There has been a running joke in our house about the hours spent watching horse shows online for the last 5 weeks. I think about how long trainers and horses have been on the road, knowing about the stress of competition, the long hours and odd schedules that they keep. All that has me wondering…

It is too much?

If you are one of the road warriors who feel like you are burning the candle at both ends and running out of wick, here are a few things to consider as you are recovering from this year, and planning out 2012.

Olympic Athletes Peak once every four years. Not every month.

When we are talking about peaking, most athletes would say that they pick one event a year that they really have their eye on. Everything they do during the year leads up to one main event where they want to be their absolute best in terms of mental and physical fitness. I think the same rules apply for Equestrian Athletes as well. Maintaining focus, concentration and physical fitness levels can be difficult when on the road, and trying to peak for every show, or shows that are back to back is not an easy task. A better idea is to pick one show during the year, and make that be YOUR SHOW. That doesn’t mean that you won’t go to other shows, but you need to cut yourself some slack if you suffer a moment of brain dis-engagement and have a few pilot errors. You can learn from those experiences, and keep fine- tuning your plan until you have something that works for you.

Sleep. Sleep. Sleep.

The more I understand about the brain, mind, body connection, the more I understand that sleep is the golden ticket to performing at a high level when doing basically anything. I know, I know, I can hear you saying, “But I don’t have time for sleep. I have to get up at odd hours to ride my horse in the arena, and the middle of the night is when I need to do that. Trust me Einstein, if I could get more sleep I would.”

I completely understand why you would say that, since I have been known to say that very thing. However, if you know you are going to be missing out of some zzz’s, you can plan ahead to minimize the damage.

When we sleep we go through sleep cycles that last around 90 minutes each. Each cycle consists of 4 stages, and each stage has it’s own restorative benefit. Without getting into all of the biological functions, just know that if you have a 2am wake up call and you go to bed at midnight, you are going to have a very hard time waking up because you will be in the middle of a deep sleep cycle. What you should do is shoot for hitting the pillow at 11pm. That way, you can get two sleep cycles in before the alarm goes off.

You are only as good as your last full nights sleep

If you are getting up at odd hours, try not to do it two days in a row, or before the day you show. Look at the schedule and plan ahead. This will ensure you will be bright eyed and bushy brained when it really matters.

Practice at the same time you will be showing

Some of us pop out of bed and hit the ground running and some of us need an IV with caffeine running through it to open our eyes. If you are more of a night owl and less of a lark, early morning classes may bring a whole new set of challenges. An easy solution is to get used riding and performing close to the time that your class will run. Likewise, if you normally ride in the morning, and your class is going late at night, learning how to stay sharp at that time of day will go a long way to help you have the ride of your life. If it takes you a month to recover when the time changes due to daylight savings time, and find yourself having to show in a different time zone, you will want to take that into consideration as well, and adjust to the new time zone gradually, while you are still at home.

Eliminate Distractions

Being on the road for long periods of time has its challenges. Most of us have kids, dogs, jobs and spouses that require our attention, and trying to handle these things from afar can create a lot of stress and tension, and the distraction can take our head out of the game. This is one of those “The best defense is a good offense” situations. It might be a good time for a family meeting to discuss how things will get done while you are on the road, as well as come up with a game plan for how you will handle the unexpected things that may pop up while you are away. If you have a job, make arrangements with your boss, clients, or co-workers so they understand that you will be away, and discuss how things should be handled in your absence. This may seem like a very simple thing, but handling things in advance will give you the space you need to focus on being present at the show.

Eat your vegetables

We all know we should eat healthy, nutritious foods, and this is even more important during stressful times. (If you need some tips on how to do that, you can check out an article I did awhile back about how eat healthy at horse shows.) If you are under stress, your cortisol levels will be high which will cause your immune system to plummet faster than the condo market in Florida. By providing your body with quality nutrients, you will be supplying your body what it needs to repair itself and get back in balance.

Just Say No!

We all tend to be creatures of habit. We go to the same shows each year, and sitting one out has probably never been an option. If you have a busy schedule, and lots of things going on in your life other than showing horses, you may opt to stay home. If you do decide to go, make sure you aren’t biting off more than you can chew. Realistically, with the help that you have, how many horses can you take to a show? Do you know how many hours of labor each horse requires? You may want to add up how much time it takes to clean stalls, fill water buckets, lunge, and don’t forget to add in standing in line time at bigger shows, groom, warm-up, show, bathe, blanket, feed and any other maintenance things that have to be done. You may be surprised at how much time it really takes, but then you will understand why you are so tired by the end of the day. Then figure out how many people will it take to get the job done, and plan accordingly. You might also consider what type of people you will need to help you. If you need three people to handle the workload, but only one of those three is able to lunge and warm up horses, then you really don’t have three people, do you?

Now is the time to sit back and really look at what is important to you, and make your plans based on your values. Life is short, and no horse show is worth risking your health or piece of mind.

^{Kirsten Farris is a regular contributor to GoHorseShow.com and a Certified Sport Consultant, Certified Equestrian Fitness Trainer, and the Author of The Workbook for the Equestrian Athlete - A Guide to Showring Success. For more information contact her at: kirsten@equestrianathlete.com © 2011}