Goal Setting
for showing horses
Are you ready to show?
With a ton of pressure to go out and show, many riders put it on their list to do but seldom get around to doing it. How do you get to the point you feel ready to go out and show your horse?
The trick to showing is to take the ride that you have at home into the show arena. When the horse and rider are consistent in their work, the test flows. If the rider is having problems in the ride at home, they will most certainly have the problems at the show. Part of getting ready for the show arena is having an instructor to watch for any compensations we may not know we’re doing. A good instructor helps keep riders consistent in their training. Preparing yourself mentally and physically with a horse goes along way with feeling ready to go out and show.
How to get into the show arena
If your goal is to show with your horse, how do you get there? Maybe it’s a question you never specifically asked yourself and maybe comes the feeling of being overwhelmed. That feeling is okay because anything worth doing can put butterflies in your gut.
Start by separating all the steps to get you into the show arena.
Everyone starts at a different point and that means everyone’s journey to accomplishing their goals is different. What worked for one rider may not work for another. Allow yourself room to breathe and accept your starting point because it’s your journey.
#1 LIST STEPS
List the steps you need to take towards your goal. Dissect what you feel would be a step towards your main the goal. Maybe you need to start with the end result and work your way to the starting goal. Each person is different with how they prepare.
#2 FIND TIME
Set aside the time it would take for each step. Determine the amount of time you think it would take to do each step on your list. This helps organize what the realistic time it will take to accomplish each thing. Goals aren’t going to come overnight and the patience it takes requires discipline to continue striving towards something.
Example Goal:
To get ride my first second level test with my new horse.
Action Steps:
- Schedule more time to ride
- Go to at least 4 lessons a month
- Strength train once a week
- Learn the test run through the test once a month
- Practice visualizing riding the test
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