You put thousands of miles on your truck and trailer to get qualified and now you are sitting in the chute waiting to start your pattern at the World Show. You have a few seconds before the person in front of you finishes their pattern. They finish, the crowd starts clapping, and then it gets quiet. The judges nod, you hear your name and you start your pattern…

How you are feeling right before you start an important class has a lot to do with how you will perform. If you tend to have a lot of useless chatter going on inside your head, or you are thinking about negative things, like hitting a log, getting the wrong lead or running over a cone, you may want to consider putting together a ‘In-gate Ritual’ that will quiet your mind and prepare you for the ride of your life.

In last month’s article, "How To Be A Good Horse Show Mom (or Dad), I stressed the importance of having a plan for getting from the stall to the show pen. The key to keeping cool, calm and collected is having a well thought out plan, and sticking to it, so if you haven’t read that yet, check it out and put your plan together. That way, when you arrive at the Gateway of Champions you won’t have stressed yourself, trainer or family members out.

Butterflies are good!

Most people tend to get a little anxious or nervous before they start a class, but then once the class starts, that feeling tends to go away. I think butterflies are a good thing; after all, butterflies are a sign that you are up to something big. Having a simple ritual may not eliminate the butterflies, but it will help them fly in formation.

Step 1- Breathe

When you feel that anxious, excited feeling, just acknowledge it and use it as a cue to take a few very deep breaths, with your exhale twice as long as your inhale. This actually changes the blood gasses in your body and will create a relaxation response. You may even notice that your horse will be much more relaxed when you do this too.

Step 2- Remind Yourself

Once you take a few deep breaths, you will begin to feel more centered and focused, so now is good time to clear your mind and focus on the one or two simple things that are the key to you having a great ride. You may already have some words that you use to get you in the right frame of mind, or you could bundle the last minute suggestions from your trainer into one or two positive words. For example, if you typically get the “Don’t miss your marker, shorten your reins, keep your fingers closed, and for heaven’s sake, don’t look down when you pick up your diagonal, smile and have fun” speech as they slap your horse on the butt before you go in the ring, what are one or two words that would tidy that up and make it useful for you? If you were doing all of those things, how would you be riding? Maybe something like Correct or Ride Right would do the trick. Just use something that gives you a feeling of confidence and simple and easy to think about. Then as you are breathing, just think of those words as you inhale and exhale.

Step 3 - Circle of Excellence

This is a fun exercise to do, and you will be amazed at how much it can affect you and your horse. Once you have created your circle of excellence, you will use it as the last part of your routine right before you enter the arena.

Here’s the exercise. Think about all of the qualities that would give you that World Winning performance, and make a list of them. Some things you might put on your list might be: Confidence, Presence, Sharp, Strong, Rhythm, Spark, Smooth, Quiet, Pretty, etc…

I think you get the idea, but it is your list, so make it good. Then imagine a circle on the floor about 2 feet in front of you about 4 feet in diameter. I want you to fill the circle with all of the positive qualities that are on your list. Now that your circle is full of all of these wonderful things, I want you to step into the circle, and feel what it feels like to be full of Confidence, Presence, Rhythm, or whatever your qualities are. You may get a tingling sensation or a feeling of lightness.

Really identify with all of the powerful feelings that you would like to feel as you are riding. Then step out of the circle, and kind of shake that one off. Then step back into the circle and feel how quickly your body will light up with these powerful feelings. Practice that a few times and get used to what it feels like to walk into the circle. Now, let’s kick this up a notch. I want you to visualize an imaginary in-gate. Right in front of the gate, I want you to place your circle that is filled with all of your positive Mojo but this time, make your circle as wide and as big as you like. Then go ahead and walk through your circle and continue walking through your imaginary in gate, taking all of your positive vibes with you. Practice this a few times each day, and notice how much more you can feel the positive energy every time you walk through your circle.

Now, as the last part of your ritual, as you are waiting to enter the arena, just place your circle in front of the in gate and know that you will be riding through all of this positive energy.

Also, if you are doing any type of visualization as part of your mental preparation, it helps if you begin your visualization from the moment that you feel the butterflies, and then mentally rehearse your in-gate routine as well as the rest of your pattern or class.

Three little steps make a big difference

Lets review, shall we?

Step 1- Take two or three deep breaths

Step 2- Remind yourself with one or two positive words

Step 3- Ride through your circle of excellence

As you enter the arena, not only are you prepared, clearheaded and focused, you will have that intangible ‘it’ factor that transforms great rides into World Class performances.

^{Kirsten Farris is a monthly 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 © 2010}