Monday, March 6, 2023

Eyes on the Ground

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

(This blog was originally posted on July 13, 2011)

 

Photo courtesy of Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht.

 

No matter who you are, every equestrian benefits from having someone observe you ride. Ideally, you can train with someone who can constructively critique your position, aids, etc. while you work with your horse. No matter how good or experienced an equestrian you are, it is almost impossible to notice every detail about your position or technique that another person’s experienced eye could easily see. There is nothing so valuable for improving your ride as receiving feedback—good or bad—at the precise moment you are asking for a movement. This kind of instruction can truly make all the difference in how you ride.

Many years ago, figure skater Michelle Kwan decided to train without a skating coach. She had previously won a silver Olympic medal, and she owned many national and world championship titles. Surely, these experiences and her talent as a skater qualified her to work without a trainer. However, she did not skate so well on her own; within a year Ms. Kwan re-hired her former coach and started winning medals again.

Even trainers have trainers. At the very least, they acknowledge the philosophies of other horsemen who have influenced their own work with horses. In 2010, I was privileged to audit a couple of Jan Ebeling’s dressage clinics at Equine Affaire (Pomona). In addition to teaching his own students, he competes at Grand Prix dressage competitions around the world. At one point, Mr. Ebeling disclosed that in addition to being coached by his wife (also an accomplished dressage competitor), he sends video of his training sessions to his own instructor…in Germany!

I rode in my horse, Galahad, in his first-ever show in 2021. We did okay at the schooling show, but I wanted to do much better next time around. So, in April 2022, I rode almost every day leading up to the competition and took several extra lessons to work through some of the trickier transitions for us. I followed the mantra, “Perfect practice makes perfect performance,” and I relied on my trainer’s experience as a riding teacher and a successful eventing competitor to help me prepare for this competition. I wanted to ride an accurate test on show-day, and I trusted Darla Opava’s insights as she advised me how to fine-tune my position and aids when. She even corrected my mistakes before I even made them—at least before I was aware that I had made an error. The hard work paid off: we placed second in a class of six competitors and earned a solid, qualifying score. I was thrilled.

As the tagline for those MasterCard® advertisements might read, “Having a trainer to watch you ride: Priceless.”

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. Sara has been voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California, four years in a row (2019-2022). For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/

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