Equestrian Sports Performance Assessments

Each rider's talent is a unique combination of their physical ability, knowledge, and experience. The rider assessments found here do not train riders how to ride, there are plenty of great trainers to do that - they simply help riders and trainers assess sports performance skills, and discover how to more reliably and consistently access their own talent and the talent of the riders they train.

Equestrian Sports Performance Assessments DOWNLOAD: Evaluate Your Equestrian Energy If you truly understood how Energy management can make or break a rider - you would want to learn everything you could about Energy. This download gives you a place to start by helping you personally evaluate how ENERGY affects your riding . . . More DOWNLOAD: Test Your Equestrian Performer Skills Why do so many riders perform better in practice than in competition? Competition should bring out the top of your skills and abilities as a rider yet many riders struggle to access their talent. Find out if your Performer Skills are getting in the w . . . More DOWNLOAD: Check Your Equestrian Intensity A rider can have everything going for them. The right horse, great training, and be totally prepared to compete but... If their Intensity gets "tweaked" the wrong way they can suddenly be unable to physically access their ability and trai . . . More DOWNLOAD: Measure Your Equestrian Strengths - The "GRA" Assessment Good riders have certain attributes in common. Great riders build these attributes into STRENGTHS. Assess your Great Rider Attributes (GRA) and find out how you can build your attributes into strengths! . . . More

Equestrian Sports Pyschology Tools & Exercises Horse Show Success - What is It About The Night Before? Tonya Johston It's a dark night outside, and you are bundled into your hotel. Tomorrow you have to be at the show grounds at ____ (early!!). Your most important class goes first, and you are hoping you feel prepared and ready to go when you enter the ring. Your horses have been schooling well at home, and you are . . . More Mistakes, Embarrassing Moments, and Brain Bloopers: How to Let Go By Tonya Johnston, MA Chipped so hard to the first jump it made the earth move? Rode around the warm-up ring for 20 minutes with a mane comb stuck in your horse's tail? Missed going through the timers on your way to the first jump in the jump-off? We've all been there -- well, maybe not to exactly the same places -- but . . . More A Team Effort: Helping Parents Help Tonya Johnston, MA It's safe to say that getting a junior rider to the ring is a team effort that includes a lot of parental support. Whether it is emotional support, organization, time management, transportation, financial backing - or a big mix of all of these factors, most juniors owe a big debt of gratitude to the . . . More 'Competitive Fire': Keep it under Control Tonya Johnston, MA Two girls went into the second round of the junior hunter classic within one point of each other it was up for grabs. Each one had a true desire to win. One envisioned a way to shine, determined to nail it with a clear plan of . . . More Perfecting the Lines of Communication: Part I By Tonya Johnston, MA Have you ever reflected on your communication skills and wished you could do better? In riding there are two things that are essential in communicating effectively: sharing your thoughts clearly and saying things that serve you as a rider. When you communicate well you are easily understood and your . . . More Equestrian Mind Skills - The Fundamentals of Visualization Tonya Johnston Most people have heard about it, read about it, and will say they use it to prepare - but do you really know the primary benefit of all visualization? It's to make your body and mind experience a sense of deja-vu when you perform; to feel as if you have done it all before so that you can relax, trus . . . More Post Ride Notes Tonya Johnston DOWNLOAD: Tracking progress and planning what to work on next helps riders improve and stay motivated. Use this download to help you track and improve your riding at shows and at home. . . . More Equestrian Motivation Statement Download Tonya Johnston, MFA This download will show you how to write a Motivation Statement. Your Motivation Statement will help you focus and clarify why you ride. This download will help you identify what it is that fuels your dedication and helps you achieve your goals. . . . More Pre-Ride Routines: A Key to Your Focus by Tonya Johnston, MA In a typical 8-hour show day, how much time are you actually in the ring? 15 minutes? 30 minutes? This is the nature of horse showing, and it creates an interesting challenge. With all of the other things going on in your busy horse show day, how can you best prepare yourself and get focused for th . . . More Control Your Energy with Circle Breathing by Tonya Johnston, MA Take a deep breath!" "Relax!" "Stop holding your breath!" "Don't worry about it!" "Just breathe!" Are these phrases part of your riding? Perhaps it was at a show while you waited for a client's class, on a large group trail ride, or during a frustrating m . . . More Use Your Focus to Succeed in the Show Ring by Tonya Johnston, MA Walking through the in gate at a big show feeling focused, excited and ready is a skill that all riders need. It doesn't matter if you are in a novice equitation class or a World Cup qualifier, the ability to harness energy or adrenaline and direct it to your riding skills is essential. In fact, it . . . More Visualization: Before the Horse Show By Tonya Johnston, MA Most often riders think of visualizing their courses once they are at the show. However, a lot of valuable practice can be done in the weeks prior to your most important shows by visualizing sample courses at home. . . . More Stay Focused on Your Progress by Tonya Johnston, MA Using sport psychology to track your progress and build the quality of your schools between clinics and shows can be very valuable. As a professional, you often school your horses on your own. This fact not only contributes to the physical abilities of both you and your horse, it also creates a need . . . More Conquering the Horse Show Warm-Up Ring by Tonya Johnston, MA About warm-up rings, I have heard it all: "I try to make my warm-up as short as possible, it just works better for me." and "I can't stand the warm-up ring. It makes me: scared/nervous/frantic/nauseous." and "The warm-up ring makes me lose my confidence." and "If I . . . More Using Video to Improve Your Performance (and Your Confidence) by Tonya Johnston, MA Watching video of your rounds, tests, or cross country runs can be many things: fun, exciting, useful, frustrating, enlightening, painful, or entertaining. Some riders run from the mailbox to the DVD player when a video arrives from a recent show. Then there are the riders who buy video of themselve . . . More Strengthen Your Focus with Book-Ends by Tonya Johnston, MA Often your clinician or ground person can help you create specific 'homework' for each horse. By having a specific idea of what you will work on, you ensure a productive schooling session. Integrating exercises and training solutions from prior schools can really add to the value of the ride, and ca . . . More Energy Management: An Introduction to Breathing Techniques by Tonya Johnston, MA What if I told you that a skill necessary for riding well and being successful in the show ring was something you were doing right now? Do you think it would it be sitting at your computer? Reading informative articles? Imagining your next horse show? No, not quite. If I whisked you away at this ver . . . More At the Show: Relaxed and Confident by Tonya Johnston, MA Use powerful cue words to direct your attention to the specific areas you need to focus on in the ring. This will keep your mind directed to your performance (over which you have control!) and away from outcomes or ribbons (over which you do not have control!). . . . More At the Show: Breathing Techniques for Energy Management by Tonya Johnston, MA There are three main types of breathing useful for controlling your focus and managing your energy. They are: Circle, Ratio, and . . . More Five Strategies for Coping with Horse Show Nerves Tonya Johnston, MA It goes without saying that when you are heavily invested in something, you care a lot about how it turns out. But this same care, if left unchecked, can mushroom into feelings of pressure and fear of failure that often create excessive nervousness. This can affect a rider's enjoyment of the show, a . . . More DOWNLOAD: Equestrian Athlete Target & Track Journal There is nothing more motivating than progress. The Target & Track Journal Speeds you toward your goals and dreams by helping . . . More