Q, What differentiates a novice rider from an elite rider

A, Their mental representations.

What’s your mental representation for example of a canter transition? When you picture what a canter transition looks like in your head what does it look like? What can you see, what can you feel? Now if we could magically read the mind of an elite rider let’s say for example Charlotte Dujardin how would her mental representation differ from your own? Mental representations are essential to execute any complex skill. If we had to consciously process our every movement our working memory would be overloaded. Mental representations allow us to react and respond to a variety of situations. You’ll have a mental representation for how to respond when your horse comes above the bit, A mental representation for how to react when your horse falls onto its outside shoulder, a mental representation for when your horse runs away with you, the list is endless!  The problem comes when the mental representation that you have internalised is less than ideal.  So, if you want to become a better rider you need to build better metal representations. So how do we go about doing this?

1, Find a good coach. A good coach will help you develop an awareness of the patterns you have internalised and then will be able to help you to build new better quality mental representations.

2, Model expertise. Choose a particular element of a skill, for example riding a halt transition or a shoulder in then seek out examples of the movement being ridden at a high standard. Start by taking in key elements of the way the rider executes the movement. Then using imagery visualise yourself riding the movement from a first-person perspective.

3. Be your own coach. To build better internal representations you need to engage in what psychologist Anders Ericsson refers to as deliberate practice. Once you have built an idea of the desired mental representation its time to get in noticing mode. Calibrating on the new ideal mental representation to consolidate performance.