Making Success a Habit
When you talk to yourself (in your own mind), do you tell yourself that you are heading for success? Or do you tell yourself that you are failing? Our thought patterns create a large part of our reality because we act on our thoughts. They can also become habits. I...
It’s the thought that matters
How much of your life and riding is influenced by your thoughts? The answer is much more than you think! I have undergone some major changes in my personal life and, naturally, when big things happen to us, our mind goes into overdrive. As the changes unfolded, I...
Releasing the Pressure
There are many situations in our daily lives when the pressure is just too high for us to bear. It may be the pressure to perform, the pressure of expectation, and/or the pressure that we place ourselves under. We often experience the same with our riding, even though...
When Decisions Matter
How to make decisions when they matter We are often faced with having to make decisions that affect our lives. Some of the decisions we make are of little consequence and therefore, if we get them wrong, it doesn’t matter. But what about the ones that do matter? The...
Give up Your Goals
If there's one thing we learned in the first half of 2021 it is that things won't go back to normal as quickly as we hoped. In fact, I think we all gradually realised that the old normal does not exist anymore and will never come back. So, how do we deal with such...
Be Kind to Yourself
There’s a popular saying and it goes like this: “Would you talk to your friends like you talk to yourself? And, if the answer is no, why are you so hard on yourself?” I see so many riders who constantly beat themselves up. Today, I gave a lesson and the rider, who...
The Year That Changed us all
Towards the end of 2019 a lot of people seemed glad to see the end of what they described a tough year… Little did they know what ley ahead. First the devastating bushfires and then, well… COVID-19. But was 2020 really a terrible year? I like to think it wasn't. It...
Braving Trust as Equestrians
Disinformation, suspicion and scepticism… Distrust. It spans centuries and cultures. Our timeless obsession for murder mysteries, outsmarting imposters and calling out sabotage has made the Sherlock Holmes series, the boardgame Cluedo and the latest online game Among...
Embracing The Unknown
I think that by now, we have all come to the realisation that we are in the middle of a pandemic and things are not going to go back to normal as quickly as we were hoping at the beginning. In fact, I think we are all gradually realising that the old normal does not...
It’s the Thoughts That Matter
How much of your life and riding is influenced by your thoughts? The answer is, much more than you think! I have recently undergone some major changes in my personal life and, naturally, when big things happen to us, our mind goes into overdrive. As the changes...
How to be a Good Learner
How do we keep learning? In a previous article I spoke about the importance of trusting your ‘gut feeling’ - the intuition you have of whether the advice is good for you - before you receive that advice. This time, I want to discuss what to do when you don’t have a...
Taking Stock and Moving Forward
As we see the end of 2020 and the birth of a brand-new year, I thought I would reflect on the year that changed us all. Towards the end of 2019 a lot of people seemed glad to see the end of what they described a tough year… Little did they know what ley ahead. First...
It’s Time to Change the Culture
In this article, Tanja Mitton comments on a recent article in Eurodressage by Adriane Alvord, “The Pain that Lives Behind the Barn Door” referring to the tragic death of Teresa Butta in the US. We have lost three professional riders to suicide in the last three months...
Recovering Your Worth
How do you recover when someone questions your self-worth? I think we have all experienced moments when someone has made us feel unworthy. This sometimes takes the form of bullying, but other times it is very quiet and dismissive. Either way it hurts! Let’s be honest...
Research into the Human-Horse Bond
There’s a sense of peace that comes with standing in a pasture of grazing horses. There’s something that feels incredibly safe about surrounding ourselves with dozens of animals each weighing 10 times our own weight and seeing that they have no intention of hurting...
In Every Crisis There is Always Opportunity
Ok, so most of us have been spending much more time at home than we would normally do. That’s a good thing, right? Most people long to spend time at home, have a holiday, slow down, have more horse time and finally read that book that they have started months ago but...
Can Horse People Get Along? Tips from Six Blind Men and an Elephant
It is possible for horse people to get along? Horse people! We have a reputation for being a bit, well, crazy. But not just in the eccentric way. I mean in the way that we don’t get along very well with one another. It’s quite ironic that if anyone was going to...
It’s Time to Change the Culture
I want to comment on a recent article in Eurodressage by Adriane Alvord, “The Pain that Lives Behind the Barn Door” referring to the tragic death of Teresa Butta in the US. We have lost three professional riders to suicide in the last three months and there are many...
The Equestrian Coach Challenge
The coronavirus crisis is creating huge problems, but it's also opening opportunities for us to focus on connecting with what really matters and embracing the opportunity to lead. A leader who believes in turning a crisis into an opportunity for meaningful change is...
Pony Club Australia Launches Plan B
Pony Club Plan B. Even though your local Pony Club is not running competitions or rallies right now, there is still plenty to do. Pony Club Australia has launched the #ponyclubplanB to help you BE ACTIVE - BE LEARNING - BE CONNECTED BE ACTIVE: Have an Active April!...
A New Year… A New You?
New Year Resolutions. Another year has finished and the new one has started already. Who’s been playing funny games with the clocks? We don’t get any younger but hopefully, we are getting a little bit wiser. For most of us, the new year comes with new plans, new goals...
A New Year… A new You?
Who has been playing funny games with the clocks? Another year has finished and the new one has started already. We don’t get any younger but hopefully, we are getting a little bit wiser. For most of us, the new year comes with new plans, new goals and another attempt...
Put a Spring in Your Step
Spring is all about embracing change and staying flexible, while still achieving the goals you have set. Now that the dark evenings have gone and the days are getting longer, it is time to sit down and make plans for what you want to do in the next riding season. You...
Bias Beware! Researchers have identified more than 50 types of biases
Bias I own the most beautiful horse in the world. Well, maybe I’m a little biased. We all have our own biases – things that skew our attention away from seeing the bigger picture or considering other options. Sometimes our biases are just towards our likes. Most of...
Giving Advice
Let’s talk about how to best help others. We all find ourselves in the position where we give advice to other horse owners or riders - either as a coach in a lesson situation as a volunteer when helping out in your own club, or simply as a friend. As parents and...
Taking Action – The Simple Guide
Ok, here it goes, I am saying the ‘P’ word... Procrastination! How often do we know we have to do something but we don’t do it? Or on the contrary, how often do we know that we SHOULDN’T do something but we still do it? One is procrastinating and the other is getting...
Three Steps to Developing Focus
Developing Focus: We can ride with focus or we can ride while being distracted. The difference will be enormous. The distractions can come from your mind as well as from your environment. Here's a three-step mindset strategy to help you developing focus. First step:...
Being Good Enough
Internal and external validation: Do you know when you are doing a good job or do you rely on others telling you that you are? In my experience, many riders don’t trust themselves and, therefore, keep looking and craving other people’s praise. This in itself is not a...
Leaving ‘Some Day’ Island
Stop Procrastinating, make it happen! Do you live on ‘some day island’ or do you live every day as if it is your last? Do you catch yourself procrastinating? Too many people are putting things off, waiting for the right time when they have what they think they need in...
Your Horse, Your Teacher
Is there something we can learn from our horses? Absolutely yes! Where do I begin? Horses teach us so much about ourselves that I constantly refer to them as our ‘personal development coaches’. Horses have the ability to teach us so much more than just ‘how to ride’,...
The Power of Change
The power of change. Human beings are creatures of habit. Rather than looking for change, we generally prefer things to stay the same. However, change is an important part of growing and, therefore, necessary. If you keep doing the same things you will get the same...
Step-By-Step Guide to Skyrocket Your Confidence
The Cambridge Dictionary defines confidence as: “The quality of being certain of your abilities or of having trust in people, plans or the future”. This applies directly to our riding - confidence is being certain of our riding and training abilities, having trust in...
