EFT in Sport: competitive horse riding EFT is so powerful for dissolving
emotional blocks and letting us do our ‘deep work’ that we may overlook its suit- ability as a simple relaxation technique to help us achieve Peak Performance.
I’d like to share a recent example, using EFT with a group of horseback riders who were preparing for a Hunter-Jumper show.
I met with these riders in a group while they were doing a week-long riding clinic, and gave them a 15-minute introduction to EFT and how to use it. The group was all-female and included youth and adult riders of varying experience and skill levels. Some had received EFT instruction from me before, and others were new to it. A few of them were prac- ticing to ride in a show four days later.
I asked the group for one example of a problem a rider was having in the clinic. One young rider, rid- ing a lesson horse that can be notoriously stubborn, volunteered, “I can’t keep Blue from diving in off the rail” (meaning, trying to trot in to the center of the arena instead of following the fence around.) I asked her how she felt when that happened, and she said “Frustrated.” Excellent example, which I used to teach the group how to tap.
We tapped on “Even though I can’t keep Blue from diving in and it makes me frustrated, I’m a great rider.” Given that there were several youngsters, I chose this closing phrase rather than “I deeply and completely accept myself.” We did not use a SUDS level to check this statement; I was going for a more generalized, group experience with these riders.
I had everyone check their body sensations after the round, and they each noticed some degree of relaxa- tion.
As the class resumed, I also took a couple of the riders aside to show them how to tap while in the saddle. For horseback riders, EFT is a great modality because they can use it while mounted. (The rider’s safety comes first; the horse needs to be calm and still, the rider needs to have a hand on the reins, and there should also be a person on the ground to give a hand if the horse does become restless.)
While working, I periodically looked for Blue, the problem lesson horse, and noticed that things seemed to be going well.
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After about half an hour, I checked in with Blue’s young rider for her perspective, and she reported that she was having no trouble keeping him on the rail. She also jumped him suc- cessfully as the class proceeded to practice their jumps.
I then showed the riders two tapping points for the horses that often produce calm; different horses prefer different points. One point is on the horse’s forehead, roughly where the sworl of hair is, or what we think of the “third eye” spot; the second is on the horse’s upper lip, between the nostrils or about an inch lower (the exact spot depends on the horse, some horses will lip your fingers if you’re too close to the mouth, but will respond well to tapping higher on the nostrils This was all the work I did with these riders in their clinic.
Four days later, I attended the show to give a hand with the tapping for those who needed it. Two youth riders and two adult riders used EFT in real-time between rounds, to improve their performance. Each used it while mounted, either with me or with their trainer/instructor. The trainer and I watched the rounds, and worked with the riders on specific elements and the results from the show were as follows:
Sarah, a youth rider, was nervous in her first class, and it affected her performance and her placing. She had been tapping on generally doing well, but after placing last in the first class, she and her trainer then focused the EFT technique. They narrowed it from working on “generally doing well” in the show to the ele- ments she needed to improve. Sarah went on to win a first place
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