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In a sport that revolves around the bond between horse and rider, it’s easy to forget that the rider’s mind matters just as much as the horse’s body. John Haime, a high-performance coach and former professional athlete, sees this imbalance every day. “What happens in our sport,” he explained on The Plaidcast, “is everything’s focused on the horse. And there’s not much focus on the rider.”
Riders spend thousands of hours learning to improve their horse’s fitness, movement, and rideability, but how much time do they spend working on themselves? According to Haime, not nearly enough. “The mental, the emotional, the feeling, and the thinking are everything,” he said. “It’s the foundation. And if that foundation isn’t there, then everything becomes a problem.”
Building Confidence From the Inside Out
When Haime begins working with clients, he doesn’t start with show goals or technique. Instead, he starts with the person. “We focus on three things: confidence, emotional resilience, and mental skills. But before that, it’s really about self-discovery. Who am I? What are my values? How do I make decisions?” he explained.
Confidence, in Haime’s view, isn’t built through repetition alone. It starts with understanding yourself and developing personal clarity. “Most people don’t have a lot of awareness of who they are,” he said. “And if they don’t have that, how can they be confident in a ring when something goes wrong?” Riders who know what drives them and where their value comes from are better equipped to handle pressure and recover from setbacks.
The Invisible Blockers Holding Riders Back
Haime works with top riders across the globe, and what he often sees isn’t a lack of talent. It’s an overload of anxiety, doubt, and emotional chaos. “They can do everything technically, but they go in the ring and everything falls apart,” he said. “I say, look, it’s not a technical thing. It’s the emotional part, the mental part that’s getting in the way.”
This disconnect can be especially frustrating for juniors who train intensively but still struggle to deliver consistent performances. “The emotional component is so significant and we don’t pay any attention to it,” he added. “We think if the horse is going to be better, everything’s going to be okay. That’s not true.”
Mental Fitness Is Trainable
Just like leg strength or core stability, mental and emotional fitness can be developed over time. Haime emphasizes the importance of intentional practice—not just riding more, but training the brain to respond better under pressure.
“When something goes wrong, how do I react? What do I say to myself? Where does my energy go?” These are the kinds of questions Haime helps his clients explore. “We train how people think, how they use their energy, and how they manage their emotions. All of that impacts performance.”
To begin developing your own mental skills, start with this simple framework:
- Identify your personal values and use them to guide decisions.
- Develop a consistent pre-ride mental routine to calm nerves.
- Reflect on emotional patterns that show up when you ride under pressure.
- Practice self-talk that is constructive, not critical.
- Focus on excellence, not perfection (more on that in a later article).
The Whole Rider Matters
For Haime, the goal isn’t just to create better competitors. It’s to develop healthier, more self-aware riders who enjoy their sport and build stronger bonds with their horses. “When you understand who you are and build a more solid foundation,” he said, “you ride better. You have more joy in it. And your relationship with the horse improves too.”
It’s time for riders to stop thinking of mental training as an extra or a fix when things go wrong. Like good horsemanship, it’s part of the foundation. “The person is more important than the rider,” Haime said. “When the person gets better, the rider gets better.”
To hear the full conversation with John Haime, listen to the episode on the Plaidcast. Subscribe and follow The Plaidcast on your favorite podcast platform for more conversations with leaders shaping the future of equestrian sport.
