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Even the best riders have tough days. Mistakes are a part of the sport, and how we respond to them can define both our growth and confidence. For top rider and trainer Quentin Judge, helping riders bounce back from a bad round is just as important as helping them prepare.
Remove the Emotion, Watch the Round
When a student is upset after a rough class, Judge doesn’t jump into critique mode. Instead, he asks them to take a step back and look at the facts. “Let’s watch the round just as if you’re watching someone else, just like one of your friends, and take the emotion out of it,” he explained. This approach helps riders separate their self-worth from the performance and allows for constructive reflection.
That detachment, he said, often brings a new perspective. “You might come out and think, I’m such an idiot, I kicked the horse through two front rails… but if you watched your friend do it, you’d say, ‘Oh, you just looked a little bit deep twice. Those post-jump great.’” This reframe can be a powerful tool in maintaining morale and preventing downward spirals of self-criticism.
Put the Mistake in Perspective
It’s easy to get stuck in a narrative after something goes wrong. Judge sees this often with amateur and junior riders. “It’s very easy for them to get focused on one thing—like, ‘I don’t do bending lines well.’” But instead of drilling that same problem again and again, he suggests a more productive approach. “Let’s work on something else that’s related but not that exact issue. Your horse is a big stride, so the only thing we’re gonna think of is outside track and every bending line.”
Reframing the mistake helps riders approach it with curiosity rather than fear. “I think it’s important when they go back in the next day to have them think of something else that is gonna help, but not that exact issue they were ruminating on for hours.”
Positivity as a Training Tool
Judge credits his effectiveness as a coach to his ability to read his clients. “I think of one of my skills as maybe my best attribute: really getting to know who I’m helping from the ground.” That emotional intelligence becomes essential when confidence is low.
Rather than dwelling on what went wrong, Judge chooses positive language to guide riders. “I remember I read Michel Robert’s book, and he says, ‘Always think something in a positive way.’ Instead of saying, ‘Don’t pull around the corner,’ say, ‘Try to go forward around the corner and soften your arm.’”
He added, “I find that the most helpful thing in training. You can kind of tell if someone has a spot they’re worried about, and if you say, ‘Make sure you don’t do X,’ it’s probably gonna happen. Try to say it in a way where it’s something positive to focus on.”
Key Steps to Reset After a Rough Ride
Whether it’s you or your student who had the bad round, here are a few strategies Judge uses to move forward with intention:
- Watch the video without emotion. View it as if it’s someone else riding.
- Look at the whole round. Identify what actually happened—don’t exaggerate the issue.
- Redirect focus. Practice related skills, not the exact “problem” spot.
- Use positive cues. Frame corrections in terms of what to do, not what to avoid.
- Normalize the experience. Mistakes don’t define a rider. They’re a chance to grow.
Stay Critical, But Stay Kind
It’s easy to spiral after a bad day—especially for driven riders. Judge admitted that even he can fall into the trap. “I think I do it better as a trainer than as a rider for sure. I could use [that advice] myself,” he said. “For myself, I can in about an hour find about a thousand things I did wrong. Maybe it was because three days ago I put in my left shoe instead of my right first. You go crazy about it.”
That level of pressure helps no one—especially when paired with high expectations and the natural ups and downs of working with horses. “You gotta remember, these are horses,” he added. “They don’t speak English. They’re not thinking, ‘Oh, I should’ve done this.’ You gotta find different solutions.”
The key isn’t to ignore what went wrong, but to move forward without judgment. “You’ve got to take the emotion out of it and think critically about what actually happened. What would I like to fix, and how do I do it the next day?”
To hear more from Quentin Judge on mental performance and coaching, listen to episode 440 of The Plaidcast. Subscribe and follow The Plaidcast on your favorite podcast platform for more conversations from top riders and trainers.
