A Change in Conversation: Equestrian Performance Coaching and How I Got Here.

The Art of Being Pro-Active

‘’I know of no more encouraging fact that the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavour. ‘’ I recently talked at a Marketing event in Dublin and was surprised by the level of engagement with my talk. In our fast past corporate environments, self management and self reflection seem more relevant than ever. I aimed to inspire an understanding of how the resource of self can be the solution. SECTION 1: Its time to start thinking about what you are actually doing and where you are actually going. We spend a lot of time running on the corporate treadmill and sometimes we are running so fast that personally we have no idea where we are trying to end up. Its important to occasionally step off the machine and reassess if 1) you are going in a direction you actually want to go and 2) if you are feeling in control of your progress. The Social Paradigm - Understanding the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, our ch...

Two years of research; A look at the mental requirements of Show Jumpers in Training Part One

With the Nations Cup finals taking place in Barcelona this week, it seems like a good time to share my research findings on showjumping athletes mental requirements at the top of the sport. Earlier this year I submitted two years of research to UCC documenting my findings from interviewing and observing the athletes competing at 1.50m level and above. I examined the role of a Performance Psychology Coach within the sport highlighting four key areas, training quality, competitive success, personal well being and future generations. Over the coming fortnight, I will be sharing snippets from this project and providing an insight into the mental requirements demanded by our modern sport. Improving Training Quality The importance of improving training quality was acknowledged as a common theme during this research, ‘ if you are not willing to try new ways of making yourself train better, forget it. We spend 99% of our time training horses, we cannot just concentrat...

Professional Riders. Asking for Help.

Asking for help Firstly, it is important to recognise that ‘asking for help’ is not a negative concept. In fact many famous athletes or coaches would tell you that asking for help is the single most useful thing you can do in your career. It is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of intelligence, with the ability to recognise areas that could support you better. The Reality of being Successful Believe it or not, being a successful professional in any sphere can be a solitary place. You are expected to perform well, to handle the pressure and to remain cool while doing so. Life as a professional equestrian is no different. You may be surround by a great team and have a brilliant network of friends but it’s very rare we actually share the solitary inner workings of our minds with any body else. The doubts, the question of ability, the frustration, the emotional rollercoaster, the tiredness or the niggling negatives. It’s easy to be positive and likeable when thin...

Poppy Blandford

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