A few weeks ago, I attended with my SEPAR supervisor, an event for referees hosted by the Officiating Growth Hub at the University of Gloucestershire. I had some really great conversations with the referees, and it has given me a lot to...

Have you ever thought to yourself, “If I get to ride at that level, then I’ll be happy,” or “If I compete at that championship, I’ll finally feel like I’m a good rider”? You work hard, push yourself, and eventually reach the milestone you’ve been chasing, only to find...

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, commonly known as ACT is growing in popularity among sports psychologists. It offers an alternative to the tradition of positive thinking. Encouraging athletes to instead accept difficult feelings and rather than wrestling with them,...

  If you haven't already, before reading this blog head over to YouTube and look up ‘selective attention test’.  ........................................................................................................................................ ...

3 Reasons why riding can be good for your mental health   Equestrianism, as a sport, of course brings with it many sources of stress and challenge. Firstly, there's the huge investment of time and money. Often certain aspects of riding can be anxiety inducing, in...

When you watch a highly skilled rider in action, a dressage rider performing a flawless flying change or an event rider skillfully navigating a cross-country jump. it’s easy to marvel at what appears to be mystical talent. But behind every polished performance lies a...

Goal setting has become a popular subject amongst equestrians. You don’t have to look far to find goal setting journal or workshop encouraging us to set SMART goals. But what happens when those goals aren’t met? Or when the pressure to achieve them becomes...

Self-talk is something we all use a lot of the time. However, it is not always helpful. At its best self-talk has a variety of uses, it can be used to motivate, to aid focus, build confidence and aid skill acquisition. A good way to think of self-talk is as either...

For me motor imagery is one of the most valuable yet underused psychological skills within equestrianism. The term imagery is often used interchangeably with the word visualization. However, imagery is largely considered the correct term due to the most effective...

As a coach one thing that has always intrigued me is how some riders have considerable knowledge around correct riding technique, however they sometimes struggle to put it into practice, but at the same time some riders have high levels of riding ability but can not...