Welcome to Trainer Tuesday! Each week we ask trainers a question and gather their answers for you. These trainers have a range of experience, backgrounds, and focus points of their programs, so the answers have as much variation as you would expect and also probably much more similarity.
This week’s question posed is: What is something that people get embarrassed of at a horse show that they shouldn’t?
Here are their answers:
“Things you shouldn’t be embarrassed by:
- Missing. It happens! Focus on building your riding skills and your eye will improve.
- Doing the same division as someone who is a significantly different age than you are. We are all humble learners on the path to becoming the best riders and horse people we can be. Age is irrelevant.
- Jumping the same height that you did last year, or the year before. Strive to become the best rider in your division, not a weak rider in a more advanced division. Show respect for the horse, and for the sport, by striving for excellence.” -Margaret Clayton
“Riding and horse showing are, in my opinion, two different skill sets. Horse showing is really about tapping into your riding knowledge and tools in a situation filled with variables that you cannot control (the weather, the courses, the footing, the competition, the judging, the spectators, the energy around the ring)… When we’re new or inexperienced competitors, the excitement and nerves create a “fight/flight/freeze” response which, of course, makes it harder to access your riding toolbox and hear your horse (or coach!). Mistakes are often made when the body is in this neurologically dysregulated state of “fight/flight/freeze.”
In these moments, I think it’s always safe to assume, everyone is doing their best and none of these riding errors are made intentionally. That said, being an expert in the show ring takes practice–lots of practice! It takes repetition and consistency to compete in a horse show with a regulated nervous system. I believe it requires a good, understanding, thoughtful coach who knows how to prepare you and your horse for competition and tries to create a consistent routine, preparation plan, and prescribed horse show schooling and ring-side agenda that can provide a rider with structure and predictability in a sea of horse show chaos.
Being an expert in the show ring takes years of practice and there’s just no substitute for time in the ring! You should never be embarrassed for having a chemical response to stress and stimuli–it’s normal and human. Mistakes happen–even great riders mismeasure, misjudge, or misremember! Be kind to yourself on your journey towards horse show ring expertise! Mistakes are just lessons in horse-colored wrapping paper!” -Claire Gordon-Neff
Read more from Claire here.
“Anything that does not follow your plan in the ring or while schooling or riding your horse should not be an embarrassment so long as you arrived at that moment equipped with your best intentions and great effort. Making a mistake doesn’t mean you weren’t trying hard.” –Shaun Clark
Read more Trainer Tuesday Responses from Shaun here.
“Having a bad ride. I had a well known trainer give a clinic at my barn and he said to us “ if you ride a 100,000 rides in your life only one of them will be the ‘best’ ride”. That resonated with me; now I can laugh when I make a mistake.” -Missy Roades
Read more Trainer Tuesday responses from Missy here.
“Too often, people get embarrassed when they chip a jump. They shouldn’t get embarrassed by this as everyone chips a jump at some point. Usually a chip happens due to lack of track and pace. Or if the rider and horse are not properly balanced. Instead of being embarrassed, take the time to talk with your trainer on how to learn from the chip. And then make those improvements going forward.” -Jenn Tirrell
Read more from Jenn here.
“Chocolate chipping a jump. We are all humans. We all make mistakes! I’ve seen the best of the best chip. Laugh about it and move on!” -Johanna Hyppa
“Years ago, I had a small pony kid who thought everyone would ‘talk bad’ about her if she missed a distance or ‘messed up’ on course. She was maybe 9 or 10-years-old. I told her it was okay to make mistakes at her age on a greener pony–that everyone missed every now and then! So, after her trips, while we were hanging out for the jog, I had her walk around with me and chatted with the other riders in her class. I asked them how their trip was. Then I’d ask them if they had seen ‘Susie’s’ trip. They said they had and that it was pretty good. She asked them, ‘Didn’t you see me get too close to the grey wall?’
It showed her that her interpretation of her course was pretty different from others. She finally ‘lightened up’ on herself, and actually started riding better! Her peers were not as critical as she thought!
Everyone has to start somewhere. Embrace the mistakes. Figure out why they happened and address it at your next lesson. Laugh at yourself every now and then! If you’re not having FUN at this sport- then why do it?” -Jennifer Pigue
Read more from Jennifer here.
“Making mistakes…Being a perfectionist doesn’t help anyone. Mistakes are going to happen. Focus on what worked in your round and what you want to repeat again. Spend only a few minutes thinking about the mistake in the mindset of “how can this mistake help me improve?” Absolutely everyone makes mistakes. Embarrassment is a normal emotion to feel, but if we can shift our mindset from prove to improve, we’ll get better faster and feel better along the way.” -Casey LoRusso
“As a professional who takes students to compete at shows, the number one thing many get embarrassed about is missed distances—mostly the good old chip! I find that when this happens to students, they have let their nerves get the best of them and start to forget how to ride. I pride myself in coaching kids to continue to ride out of an awkward or poor distance so they don’t get caught up and let the rest of the course fall apart. Once they understand why this is happening it is generally avoidable. I also always preach that everyone makes mistakes, so don’t let these moments get to them. Our number one job in that ring is to try to keep our horses and ourselves as safe as possible, to stick to the plan and have fun! Lastly, to use each experience as a teachable moment, good, bad or ugly!” -Kimbreley Hill
Read more from Kimbreley here.
“Going off course or falling off. It happens, and I give anyone credit who steps into the show ring because it’s hard. This sport is hard no matter what level you do it at and nerves get the rider and nerves get to the horse. It happens, we are humans and allowed to make mistakes and not be judged by others for it.” -Kathleen Caya
“One imperfect moment!
We all have them, and we’ll all have more. I think it’s very important as a community to normalize the fact that we are more than a social media highlight reel. Every single one of us has missed somewhere along the line, so normalize being nice and understanding, putting an imperfect moment behind you, and carry on trying to do your best. As long as we focus on rhythm, track, and balance and place our trust in trainers and mentors that help us set realistic goals for where we are on our journey, then we are doing our best, and that should be the focus.” -Claire Bangert
“Making mistakes in the show ring. With social media nowadays, it’s so easy to think everyone is winning or putting their best foot forward at all times when they compete, but it’s so important to remember that social media is almost exclusively highlight reels. Everyone needs to make mistakes in order to learn, and trial and error for both ourselves and our horses is a huge part of our sport. Enter that class, try that inside turn, and commit to that distance. If you don’t try, you’ll never know if you can do it. We all make mistakes every day, so focus on your own highlights to keep yourself motivated and learn from your mistakes for next time. While you may remember every mistake you’ve ever made, everyone is so focused on themselves that odds are they won’t even remember it by tomorrow.” -Lexie Lohre
“Often, people stress over other people watching them ride, making small riding mistakes, like losing a stirrup, picking up the wrong lead, missing a distance to a fence, their horse misbehaving, even not wearing the most expensive brand name attire. The amount of additional stress people put on themselves can be quite intense. At the end of the day, it’s all supposed to be for enjoyment, and people forget that. remind my students to be realistic when horse showing, setting very small achievable goals for themselves and their horse, along with having fun. Your frame of mind, attitude, outlook, and self-talk is extremely crucial. Horses are not machines and perfect all the time. Every single rider, including professionals, has their fair share of mistakes and errors! Learn from any mistakes, stay positive, be a good sportsperson & horseman/woman regardless of what happens, and that’s actually what people will remember most.” -Brooke Markowitz
“Something we have seen a lot is customers getting embarrassed about the faces they are making over the jumps. It can be a beautiful jumping picture of the horse, and they look like a puffer fish because they forgot to breathe.”-Livia and Sean Steffee
“Something I’ve seen people get embarrassed about at a horse show–literally everything! With my younger students and juniors, there is always a lot of comparison between themselves and other riders. The smallest mistake can make them feel embarrassed, not having what they deem the “fanciest horse” or nicest jacket and boots–but everyone is out there trying their best and worried about themselves, probably not noticing anything about your ride or turnout!” -Ali Calcagni
