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Laena Romond knows a thing or two about long days, mental stamina, and the kind of grit that keeps you going when things get tough. She finds that the sport that’s taught her the most about riding… isn’t riding at all. It’s marathon running.
To her, the two disciplines look different from the outside, but the mindset behind them is remarkably alike.
Learning to Ride Through Imperfect Moments
Endurance sports teach athletes that things won’t always feel perfect, and that doesn’t mean anything is wrong. Runners expect a certain hum of fatigue or discomfort that ebbs and flows across the miles. Laena sees a parallel in the saddle.
“You have rounds where everything feels great, and rounds where you’re managing little things all the way around,” she said. “You don’t stop just because one moment felt off. You keep going.”
She explains that horse shows, especially the big fall indoor circuits, demand a similar steadiness. Long days, pressure classes, little setbacks that show up at inconvenient times all teach riders to keep their minds moving forward instead of reacting to every wobble.
“That’s part of riding,” she said. “You stay with it. You ride the day you have.”
The Art of Narrowing and Widening Your Focus
One of the skills Laena uses in both running and riding is the ability to adjust her focus—sometimes narrowing it to a pinpoint, other times widening it to take in the bigger picture.
“In running, there are miles where you have to dial in and stay very close to what’s right in front of you,” she said. “And then there are moments where you need to zoom out and look at your pacing, where you are in the race, or what’s happening around you.”
Riding, she believes, asks for the same flexibility.
“There are times in a course where you’re completely locked into the next jump or the next turn,” she said. “And then there are times you need to open your frame a little—see the track, feel the rhythm, understand how the whole round is developing. Knowing when to zoom in and when to zoom out is huge.”
Managing Highs, Lows, and Everything in Between
Fall indoor shows have the reputation of being demanding. They require careful planning, unwavering focus, and the ability to handle highs and lows without letting either one define the day.
Laena felt this firsthand at Capital Challenge.
“I kept feeling like I was one mistake away from a really great round,” she said. “I’d fix one thing, and then something new would pop up. But instead of spiraling, you learn to see it as part of the process. You don’t throw the whole picture away because of one moment.”
It’s the same mindset she uses in marathon running. A single bad mile doesn’t predict the finish. A single brilliant mile doesn’t guarantee it, either.
“You manage what’s in front of you, and then you manage the next thing,” she said. “Riding works exactly the same way.”
Horse shows rarely unfold in a neat, linear way. Travel schedules shift. Weather interferes. Work gets busy. And like any athlete juggling sport and life, Laena has learned how to trust the sum of her experience rather than chasing a perfect buildup.
“You won’t always feel amazing walking into the ring,” she said. “But that doesn’t erase the work you’ve done. The foundation is still there.”
The same is true in distance running. Runners might enter a race after a less-than-ideal training block, yet still call on years of conditioning and discipline. Laena takes comfort in the parallel.
“The good days and the rough ones both accumulate,” she said. “They add up to something you can rely on.”
A Shared Mental Discipline
What ties riding and marathoning together, in Laena’s view, is the mental discipline behind each stride. “Both are long efforts,” she said. “Both require you to stay present. Both ask you not to panic when something goes sideways. And both reward the ability to keep your mind clear over time.”
It’s not about perfection. It’s about resilience. “You don’t have to feel perfect to ride well,” she said. “You just have to stay engaged and keep going.”
Whether she’s holding a galloping rhythm on course or settling into the early miles of a race, Laena leans on the same mental muscles: presence, adaptability, and steadiness. Those tools don’t come from chasing ideal feelings. They come from practicing how to move through moments that aren’t perfect.
“Riding and running have taught me the same thing,” she said. “You take the next step, then the next, and eventually you find your way.”Hear more from Laena Romond and Tonya Johnston on Plaidcast Episode 458, where they explore riding, mindset, and the mental skills that carry athletes through their biggest moments.
