It's tempting to watch other horse people and feel either somehow deficient, or somewhat rushed. Many of us end up avoiding new learning because it takes us out of our comfort zones.
However, it helps to think of "competition" not as an aggressive, winner-take-all, loser-get-none scenario, but as a process of self-development and education. In other words, the quickest route to winning might be to "compete" against yourself instead of others - in all areas of riding and horsemanship.
Not just in the show or competition arena, but in everything from horse management, to ground skills, to training and skill development, to doing the most fun things you've always wanted to do with horses - like a weekend camping trip, a trail challenge, or a swim at the beach.
If you regularly look for ways you can expand your skills, you will surely be on track toward making progress as you build in step by tiny step into your regular routines. Here are 6 ways that you can improve by competing against yourself.
Watch Others
In this day and age, you don't even have to watch a rider in person (although you certainly can do that too). Search for your topic of interest and you'll likely find many videos on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. Look for clinic videos, major shows (that are often live-streamed) and training videos put up by professionals from all around the world. Watch them and see what you would like to emulate, and what you would definitely like to avoid doing. Then take some of those ideas back to your horse and start practicing.
Instruction
You can't avoid instruction when it comes to horses. Not even for ground work.
Find a well educated instructor who understands your goals and needs, and commit to a regular riding schedule. If you would like to develop new skills, you have to find the information you need, and then dedicate time and effort into your "homework."
Steps
Break down your goals into small, manageable steps and be satisfied with making incremental progress. Learning is a funny thing. Once in a while, you might make a huge leap in your skill development all at once. Other times, you might have to claw your way through each phase, feeling like it's one step forward, two steps back.
Stay devoted to challenging yourself and build your repertoire of skills one after another.
Routine
One way you can develop new skills is to put them into your regular riding (or ground work) routines. So if you want to work on canter departure, for example, make sure you integrate this specific skill into each and every ride.
You can work on the transition toward the end of your warm-up, in the "lesson" phase of your ride (when you do something new or something you're still working on) and then maybe do a little "pop quiz" at the end of your ride, just before you get off the horse.
In this manner, you can weave the new skill into other more comfortable movements.
Feedback
Get feedback from a clinician or judge (who maybe doesn't know you at all) and work on their recommendations.
Alternately, self-assess. How did your ride go on the trails? How well did you get along with your horse at the beach? All of the results are a form of feedback that you can use to inform your understanding of your progress and training with your horse.
Track It
Finally, it is important to keep track of your progress. Use a journal to reflect on the new skills and plan your next steps week to week. Or use the Goal Setting For Equestrians workbook I've designed specifically for equestrians to document rides and events. Later on, you can come back to your notes to gauge your progress, areas that need special attention, and achievements.
Don't think about competing against everyone else. Rather, compete against yourself, step by step. One sunny day, you may come to the realization that skills which seemed unreachable have become your new everyday comfort zone. Soon enough, you will have to challenge yourself even beyond those levels!
Finally! The Ultimate Rider-Centered Program!
