Now it is time for blog number three!
This time I’m going to write how important it is to be mentally prepared for contest and how I think and prepare myself.
I think mental training is very important and plays a huge role for the results. The most important thing is to find a way and have a plan that you feel safe with. There are lots of different ways to work with it, you can try mental training, use family, friends and coach as a ballplank. You simply have to feel your way forward. To me it has been that I have worked a lot with myself, how I think and how I put things up, and for me routines are incredibly important.
I’ve always turned inwards before it was time for me to ride, always kept myself alone and did not want to talk so much. I wanted to focus alone and had a hard time when my parents wanted to start a conversation. I could lay all night and go through the program time after time. When I moved to Patrik it wasn’t that easy either to handle the preassure that I put on myself, I absolutely wanted it to go well. I didn’t want to let down either Patrik och the horse owners. But I had the worlds best boss and trainer (Patrik) who always supports and come with good advice and who has always stood by my side during the seven years that I’ve soon worked with him. And come with good advice and a lot of good jokes through the headset to make me relax. 😉
Now I’ve gathered a lot of experience and become less introvert. I still want a calm environment before starting so that I can prepare. I also have forbidden myself to go through the program the night before. Now i do that the first thing in the morning instead so that it wont affect my sleep. When going through the program I first teach myself the paths and after that I go through exactly how I will ride every meter of the program, every half halt, posture, and straight direction is being repeated. To me it is very important that the program is completely rehearsed so when I enter the track I can focus on riding exactly as planned. Then everything can happen anyway but I find myself more prepared and think it is easier to control unexpected events coming from that preparation.
I’m an incredibly competitive person, I know what I want and if I’ve set up a goal, I’ll do anything to try to get there. Nowadays, I am also much better at dealing with my nervosity, and when I sit on the horse and move toward the progression, it is blown away. Then there’s only the idea that now we’re going to bet and when I ride the track and turn to the middle line, I usually whisper quietly the horse I ride:
-Now let’s do this!
Photographer: Lars Jehmiller