Book Review: Brain Training For Riders
A new year is right around the corner and I am not a new year resolution kind of person and quite frankly get annoyed at all the “new year, new you” posts out there. Kudos to those who feel the need to start over with ambitious plans and goals but that is not me. And quite frankly there is no need for “new year, new you”, you are perfect the way you are!
Instead of a major overhaul, I like to focus on one or two small things that I can work on. We would all agree that many amateur riders would like to be less nervous when riding and showing and I recently found success with that, after applying the principles I learned in Brain Training For Riders by Andrea Monsarrat Waldo. I read this book before the AQHA World Show and I can honestly say it helped me so much.
In this book Andrea Monsarrat Waldo teaches you how to: handle uncomfortable emotions, such as fear, anger, anxiety, and embarrassment; hone your mental game and focus your riding time to get the most out of your hours in the saddle; care for your emotional injuries the same way you would care for an injured horse; and produce a state of “Focused Calm” and tap into the skills you have (whether you know it or not!) to ensure an outstanding ride.
Her section on Brain Traps, particularly the area on Catastrophizing (excessive worrying about worst case scenarios) and giving Anxiety Too Much Air Time (focusing on it so much you can’t focus on anything else) really spoke to me. Her advice when it gets overwhelming to tell yourself, “I appreciate your looking out for me, but I’ve got it covered. I am going to ride now". really helped me stop the worry cycle and move on.
Another quote that really helped me learn to stay focused and not hang out in the past with bad rides was “Ride the horse you have now, not the horse you had two seconds ago.” (David O’Connor). This was a major lightbulb moment and helped me focus on the horse I am riding right now, not focusing on what could happen or how he could behave and instead focus on who is he right now and make him do what I need him to do in order to have success.
There are so many good tips, tricks and exercise in this book that any and all riders will get something helpful out of it. Do yourself and your horse a favor and give this book a try. You can order Brain Training For Riders from Amazon.
Shooter pointing out his favorite parts.
