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)
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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2023
