There is nothing like a bit of pressure to clarify what truly matters.

This week I had the pleasure of being interviewed for the Plaidcast podcast, Tonya Johnston’s Inside Your Ride. I will admit, I was a bit starstruck. Through her book and podcast, Tonya has done as much as anyone to bring mental skills coaching into the mainstream equestrian conversation in the US.

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to share the Riding Far story. We believe we offer something different in the equestrian world. Not only through our commitment to integrated expertise, but in how we use that expertise. Our goal is to help others rise, not to rise above them.

Toward the end of the conversation, Tonya asked a simple but challenging question. What is one practical tool people can use to elevate performance and engagement?

In that moment, I felt the weight of trying to distill more than 30 years of experience into a single idea.

Then it came to me. The one thing Justin and I return to every week in our often casually chaotic conversations.

Intention.

Intention is a powerful tool. It shapes and focuses our experience, connecting it to meaning and value. By simply setting an intention, we begin to organize our awareness, focus, experience, knowledge, and skills around what matters most in that moment.

Try this with me. Think of a recent experience. Run it through your mind a few times. Each time, set a different intention. Notice how the experience shifts.

Like many effective mental skills practices, intention helps place us in a positive and purposeful frame. It directs our attention toward what we want to gain, rather than what we fear or want to avoid.

It also honors the multi dimensional nature of our time with horses. When we approach similar experiences with different intentions, we begin to access more depth, more texture, and more meaning. That richness is part of resilience. Intention supports that process.

I had already set my intention for the week, but now I think I will add another. I am going to play with intention. Before each interaction with my three horses, I will pause and choose one. Then I will notice what changes.

Will you join me? ~ Paul

PC – Jordan Koepke Photography

#PsychSaturday #RidingFar #EquestrianLife #HorseTraining #EquestrianMindset #MentalSkills #SportsPsychology #HorseRider #EquestrianCoach #HorseConnection #MindfulRiding #EquestrianPerformance #HorseLife #RiderDevelopment #EquestrianCommunity #TrainYourMind #RideWithPurpose #EquestrianTraining #HorseHumanConnection #PerformanceMindset #GrowthInTheSaddle