4 Fast ways to find your CALM and CONFIDENCE while riding

Need practical tips to help you keep your cool and feel confident in the saddle? 🏇

Tips you can use in the moment when you need them with quick results?

Read on…

❤️ Heart breaths

Simple yet effective! An easy way to manage anxiety, overwhelm, stress, anger, frustration etc…

Breathe in for count of 5, breathing into the belly.

Hold the breath for 2 counts.

Then breathe out from the mouth, again for count of 5, feeling the breathe release from your body.

Count slow!

Repeat.

In for 5, hold for 2, out for 5, feel the release.

Helping to bring you to a feeling of calm.

👀 👂 👃 ✋ BE in the moment

Anxiety is a negative focus on a made up future event.

Anxiety is also a warning from your brain to remind you you are not focusing on the here and now and to focus on what it is you DO want!

Bring yourself back into the moment.

👀What can you see NOW?

👂What can you hear NOW?

👃What can you smell NOW?

✋What can you feel NOW?

Feel your horse, how do they feel to touch?🐴

What is happening right now?

Remind yourself that you are ok, right now, and now and now and now..

🎶 Sing your theme tune!

Replace negative thoughts and self talk with something much easier and uplifting!

Your mind can’t focus on both! 🧠

What songs do you like that make you feel good, empowered, strong, happy, or calm?

Whether it’s one of the mighty feel good tunes from the film Greatest Showman (“From now onnnn”, “This is me!”)

Or Katy Perry - Roar 🐯

Birdy - Skinny love

Lady Gaga - Born this way

Queen - Don’t stop me now!

Now I know you didn’t just read that list without singing at least one of them in your head, right?

Maybe there’s a song that reminds you of your horse and helps you feel LOVE? ❤️

Love is the strongest, most powerful emotion.

Try listening to the song before you ride, to get in the “zone”.

💪 the 3Ps

Power pose, posture, position

Have you started to curl into that old foetal position, like a curled up prawn 🍤?

Your body talks to your mind and your mind to your body!

Your position and posture matters when it comes to your confidence.

Check your position. Change it to ensure you are sitting up tall in the saddle, eyes forward, chest open.

Sam Taylor-Leighton

Confidence specialist equestrian Coach

UKCC level 2 Equestrian Coach

NLP coach

Time Line therapy practitioner

Empowered Equestrian Coach

Hypnotherapist