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A passionate lifelong fox hunter calls for help when a new equine partner challenges her confidence in the field. A woman starts riding again after raising her family and experiences anxiety and fear that she has never felt before. A seasoned competitor is shaken by a seemingly innocuous fall (one of hundreds she has taken in her lifetime) and then experiences crippling anxiety in the jumping arena. These scenarios are a small sample of some of the requests for help that we receive regularly.

When asked if I can help, the answer is always surely. I am happy to do whatever I can to help riders find their way back to their joy of riding and competing. I often share that I have a pretty big toolbox of strategies and techniques that I have honed and developed over the years. But, in all honesty, the most powerful help I have to offer grew out of my observations of the patterns that I saw in the riders that I worked with over the years.

What I noticed is that in every situation I could identify a concern in one or more of five areas: motivation, goals, resources, risk, or relationships. Sometimes the issue was circumscribed to one or two of these areas. However, more often than not, the issue was in how these factors aligned in their equine activities. We can all imagine the problems that arise when we have high motivation and lofty goals but few resources such as time, money or appropriate resources. Or, the challenges we face when, with a lifetime of skill and experience, circumstances change like growing older or starting a family and we don’t consider how the impact of the very real risks in our sport change with the circumstances.

What I love about what I now call the Pillars of Progress is that they are straight forward and accessible to everyone. Yet, in a way similar to foundational horsemanship, there is a deep richness to what they have to offer us in or equestrian pursuits. A richness that can be mined and actively used to support us throughout our equestrian life if we are willing to invest in learning about ourselves through the lens of the Pillars. By reflecting on and seeking alignment among the five Pillars of Progress we greatly increase the likelihood of making good choices for ourselves and overcoming the challenges we face in our riding.

We want everyone to have access to this powerful perspective. We want everyone to be able to use the Pillars of Progress perspective as a foundation for their decision making. This is also a tool that is valuable for trainers and instructors by providing them with a framework for understanding where riders might get stuck and helping them develop helpful and effective plans in moving forward.

Join us for our upcoming virtual course Pillars of Progress. Take a deep dive into understanding the Pillars and finding the kind of alignment that will serve as a solid foundation in your horsemanship journey for years to come. ~ Paul

📸 Erin Gilmore // Erin Gilmore Photography

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Last weekend we launched our new instructor training course, “The Art and Science of Teaching and Learning: Skills and Strategies for Teaching the Modern Rider.” It was a fabulous weekend. As a group we shared our frustrations and victories, we laughed and maybe leaked a tear or two, we learned, and we played with new ideas and strategies for tackling our most difficult challenges. By the end I was exhausted in the best of ways. And, I was profoundly grateful and excited to hear that so many in our group found deep value in the experience.

As I sit with my coffee this morning, I got to thinking about how this all came together. The majority of the content for the weekend has been in my head and heart for many many years. A lot of what we taught is simply an integral part of the way I view the world and conduct myself in my practice. For decades I have possessed the knowledge, skill, and experience to teach something like this. Yet, I never even imagined it. So… how was this born and how did it grow.

I think the core spark came from our community of connections and an openness to be of service. I am not talking about the kind of service where we decide what everyone needs and how we want to serve them. I am talking about the kind of service that comes from openness and listening. I remember several years ago being invited to a meeting of the USEA’s coaching certification program committee. I expected to be asked about how I might contribute to the instructors’ toolbox of mental skills and other traditional sport psychology strategies. What I heard was a profound interest in helping instructors become better teachers and grow in the understanding of their students and how their students learn. I thought… I can do that.

I had never considered how valuable my years of assessment and treatment of learning differences would contribute to the world of riding instruction. Looking back, I realize how blind I was to what I could contribute. It was the act of being open and listening to what others in my community needed that unlocked my imagination and potential.

That may have been the spark but it was our team and supporters at Riding Far that tended the fire. I remember coming back from my first presentation at USEA’s educational symposium. I was telling Justin about the talk and he thought it was cool. He asked how long it would take to turn that into a course or clinic. In that instant, I realized it would be a matter of minutes to outline a course. Our instructor clinic was born with the help and hard work of everyone on our team.

You will often hear me say that people are the worst judges of their own progress. We tend to focus on the set-backs and forget the steps forward. I am beginning to think that we are also the worst judges of our ability to contribute. Left to our own devices, we are often blind to how our talents, skills, and experience can benefit others.

It is in our relationships and genuine connection to others that we can hear the invitation. So I leave you today with an invitation of my own. Connect. Love. Listen. When you hear the call from your community take the risk to answer it. It is my heartfelt belief that responding in this way will deepen your connection to your community and open many more doors that you were blinded to while on our own.

~ Paul

📸 Erin Gilmore // Erin Gilmore Photography

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A week ago today I swung my saddle onto the back of a five-year-old quarter horse under the watchful eye of Tom Curtin.

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About 2 months ago, an unexpected joy found her way into my life. Thanks to Abigail, Julia, Justin, and Tara, a nine-month-old emaciated stray from Arkansas, affectionately named Bugsy because of her extraordinary ears, joined our family. I wasn’t looking for another dog. In fact, I had been adamant about not adding to our pack of three. I often thought that when our oldest dog Curlie, a spry 18 years, passed on, I would think about getting a puppy. But, no new dogs until that time.

There are times in our lives when opportunities present themselves unexpectedly. We may not be ready for them, and we may not even be wanting them, but in some quiet place deep inside of us, we know that saying “Yes” is the right answer. Bugsy was one of those gifts from the universe. Perhaps it was the way she greeted everyone like they were an old friend, or the way she enthusiastically wrestled with our 4-year-old Basset mix, or the way she respectfully let Curlie be, or the way she mirrored our 10-year-old Jack Russel mix’s cat-like behavior when they were alone together. Still, she fit our home and our lives like a favorite old slipper.

Whether you call them gifts, blessings, or good fortune, these impactful opportunities or choices have a way of stirring us out of our well-worn routines and challenging our complacency. It is easy to focus solely on the positive. I love Bugsy’s snuggles and companionship. She is also a fabulous partner in play, tirelessly retrieving the ball or toy and respectfully depositing it at your feet. She is affectionate, kind, and respectful of my clients and offers a sense of connection and comfort for many who are apprehensive about starting therapy. However, that is not the whole story or the totality of her gift to me.

Bugsy is whip-smart and learns amazingly quickly. There is little room for me to indulge my negative emotions. One grumpy, irritated snap or quick grab to “catch her,” and I am repairing the insult to our relationship for days. She elevates my self-awareness and re-energizes my commitment to managing both my emotions and my behavior.

There are also times when, for reasons unknown, she is a destructo-monkey. After weeks of sleeping peacefully and patiently in the car on her luxury dog bed as I worked with my horses, she chose one day to chew through the strap of my $300 helmet, eat a hole in a $150 saddle pad, shred assorted papers and cups, and then start on seat belt modifications. 

I remember the sinking feeling as I discovered the damage. Then, there was the rising anger and frustration. Finally, there was a flash of self-awareness and a pause where I had one of those amazing “blinding flash of the obvious” moments. I was able to comprehend that she was simply being a puppy. This was not about me, not filled with malevolent intent. The only thing that was about me was the need to take responsibility for forgetting she was a puppy and creating a context in which all of the destruction could happen. That moment gave me the opportunity to practice perspective-taking, awareness of another’s experience, and patient acceptance to boot.

This may be one of the greatest gifts arising from my relationship with Bugsy. The greatest because it applies to every relationship in my life. It applies equally to my marriage and family and my relationships with my clients. And it goes without saying that is also an essential awareness in my relationship with my non-human animal friends. 

I eagerly look forward to the adventures that Bugsy will bring into my life.  I relish the opportunity for learning and growth. I also wish that each of you is blessed in similar ways.  That you are presented unexpected gifts from the universe to which you get to say “yes.” And, in that “yes,” you get to experience the gifts of joy and challenges that they bring.

~ Paul

PC – Bella Barr

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I spend a lot of time reading, listening to podcasts, and attending trainings on high performers and performance psychology.  As a geek and techie from way back (think technological stone age), I am as excited as the next person about the latest neuro-psycho-bio hack.  I love the advancement of our knowledge and understanding where it connects to human performance.  I make it my business to stretch myself, learn new skills, and integrate the new and exciting with what I already know to be helpful.

One of the measures I use to evaluate new discoveries and ideas is how well they align with core ideas from a variety of different perspectives and disciplines.  While I never summarily dismiss ideas that are “way out there,” I have always been an integrationist and get excited when ideas converge and I discover the commonalities from different ideological camps. One of these points of convergence relates to the underlying foundations of high performance.  That is the fundamental importance of human wellness as a foundation for high performance.

Surprisingly, wellness can be a difficult term to define.  My favorite definition so far has been offered by Dan Siegel, MD.  In his book Mind: A journey to the heart of being human he offers the acronym FACES to point to what he considers the foundational aspects of wellness; Flexible, Adaptive, Cohesive, Energized, and Stable.  As helpful and interesting as these target attributes of wellness might be, it was Dr. Siegel’s description of a well functioning system which he believes underscores human wellness that really captured my imagination.

At the risk of oversimplifying, a well functioning system is one where there is an open and free flow of energy and information between all the different parts of the system.  I was working with a rider yesterday and I was reminded of of deeply influential these ideas are in my work.  It is hard for me to imagine any suggestion or intervention I make that is not easily described in these terms. In yesterdays session we talked about building physiological awareness (flow of energy and information between our body and our conscious mind).  We later talked about mindfulness as a foundation for growing emotional tolerance and reducing reactivity (flow of energy and information between attentional systems, conscious thought, emotional systems and behavioral systems).  

The bottom line is that we can hack away making use of the latest research and information about neurobiology or physiology or psychology to enhance our performance; but, if we don’t attend to our fundamental wellness as human beings it is a lost cause.  The hidden key to high performance is wellness.  The hidden key to wellness is integration.  We need to nurture and care for each “part” of ourselves and, we need to invest in the healthy integration of body, mind, and spirit. If we invest in our overall wellness we open the doors to reach our peak potential. ~ Paul

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