How do I address this issue?
Lisa Cook
Is there a support group out there for people like me?
Seriously, this is getting out of hand. Last month was the AECs,
where I dropped myself out of the ribbons by pulling a rail in
stadium. This weekend was the area 1 championships and I had a really
inexcusable run-out on xc....the runout was entirely self-inflicted by
the fact that I had a jump that was downhill and on a turn...I let
Linus get strung out and on his forehand and we simply kept sliding
downhill right past the jump. If I had sat up and half halted hard
and sat the horse on his hocks for the turn to the jump, we would have
been fine. Linus was otherwise fabulous and brave around a really
tough, maxed out novice course and I'm just pleased as punch with him.
Let's do the math. I have ridden in 9 regular (non-championship)
events this season. In 8 of those 9 events I have finished on my
dressage score.
In the past 3 years, I have ridden in 6 championship divisions -
either Area 1 or the AECs. In 6 championship classes, I am 0 for 6 in
finishing on my dressage score. 0 for 6! Given my 8 for 9 record
this year in regular events, the 0 for 6 is really standing out as
something beyond bad luck.
I don't know what to do. Just stop going to championships? Find a
sports psychologist? Keep going to championships and figure one of
these days I'll finally break through this wall?
I'm really just flummoxed by this. When I'm riding at the
championships, I don't FEEL like I'm riding differently, yet, I really
must be.
Any suggestions?
Lisa Cook
Brookline, NH
Brian Whatcott
<Coo...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Hi. My name is Lisa, and I am incapable of riding at championships.
>Is there a support group out there for people like me?
...
>Any suggestions?
>
>Lisa Cook
>Brookline, NH
The first step in the 12 step plan is getting past denial. You just
did. Next step is visualizing the championship ride, of which you are
capable. Sounds dopey, but capable athletes have been doing well
by running competitions in their heads, until they can taste it.
12-step planners often find comfort and support in their
Greater Power. Addicts in particular know they are very likely to
relapse in tempting circumstances. Relying on a Greater Power
is, I suppose, a way of harnessing 'The Force'. To put it another
way, If you cannot pull it off with conscious effort, then letting
the unconscious do its bit, might work....
A sports psychologist might be found who could offer to plant
a little hypnotic reinforcement. [ I'm sure I read something you
wrote recently to the effect, "Oh, I'm just a little housewife with
kids an all...."]
That is NOT your game face....
Then there's the "winner's" color red. Is there something red you
could wear which would be allowable in the rules? It apparently
offers a small statistical competitive advantage.
:-)
How can you lose now?
Brian W
Ocean of Nuance
(snip)
> Any suggestions?
Well, I can say I got over my difficulty in giving talks when I had a
beer before one talk. My colleagues called it obviously "turning the
corner."
Maybe that isn't the best idea if you are going xc but it damn well
helped my public speaking.
Or you could switch to straight dressage since you are still competitive
at the dressage phase at championships but drop in ranking on the
jumping phase(s). It might just be a matter of time before everyone
switches. :)
Good luck.
sharon
Babbling
Neuro Linguistic Programming, the basis for sports psychology, may be
helpful in overcoming performance anxiety. There are books out there
for the equine market.You might try finding a quiet place for 5 mins
before you ride, then close your eyes and see yourself riding the
course, picturing how you're successfully dealing with all the tricky
bits etc - visualisation is a very powerful tool. However, I think
your problem is simple - you expect too much and put yourself under
pressure to perform at the big competitions. All you need to do to fix
this is remember why you're competing - for enjoyment! A deep breath,
a quick pat for Linus, and you should be fine :)
Carol in Ireland
Dana Compton
> Hi. �My name is Lisa, and I am incapable of riding at championships.
>
> Lisa Cook
> Brookline, NH
I just wanted to point out that that statement was a lie. You ride at
championships you just don't feel you do as well as you should do at
them.
Dana
Mary McHugh
> I'm really just flummoxed by this. When I'm riding at the
> championships, I don't FEEL like I'm riding differently, yet, I really
> must be.
>
> Any suggestions?
BTDT got the t-shirt and wore it out. When I was doing the Marshall &
Sterling league, the same thing happened to me all the time. I did well
in the warm up classes but when it got to the real thing, it seemed like
I was the victim of invasion of the body snatchers.
*I* felt good, maybe a little on edge but the results were always the
same - rails, or a run-out. I had a run-out at Saratoga in the M&S at
the first A show of the season that absolutely literally stunned me. I
never saw it coming. Wilbur *rarely* ran out or refused.
Reflecting back, I was always overcompensating (overriding) or
undercompensating. I always tried to go in with a plan and make my ride
match the plan instead of going with the flow. I was too rigid in
sticking to the plan.
So, what to do? Well, do you want to resolve it? Then you need to keep
going to championships. If you want to resolve it faster, then maybe a
sports psychologist will help. Don't know about that one because I
never did it.
As for me, I always rode better when I had something else to distract
me, like some other problem I had to worry about instead of my riding.
Coming from the underdog position was always my strong suit.
Don't give up!!! It will change.
Mary
RPM1
> I don't know what to do. Just stop going to championships? Find a
> sports psychologist? Keep going to championships and figure one of
> these days I'll finally break through this wall?
Go to a championship for fun. See if you can just forget about the
scoring. Then only focus on the good things that happen at that event
and forget any bad things. You've only mentioned what went wrong not
what went right; try flipping your thinking around the other way.
Here's your challenge: Go to a championship event and purposely screw up
your dressage test. See how you do xc and stadium when you have no
chance of winning.
Patrick
Joyleen E. Seymour
There's a good suggestion, though probably hard to follow. I understand
where you are coming from, Lisa. Jane Savoie has done a lot of work
with sports psychology as it relates to riding, maybe try her books, or
I know she comes to Cutter Farm in Dracut for clinics. I rode with her
for a year, she is fabulous.
When Annie went to regionals this year, she wanted to win so desperately
she forgot how to ride. She actually fell and got stepped on and her
team wasn't able to finish. But when she went to championships, she
knew going in that her team didn't have a chance. They weren't even
trying. So she went in with the attitude of "I can't win, but I'm going
to look good losing" and that's what happened. She stood out in that
crowd as obviously the only decent rider on her team, she put out 110%
and had lots of people tell her what a good job she did. Maybe it was
the lack of pressure, the knowing that she couldn't win that enabled her
to ride relaxed and it showed.
AKogler
> Hi. My name is Lisa, and I am incapable of riding at championships.
> Is there a support group out there for people like me?
>
Silly Lisa, you *are* riding at championships. And yes you should keep
doing so.
I agree with the NLP. It is interesting and useful.
But keep your perspective. EVEN THE BEST have off rides. Even the
best. How do you think Debbie McDonald is feeling? It happens to
everyone.
You are a very capable rider with a great horse. But you are going to
have off days. Your off days appear to often be days that 'count' for
you. But they are still just off days. Look at them that way. Dont let
them turn into 'I can never ride at Championships!' Keep them 'I had
an off day but its over and today is a new day and I am going to ride
well and stay focused'.
Wendy Jago has some excellent books re the NLP thing. Buy them and get
into your mind practice. Keep qualifying and keep showing. Go from
'Its a championship and I am hexed at championships!' to 'great!
another chance to practice at a championship! Lets FOCUS!'
You set a great example here on the rec and everyone roots for you and
everyone understands and loves you through your off days.
Abby
Ocean of Nuance
(snip)
> There's a good suggestion, though probably hard to follow. I understand
> where you are coming from, Lisa. Jane Savoie has done a lot of work
> with sports psychology as it relates to riding, maybe try her books, or
> I know she comes to Cutter Farm in Dracut for clinics. I rode with her
> for a year, she is fabulous.
Savoie has some super videos up on Youtube. She's a beautiful rider.
Her 3 second HH though seems controversial in some circles.
sharon
Emily Brooks
"Ocean of Nuance" <lizzardw...@nc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:6lh6g6F...@mid.individual.net...
>
> Savoie has some super videos up on Youtube. She's a beautiful rider.
>
> Her 3 second HH though seems controversial in some circles.
>
> sharon
A horse has to learn how to respond to a HH, just like any other cue. If
you, the rider, have to hold the cue a bit longer to get the message across,
so be it. A body can refine the cue once the general idea takes root.
Emily
Ocean of Nuance
Yeah but I'm not clear that that isn't how she has everyone ride after
they learn the HH. Do you know?
sharon
Lisa Cook
> Lisa Cook wrote:
> Go to a championship for fun. See if you can just forget about the
> scoring. Then only focus on the good things that happen at that event
> and forget any bad things. You've only mentioned what went wrong not
> what went right; try flipping your thinking around the other way.
>
> Here's your challenge: Go to a championship event and purposely screw up
> your dressage test. See how you do xc and stadium when you have no
> chance of winning.
>
> Patrick
It's a good idea, but I don't think I could drive 18 hours one-way to
Illinois, take a week off from work, spend $2k in the process and then
deliberately sabotage my dressage test. I just couldn't.
But I DID spend yesterday thinking of all the things Linus did right
this weekend, even if I didn't articulate them in my posting
here. :-) I am very lucky to own Linus, and I will try to never take
him for granted.
Lisa Cook
Brookline, NH
Lisa Cook
> Then there's the "winner's" color red. Is there something red you
> could wear which would be allowable in the rules? It apparently
> offers a small statistical competitive advantage.
> :-)
That is funny, because I actually wore a red shirt on xc this
weekend. I never wear red. My colors are blue and grey, so I always
wear blue. But I decided I needed to change things up this weekend
and wore my red AEC polo shirt on XC. I think I need something else,
still, to get me over this.
Lisa Cook
Brookline, NH
Lisa Cook
wrote:
>
> Well, I can say I got over my difficulty in giving talks when I had a
> beer before one talk. My colleagues called it obviously "turning the
> corner."
>
> Maybe that isn't the best idea if you are going xc but it damn well
> helped my public speaking.
>
> Or you could switch to straight dressage since you are still competitive
> at the dressage phase at championships but drop in ranking on the
> jumping phase(s). It might just be a matter of time before everyone
> switches. :)
As much as my dressage instructor would be thrilled if I switched to
straight dressage, it's not going to happen anytime soon. Linus is
one of the bravest, most game horses for jumping I've sat on, and
novice is just starting to tap into his talent. If he stays at
novice, or even training level, for the rest of his life, it is
because of rider limitations, not his. There's no way I'm going to
take such a nice event horse and inflict just dressage upon him. ;-)
The beer thing - now that I could maybe work up some enthusiasm for!
Lisa Cook
Brookline, NH
Lisa Cook
Thank you for this. I visualize every phase before I ride it -
dressage, xc and stadium. Actually, I will visualize my dressage test
usually every night before I fall asleep for the days before an
event. XC and stadium are a little tougher, since I don't know those
ahead of time, but I'm definitely big on visualization. I go to quiet
place, sit, close my eyes, and ride every stride of each course. I
think it helps.
But I'll have to do some searches on Neuro Linquistic Programming and
see what I find. I went to a lecture once by Daniel Stewart, a USET
sports psychologist, and thought it was fascinating. I've read his
book - I'll have to read it again. Maybe it is a good excuse to fly
to Europe, where he lives, and get some one-on-one help! :-)
Lisa Cook
Brookline, NH
Lisa Cook
> Savoie has some super videos up on Youtube. She's a beautiful rider.
>
> Her 3 second HH though seems controversial in some circles.
>
> sharon
I honestly don't give a flip on her opinion on half halts, 3 seconds,
or otherwise. I've got some really good instructors who I work with
on a regular basis who can help me with half halts. If she can help
with the sports psychology side of things, now, that is a different
story.
Joy - I did a quick search on the Cutter Farm website and I don't see
that she is on their calendar at all. If you hear of her coming to
this area, can you let me know?
Thanks!
Lisa Cook
Brookline, NH
Lisa Cook
> Silly Lisa, you *are* riding at championships. And yes you should keep
> doing so.
>
> I agree with the NLP. It is interesting and useful.
>
> But keep your perspective. EVEN THE BEST have off rides. Even the
> best. How do you think Debbie McDonald is feeling? It happens to
> everyone.
>
> You are a very capable rider with a great horse. But you are going to
> have off days. Your off days appear to often be days that 'count' for
> you. But they are still just off days. Look at them that way. Dont let
> them turn into 'I can never ride at Championships!' Keep them 'I had
> an off day but its over and today is a new day and I am going to ride
> well and stay focused'.
>
> Wendy Jago has some excellent books re the NLP thing. Buy them and get
> into your mind practice. Keep qualifying and keep showing. Go from
> 'Its a championship and I am hexed at championships!' to 'great!
> another chance to practice at a championship! Lets FOCUS!'
>
> You set a great example here on the rec and everyone roots for you and
> everyone understands and loves you through your off days.
>
> Abby
Thanks, Abby! I appreciate the encouragement. I just had to let you
know, I tried out APF on both me and Linus this week. It really
seemed to help.
This was the first dressage test that Linus did not grind his teeth at
some point in the test. He was more relaxed yet focused than he's
ever been at a competition.
And as for me...it was the first event I've done where I did NOT get
digestive upset, well, let's just spell it out - diarrhea - before
XC! Apologies if that falls under the TMI category, but it is
true! :-)
Lisa Cook
Brookline, NH
Mary Healey
> A horse has to learn how to respond to a HH, just like any other cue.
Yes and no. As with many other cues, HH as a cue can be developed from the
horse's natural response to a rider's change of position. For instance,
traveling down a grassy incline, Pan starts rolling forward (chasing his
balance on the downhill slope). As he gathers speed, I bring my shoulders
briefly behind vertical and close my fingers. He brings his butt under to
accomodate my weight shift, and slows in response to my (briefly) fixed
hand. Instant half-halt, and he doesn't know from nothin'. It truly
helped that being more balanced was also more comfortable for him, and
helping him find that position provided its own reward.
I didn't *cue* a half-halt, because Pan doesn't know a half-halt from a
hole in the ground, but what I did should start an association that will
eventually develop into a half-halt cue. Cues are "built" from the
repeated successful association of actions and reactions, but the response
can be obtained before the cue is fully "installed".
OTOH, the Perch filly in the stall next to Pan (he lurves her lots, btw)
was sent down a much steeper incline and allowed to overrun her balance to
the point where she was careening, then bucking, down the hill. No
effective half-halt, rider met ground with some speed. All I can say is,
young folk sure bounce better than I would. (The rider was heard to say,
"If only she'd used her butt a little more" - as if the horse could or
should have thought of that on her own.)
--
Mary H. and the restored Ames National Zoo:
The Right Reverand Sir Edgar "Lucky" Pan-Waffles;
U-CD ANZ Babylon Ranger, CD, RE; ANZ Pas de Duke, RN; and rotund Rhia
Jill
> And as for me...it was the first event I've done where I did NOT get
> digestive upset, well, let's just spell it out - diarrhea - before
> XC! Apologies if that falls under the TMI category, but it is
> true! :-)
>
and often indicates too much adrenaline type chemicals coursing your body --
empty to fight or flight.
After such a real rush you can get lows once your body realises that its all
okay and you are not going to be run over by the event monster of hades.
Maybe its in these times, that will be temporary, quickly replaced by your
natural ability to get on with the job in hand, that your concentration
slips.
Some of the sports psycology and similar techniques might just be what you
need to give yourself a more level start, and therefore less likelihood of
the reactive dip.
maybe ;)
--
regards
Jill Bowis
Domestic Poultry and Waterfowl Solutions
Herbaceous; Herb and Alpine Nursery
Seasonal Farm Food
http://www.kintaline.co.uk
Lisa Cook
>
> BTDT got the t-shirt and wore it out. When I was doing the Marshall &
> Sterling league, the same thing happened to me all the time. I did well
> in the warm up classes but when it got to the real thing, it seemed like
> I was the victim of invasion of the body snatchers.
>
> *I* felt good, maybe a little on edge but the results were always the
> same - rails, or a run-out. I had a run-out at Saratoga in the M&S at
> the first A show of the season that absolutely literally stunned me. I
> never saw it coming. Wilbur *rarely* ran out or refused.
>
> Reflecting back, I was always overcompensating (overriding) or
> undercompensating. I always tried to go in with a plan and make my ride
> match the plan instead of going with the flow. I was too rigid in
> sticking to the plan.
>
> So, what to do? Well, do you want to resolve it? Then you need to keep
> going to championships. If you want to resolve it faster, then maybe a
> sports psychologist will help. Don't know about that one because I
> never did it.
>
> As for me, I always rode better when I had something else to distract
> me, like some other problem I had to worry about instead of my riding.
> Coming from the underdog position was always my strong suit.
>
> Don't give up!!! It will change.
>
> Mary
Thanks, Mary! We must be kindred spirits! You've really captured, I
think, what is going on with me. And I seem to ride better from the
underdog position, also.
Your post gave me a lot to think about - thanks!
Lisa Cook
Brookline, NH
Nancy...@gmail.com
able to win at this level, let's assume this is not a mental thing to
get over, but rather a need for better preparation. Not over-all
preparation - just the stuff you do on the day of competition, to
prepare for riding _this_ course. I'll second Jane Savoie - love her
psychocybernetics stuff, and it can be a great help in same-day
preparedness.
I think we've discussed before that my eventing coach way back in the
70's had us walk our courses a minimum of three times - both stadium
and XC. The first walk is to find your way. The second is to plan
your ride. The third time, you walk it as if you are riding it, and
if you make the teeniest of mistakes, you walk it again.
Then you go back to the trailer, find a quiet place, and ride it,
perfectly, in your mind. (Jane has been known to use the porta-jon,
'cause she can't find privacy anywhere else.) You visualize every
aspect of the ride, every gallop, every half-halt, every single
jumping effort, even the smell of the grass and the sweat, the
rippling muscles beneath you, the sound of the hoofbeats, whistles,
cries of "Horse on course!" - everything. By the time you ride it for
real, you will have already ridden it successfully in your mind. You
would already have done a half halt, been blown off, done half a hold
hard, rocked your horse back on his hocks, and made the turn. You
would have anticipated the need, and practiced it, in detail,
mentally.
And, of course, while visualizing, if you have any trouble bringing
back any detail of your ride, you go back and look at the fence in
question again.
It could be, for most events, your excellent pre-event preparation is
more than enough. But championship courses are supposed to have
pitfalls that catch any lack of preparedness for that level. You can
easily ride them perfectly with better same-day planing.
Or it could have been the red shirt. Never worked well on Star Trek.
Nancy DeMarco
Mason, NH
Nancy...@gmail.com
> Joy - I did a quick search on the Cutter Farm website and I don't see
> that she is on their calendar at all. If you hear of her coming to
> this area, can you let me know?
I don't see anything in this area left on her calendar for this year.
See what it would cost to get her out here for a seminar. The West
Newbury Riding and Driving Club did it many years ago - just one
evening. She was great - a seriously entertaining and informative
speaker. I didn't even mind the nasty little metal chair - could have
sat there all night. http://www.janesavoie.com/speaker.htm
Maybe your PC can do it as a fund raiser. :) Maybe MANE could help.
Or HAE.
Nancy DeMarco
Mason, NH
Sue Leopold
> On Oct 13, 7:20 am, RPM1 <rpm9delet...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> > Lisa Cook wrote:
>
> > Go to a championship for fun. See if you can just forget about the
> > scoring. Then only focus on the good things that happen at that event
> > and forget any bad things. You've only mentioned what went wrong not
> > what went right; try flipping your thinking around the other way.
> >
> > Here's your challenge: Go to a championship event and purposely screw up
> > your dressage test. See how you do xc and stadium when you have no
> > chance of winning.
> >
> > Patrick
>
> It's a good idea, but I don't think I could drive 18 hours one-way to
> Illinois, take a week off from work, spend $2k in the process and then
> deliberately sabotage my dressage test. I just couldn't.
Cruiser flunked out at the Young Jumper Championships. No
excuses, he went beautifully in the Level 5s at Vermont and
placed over some very difficult courses, but when we got
to the finals he couldn't jump a clear round to save his life.
Heck, he has never had so many rails. Oh well. I do think
he was a little tired - it is hard when you have to campaign
to qualify and then go and show.
The tough part is the time and money committment when
you are a working stiff. And believe me, we feel your
pain. <grin>
> But I DID spend yesterday thinking of all the things Linus did right
> this weekend, even if I didn't articulate them in my posting
> here. :-) I am very lucky to own Linus, and I will try to never take
> him for granted.
He's a lovely horse and you are an excellent rider. If you can
hold it together to put up a dressage score, then you can
do it for XC and stadium. Maybe it's adrenaline getting to
you?
When all is said and done, you give them a pat and tell
them how lucky you are to have them. I'd not trade my
time with The Nose for anything. And I think you feel the
same about Linus.
JZMiller
Chill, girl. The only way to get over this is to do it even more so
your reflexes are normal while riding in the championships. I must say
that experience is your best teacher. Or, a flask. :))) Never hurts.
<kidding>
You can do tapping too. What is tapping? EFT My instructor is an EFT
certified instructor, he does phone lessons on EFT, or in person. See
his blog at edressage.com. Bruce is wonderful at rearranging brain
problems. Ask me about my left arm sometime, with EFT I am overcoming
a left hook while riding.
JZMiller
> Lisa,
> You can do tapping too. What is tapping? EFT My instructor is an EFT
> certified instructor, he does phone lessons on EFT, or in person. See
> his blog at edressage.com. Bruce is wonderful at rearranging brain
> problems. Ask me about my left arm sometime, with EFT I am overcoming
> a left hook while riding.
www.eftHouseCall.com
Sorry sent too soon.
RPM1
> On Oct 13, 7:20 am, RPM1 <rpm9delet...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>> Lisa Cook wrote:
>> Here's your challenge: Go to a championship event and purposely screw up
>> your dressage test. See how you do xc and stadium when you have no
>> chance of winning.
> It's a good idea, but I don't think I could drive 18 hours one-way to
> Illinois, take a week off from work, spend $2k in the process and then
> deliberately sabotage my dressage test. I just couldn't.
Ok.
> But I DID spend yesterday thinking of all the things Linus did right
> this weekend, even if I didn't articulate them in my posting
> here. :-) I am very lucky to own Linus, and I will try to never take
> him for granted.
Heh, even when you're being positive, you are being negative by
ommission. You've left yourself out of the positive comments and
focused on Linus.
No matter what you think, Linus doesn't know what a championship is. Be
like Linus. Linus is trying to teach you and you're not listening.
Patrick
Joyleen E. Seymour
I'm reasonably sure she comes there once a year, in July, I think. I
remember it conflicted with some Pony Club thing, maybe championships.
If you get on their mailing list, they'll send you an update. I'm on
their list cause that's where Spud came from. :-)
Joyleen E. Seymour
Send me an invite if you do this. I'm sure she doesn't remember me, but
I remember her. She was at Huntington, I drove up there from my farm in
Warner.
Joyleen E. Seymour
(snip)
> I think we've discussed before that my eventing coach way back in the
> 70's had us walk our courses a minimum of three times - both stadium
> and XC. The first walk is to find your way. The second is to plan
> your ride. The third time, you walk it as if you are riding it, and
> if you make the teeniest of mistakes, you walk it again.
>
This is precisely what I suggest as well. Three times. If possible, go
the day before and do the official course walk.
(snip more good advice)
>
> Or it could have been the red shirt. Never worked well on Star Trek.
>
> Nancy DeMarco
> Mason, NH
Hah!