Adriennesternlicht

In order to compete at a high level, you need a talented horse who is responsive and eager to do his/her job. That being said, its a team effort - a horse cannot do it without his/her rider and vice versa. I'd say its more about building a relationship with your animal than letting him/her "do the work."

I think so!!! My plan is to be Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she's always been a hero of mine!!

I compete around 25 weeks a year, give or take. Its a 24/7 sport, there is always something to be done around the barn, where we ride 6 days a week and we are on the road a lot!

I have a pre-competition routine that includes meditation (Headspace app) and going for a long run (before competing on an important day), and sticking to this routine very closely has helped me enormously. Routines provide comfort more than anything else. I used to often have rails at the end of the course, I would shift my focus to thinking "oh good I'm clear" or "one fence away" while I was still on course. Its not that these thoughts are bad, but they represent a shift in focus. I now think about maintaining my focus "throughout and beyond", as in beyond the last jump, and that has helped me enormously.

Yes I have, absolutely!! It took me a while to figure out how to manage it, I really had to find a way to shift my focus inward. I'd say to first recognize that there is nothing holding you back but instead a narrative that you've subconsciously decided to take on yourself that you don't have self-confidence. Once you realize that there is no truth to you not feeling good enough, its pretty freeing!