Staying a Cut Above

by Allison Trimble

In athletic performance, the major emphasis is on the physical aspect of the sport. This is the same for equestrian competition. We spend so much time training, practicing, and perfecting maneuvers that we often forget about the mental training that is needed to become an elite performer. My fiancé, Jon, is pursuing a masters degree in sports psychology at Western Washington University. As a result, my mind has been opened to a whole new way of approaching competition performance.

In the cowhorse industry, there are trainers and riders who have reached a level of accomplishment most of us only hope to achieve. We watch in awe as they effortlessly make flawless runs and control the rankest cattle. In sports psychology, this is referred to as an "elite athlete." Elite athletes have honed certain mental skills that we, too, can model in our daily practice and show preparation.

Studies have shown that elite athletes consistently possess:
· Achievement Drive - The desire to apply persistence and effort to overcome obstacles to meet a goal;
· Self Awareness - The ability to engage in honest evaluation of their own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors;
· Productive Thinking -The ability to control their thoughts and to respond to life situations in a way that results in personal success and goal attainment; and
· Self Confidence - The internal belief that they have the abilities and resources to be successful, combined with an unshakeable belief in their ability to achieve a goal.

For many years I have had what I like to call “The Reno Curse.” I could be having a great show year, but every time I got to the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity in Reno I could never get shown, not even on my aged horses. It was infuriating! My parents always came down from Alaska hyped up on reports from shows throughout the year, anxious to see it in person. The normal horse show jitters were further compounded by the fear that I was somehow destined to fail.

This past fall I was determined to make the finals, but I was worried about getting my head in the right place. I knew that I was responsible for this nightmare. The horses were the same, the cows were just cows; I had to be the variable that was causing all the issues. One night when I was on the phone with Jon, I asked him for some pointers from his studies. He gave me a couple of exercises to do, and I think they really helped me. I will admit that this was hugely experimental, but I was desperate.

For the first time in eight years, I made the finals.

Since then I have paid more attention to Jon’s studies, and I want to share with you what I tried in Reno and a few other helpful tips I have picked up in the past months.

Some of the most common things I hear at horse shows are "ride like you ride at home" or "pretend you’re in the practice pen." This is an attempt to encourage relaxation and make a stressful situation less intimidating. However, we all know that we aren’t at home. There is added pressure, both social and internal. Often, that pressure gets in the way of even the coolest cat showing to their full potential.

Once you and your horse are broke at home, your goal is to perform well at the shows. You want to show your horse into a paycheck. There is a real art to being a tough competitor, and sometimes all the desire in the world isn’t enough to conquer the horse show demons.

Mental Imagery and Self Talk
One of the most popular techniques is Mental Imagery Training. This is done by creating or recreating a sensory experience in your mind. There are two ways to picture this: either from an external perspective (seeing yourself performing a task) or an internal perspective (imagining a situation as though you were in it). One of the keys is visualizing yourself having a successful performance. When I was in Reno, Jon encouraged me to close my eyes and remember a time I had a great fence run. I pictured a run from when I won a class that was important to me. He then asked me to tell him five words that described how I felt during that run. I thought of confident, controlled, excited, in-position, and brave. I sometimes struggle with feeling anxious about going down the fence, and having that feeling of success in my mind when I walked into the pen helped me tremendously. I felt self-assured and that seemed to make me more able to "go for it."

Another way to do this is to watch videos of yourself making runs that you wish you could make all the time. This is called highlight video training.

It is really important to remember that one of the best ways to prepare yourself for an upcoming challenge is not to worry about that task itself, but to get yourself into a rhythm set by a previous event that will allow you to perform successfully in a future setting.

Self Talk is what performers say to themselves or others about their ability to achieve their competitive goals, and it can be positive or negative. I like to think of it as the conversation we have with ourselves. This is often used when attention is focused too much on uncontrollable factors, weaknesses, the outcome of the performance, the past, or the present. Positive and supportive comments that illicit excitement and confidence, like “I really feel prepared” or “my horse really feels ready” help increase your performance ability. This is also a great tool to use after a run that may have gone poorly to help regain your confidence for a future class.

"Thought stopping" is a way to decrease the amount of negative Self Talk. It is crucial to be able to identify any thought you feel is detrimental and to know why this is hurtful to your performance. Plan ahead of time to have a trigger word you use when you start to have those negative thoughts...for example, "STOP!" Then find a way to replace that thought with something positive.

There is no question that horse showing is a sport, and anyone who shows knows the head games that happen in the hotel room, in the warm up pen, and as the gate is swung open and your name is announced. You may not be able to control the cow you get or who is judging that day, but you can own what is yours. I encourage all of you to take control of your show experience and use the tools that are available to you!

Resource:
Tenenbaum, G. & Eklund, R. C. (2007). Handbook of sport Psychology (3rd ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley and Sons. From Chapter 13, Mental Skills Training in Sport by Robin S. Vealey.