6 rider mindsets but only one will help you reach your full potential!

The common saying is that most riders are perpetually stuck on second level…

As a clinician I see this everywhere.

My first purpose is always to serve as best that I can, be as kind as I can and facilitate learning.

To be a good teacher, I have learned how to break things down into their smallest components, how to explain each one, how to understand the aids, behavior, training, biomechanics, etc., and how to say the same thing in as many different ways as possible to help the individual understand theory and practice in a way that makes sense to them. Semantics, semantics, semantics.

However, I’ve come to realize that there are different types of rider mindsets and depending on which one you identify with, it will either open up your ability to learn or close it off no matter what your natural skills are or how myself or other teachers try to help you. 

1. The Know Best: This rider will name drop all the famous trainers they’ve ridden with over the years. They constantly participate in the latest clinic with the biggest name, but they rarely apply what they learn because ultimately they think they already know what’s best. They end up staying stuck in their ways no matter who they study with.

2. The Analyzer: This rider is ultimately afraid of making mistakes. They are usually very intelligent and they want to understand, but they lack the ability to take action because of their fear and resistance. Despite their many attempts to analyze their way forward, they end up stuck in analysis paralysis and talk your ear off analyzing every little unnecessary detail to avoid taking action. Resistance is their biggest obstacle.

3. The Student: This rider can be a beginner, an amateur or a professional. Their mind is open, the more they learn the more they realize it’s a never ending journey and that constantly drives their passion for learning more. They are always open to improvement and not afraid of making mistakes as they realize that’s all part of learning. They implement well and are constantly growing in their abilities. They apply what they learn and make it their own.

4. The Complainer: This person threatens to quit about once a year or more. They focus on everything that’s going wrong, their own perceived weaknesses and that of the horse. Even when things go well, they quickly find the one thing that didn’t go well and hyper focus on that. Progress is short lived, personal expectations are unrealistic and ultimately this person ends up digressing and losing what they’ve already accomplished, because they doubt and criticize themselves every step of the way.

5. The Goal Oriented: This rider is ambitious and wants results yesterday. They are focused and competent but get stuck on practicing the same things as their mindset is unable to look outside the box. They are frustrated with lack of progress and know that their foundation is lacking, but they won’t take the time to step back and fix it, as they see that as going backwards and accepting failure.

6. The Confused: This rider doesn’t trust their own abilities and despite having learned a lot over the years they never seem to make it their own. This makes them easy victims to incorrect data and negative influence. They often have difficulty feeling their bodies and difficulty feeling the horse. It’s because they haven’t deciphered what they should be feeling for, or what they are committed to. The world is full of so much information, which data should you choose?

Do you see yourself in any of these rider mindsets? Perhaps you see yourself in more than one.

Please know that I’m not judging anyone here. I know each mindset from personal experience as I have a little of each one in my own mind, as most of us do.

However, over the years I have learned to address each one to bring out the strengths instead of the weaknesses and the one that I have ultimately tried to master and embody the most is “the student”.

Taking the mindset of the student is not difficult, it’s simply a conscious choice. It’s the most successful mindset of them all and it is the one that will get you the farthest. It is the one that will allow you to master a craft, and an interesting thing is that the master mindset always remains a student.

• It’s the one where you are willing to look like a fool while you’re learning and laugh at it as you know it’s just a temporary phase.

• It’s the one where your mind is open to all information and you listen with an open heart, then you choose which pieces of info you decide to keep

• It’s the one where you respect what you know but you leave your current knowledge outside the door until later.

• It’s the one where if you receive data that works better than your current data you upgrade immediately

• It’s the one where you are forgiving towards yourself and the horse as you learn.

• It’s the one where you take action without being attached to outcome and observe your results objectively.

Etc., etc.

When we stick to limiting behaviors or mindsets we limit ourselves and our results. It’s that simple.

As a trainer I sometimes end up babying people, always trying to focus on the positive and make them feel good about themselves… but that’s not always healthy or empowering. Sometimes you need to hear the truth and if you have a shitty mindset you will get shitty results, and it is within no one’s power or responsibility to change it but yours!!!

Upgrade your mindset! It’s a choice that my really good students as well as myself choose consciously to make every day.

Don’t let your own excuses or fear block your path to success. It’s not a good fight to fight.

Ride with Lightness

Celie xo

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