GETTING INSPIRED WITH OLYMPIC THINKING Attitude CHECK
By Tonya Johnston, MA S
o, what inspires you to reach new heights? When was the last time you felt a special burst of adrena- lin or renewed desire to go out and practice, fine- tune and improve your skills? Inspiration can sometimes hit like a bolt of lightening, but there
will also be times you need to go looking for it. Seeking out inspiration in an ongoing basis is one of the keys to long-term success because when you are truly inspired you are also deter- mined, on-point and active in the process of becoming your best every single day you ride. When you have a rider win an Olympic show jumping gold-
medal and then decide he needs to start working on his mental game, what does that tell you about how much he wants to excel? How inspired do you think he is to actualize all of his potential? It’s just that type of inspiration that led McLain Ward to focus on his mental skills and then say “Sport psychology increased my win percentage by 30 percent.” Isn’t that amazing? It’s thrilling to consider what you can do with your potential once you have inspiration and commitment in place. On the occasions when you need to reach out
for inspiration, where can you look? To enhance both your physical skills and mental skills try to watch, listen and learn from riders at the top. Olympians, the best professionals in your area, the best riders in your own barn—however you can access excellence, whether it is watching a video on the computer or seeing someone ride in person, observing can go a long way to getting you fired up to keep improving your own skills. This means looking out for physical skills (like position, use of aids, etc.) as well as mental skills (poise, posture, non-verbal communication, etc.). “I encourage my kids to watch any of the top riders in the schooling area. To actually watch their facial focus when they’re schooling or especially when they go in the ring. If you watch McLain or Beezie, you can just see the body language… If you can put yourself in that position, you have to be ahead of the game,” says Olympian and World Cup champion Leslie Howard about the importance of inspiring yourself and learning through ob- servation. OK, think about who you can watch in your typical riding and
showing schedule—which riders inspire you with their poise, confidence and focus? Do you make sure to watch them when you have the opportunity? Do you observe them at the back gate? From what you can see, how do they prepare mentally? How do they communicate with those around them? What do you notice about their mental and physical skills as you watch?
The information you gather will be both inspirational and in- structional as you go out and reach for your own goals. Now, it’s true, you probably won’t simply go out and start
riding like Olympian Laura Kraut, or World Champion Hunter Rider John French, or top grand prix rider Susie Hutchison im- mediately after watching them ride. However, remember that you do learn through observation (particularly those of you who have a visual learning style) and your body can build mus- cle memory through visualizing the skills you see these great riders demonstrate. Happily, it is also quite possible to develop similar attitudes, preparation strategies, and mental skills these amazing competitors demonstrate day in and day out. For example, when you read that Anne Kursinski, a five-time Olympian, is mindful of where her success comes from so that she can replicate it on cue, it may inspire you to keep track of similar details your own riding. Anne says, “When I had success, why did I have success? Looking back after the fact [and asking], ‘Why was it like that?’… Preparation, how you sleep, what you eat… little things like that. Being conscious of it. You're an athlete, you've got to treat your- self as an athlete.” When reading about the mental skills prac-
tices of top riders you may notice that in- spiration can have an awesome trickle-down effect. Even contemplating someone else’s hard work, attention to detail, and persis- tence can have a positive effect on your own outlook and choices. Continue to read in- terviews, books, and personal accounts of riders you admire to generate inspiration to work on your mental skills.
Although you may not be headed to London this summer to compete in the Olympics, you certainly have your own com- petitive goals and aspirations that are important to you. Seek out inspiration as you prepare for those shows, and as you pol- ish both your physical and mental skills remember that excel- lence is an inside job! Tonya Johnston, MA, included rider quotes in this article from her new book “Inside Your Ride: Mental Skills for Be- ing Happy and Successful with your Horse” which is available on Amazon and
HorseBooksEtc.com. Tonya is an equestrian mental skills coach with a master's degree in sport psychology. She conducts "Mental Skills for Riders" clinics throughout the country as well as phone consultations with individual clients. Connect with Tonya at
www.TonyaJohnston.com, on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/tonyajohnstonmentalskillscoach or Twitter at
www.twitter.com/tonya_johnston.
Above: Hope Glynn featured on cover of "Inside Your Ride", by Tonya Johnston, MA. 46
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