I remember back to grad school and my first clients. I was feeling badly one day about one of my first cases and bemoaning my lack of understanding, skill and experience when someone said to me,, “Every surgeon has their first operation.” At the time, I was comforted. However, as time has past, I began to wonder if my taking comfort in that idea went too far. While it is certainly true that we all have to start somewhere, it is also true that we should take the necessary care to develop our understanding, skills, and experience in a way that builds capability over time. That way, when we do our first “surgery,” we are well prepared for success.
Yesterday, Justin and I spend another fabulous day with the trainers and riders at Meadowbrook Stables. After lunch I spent some time with their IEA coach Halle and another instructor Charlotte. We had a wide ranging conversation about coaching, mental skills, emotional growth, and preparation for competition. Their team IEA team is headed for finals and we talked about strategies and techniques to help them effectively cope with the pressure. One of the themes that emerged was the value of small and consistent practices over time. It is great to have tools to use in the heat of competition. But, in order for those tools to be maximally effective, we need to consistently and regularly practice the fundamental mental and emotional skills. Then, when we need them, they are ready to go.
As we worked with the riders during the day on connection through the reins and bit. I reflected on how essentially important it is that our equine partners understand what we are trying to communicate. We ended up talking about it in a way that was very similar to the conversation about mental preparation. In order to develop that communication, we need to work on the small things in a consistent way to build and then refine our relationship with our horses through the bit, as well as their understanding of all the aids.
I would be the first to acknowledge the value of experience, experimentation, and play; engaging the world at the cutting edge (or just beyond) of our knowledge and skill. At the same time, I am also concerned that in our race to the end game, we often skip over the fundamental understandings and abilities that allow us to be successful when challenged. In the world of horses, we end up with teams that can accomplish the competitive task but, suffer behaviorally, physically, or mentally because of a shallow foundation. In the world of humans, we end up with people who are struggling mentally or emotionally with the stress of competition because they jumped over the development of core coping and regulatory skills.
I hope you will join me in resisting the temptation to race to the end game. Let us commit to the thoughtful and consistent development of ourselves and our relationships with our horses. ~ Paul
PC – @eringilmorephotography
#fundamentals #equestrian #equestrianlife #sportpsych #equestriansportpsych #equstriansportpsychology #foundationforperformance
