strive to work on your weaknesses in targeted small chunks. So instead of some generic practice, go for the throat of where you need help!
Step Three: Make sure you enjoy your journey. Keep reminding yourself that nothing is more important than this.
Trust you are where you are meant to be. Appreciate your current skill level as you get excited about the future. As you review your most passionate dreams, think of it as only a matter of time until you get there. Know you are on a path that has blessings to be enjoyed now (in both the "good stuff" and the challenges) and ... have a view of the future that thrills you.
About the Author
Barbra Schulte is a personal performance coach for all riders, a cutting horse trainer, author, speaker, and
clinician. Visit her Blog and signup to receive her FREE monthly email newsletter, “News From Barbra”. You will also receive the high performance secrets of great riders, inspiration, cutting strategies, news, and much more. In addition, you will also receive via email Barbra’s special FREE report: “Five of the Most Important Skills of Riding”. Go now to http://barbraschulte.com/
