In Praise of Hard Working Riders and All That They Achieve.

Last weekend, here in Scotland, it was Forgandenny Horse Trials. The event is only just over 30 minutes drive from me so I naturally decided to go along and to support some riders.

My sponsored rider Ali, aka All About Ella, was stepping up to do her first BE100 and there were a few other clients, friends and children of friends competing too. Some were also stepping up a level and others were consolidating their current level and enjoying that.

Ali and Ella had been working hard and were definitely ready to take on the challenge both from a riding and from a mindset point of view so I was excited for them and delighted to be there to support them.

During the day, as I wandered round the event, sometimes watching a few dressage tests and at other times watching the SJ, I was watching riders, observing their body language and the way they seemed to be interacting with their horses. I also caught snippets of conversations between riders and their supporters too.

Without fail I was delighted and impressed by my observations. All of the riders I spoke to were putting their mindset skills into practice and were using well rehearsed techniques to handle any understandable nerves. I saw riders leaving arenas, after perhaps having a number of poles down, but still giving their horses a generous pat. I overheard supporters and helpers sharing encouraging words and smiles. I witnessed a few sad faces and tears from riders who had been disappointed but they were still being generous towards their horses. A couple of riders I chatted with were already taking learning points from their performances and identifying areas to work on for next time. There were many cheers and shouts of delight after clear rounds and first completions all of which were a delight to behold.

All in all it was a great day out and I was super impressed by everything that I saw.

To crown it all Ali and Ella had a great day and have their first BE100 successfully completed and I am VERY proud of them.