Performance & Mindset Coaching
for Competition Riders in
Eventing & Dressage
Think better, perform better
Break the cycle of fear that stops you performing at your best
Does this
sound familiar?
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You're experiencing fear or imposter syndrome when you’re in the collecting ring and struggling to ‘zone out’ the other horses and riders so you can focus.
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You’ve had a run out or an elimination and can’t get over the mental block it’s created.
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You’re experiencing physical symptoms you can’t control, such as butterflies in your stomach, dread, feeling sick and a racing pulse before a competition.
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You’ve bought a horse with an amazing track record but you aren’t working so well together and it’s making you feel guilty and like a failure.
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Being in front of an audience makes you feel so nervous, you’re making mistakes and mentally beating yourself up.
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You’ve had a fall, and you’re so scared of it happening again, the slightest thing can make you freeze.
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You’re feeling angry and disappointed because you can’t achieve what you want.
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You keep thinking you’re not as good as other competitive riders.
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You’ve read all the books and had lots of training but realise your fears are keeping you stuck.
Performance is
90% mental and 10% physical
When you’re consumed with fears or anxieties, it can have a huge impact on your ability to perform because it stops you being in a state of flow. When you’re focusing on negative feelings, it’s likely to affect your performance. When you learn instead to focus on positive feelings, it enables you to perform at your best.
The good news is, whatever you’re experiencing, I can help you to maintain calm and focus so you can get the results you want. I can help you to get into a state of flow, it’s when everything comes together to give you your best performance. It’s what Olympic athletes aim for.
Let go of “I’m not good enough”, “I can’t do it”, and “What if that happens?” so you CAN perform at your best.
Here's how it
can support you:
Motivation and Resilience
We’ll identify what your goal REALLY is, and nail it specifically, not generally. i.e. in my competition next March, I want to get a double clear and a dressage score of 29. Having a specific goal helps you to identify where you need to focus your energy.
Performance Anxiety
If you’re struggling to perform when it matters, or with a busy mind full of negative thoughts, we’ll work to alter your perception of stress so you can cope better.
Confidence
What is it they say? “a lifetime to build and a second to lose.” I’ll help you to implement strategies that will consistently help you feel more confident before and whilst competing.
Emotional Control
I can give you strategies to maintain a calm and focused approach, so your emotions positively impact your ability to perform under pressure. Emotions can’t be avoided entirely, but I can give you strategies to maintain a calm and focused approach, so your emotions don’t affect your ability to perform under pressure.
Performance Routines
Your mind doesn’t know the difference between imagining something and actually doing it. I help you to get focused and more confident by using a blend of techniques which help you to mentally prepare for competitions.
Attention and Focus
If you’re losing focus and getting distracted by situations, emotions or others, we can work on techniques to improve your focus and protect your attention when you’re under pressure. I’ll also help you to stop getting distracted by negative voices around you and the ones in your head!
Flow States
Need to get in the zone? You’ll develop evidence-based sports psychology techniques to get you into a state of flow (the optimal mental state for performance).
This programme is called
Transformation for a reason
It’s designed to embed new learnings & support you as you grow into the most confident rider you can be.
I named this programme ‘Transformation’ because it does exactly that. It’s not a magic wand, you’re going to have to put some work in too, and if you do, you’ll be able to:
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Recognise what mental preparation you need for practice, lessons and competitions as they may be different.
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Mentally prepare yourself for the state of flow you need to perform at your best.
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Remain calm and focused before and during events, even when unexpected situations arise.
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Develop the confidence to carry on when things feel difficult.
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Reframe when things go wrong, so they don’t knock your confidence.
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Know how to look at things through a different lens and create opportunities from challenges.
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Maintain more calm, less fear and more focus in your competitions.
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Work towards achieving your goals.
Learn to blend your horse's abilities with your own. Together and with the right mindset you can achieve what you want
I use a blend of techniques to help you create a peak performance mindset, including:
Applied Sports
Psychology
Neuro Linguistic
Programming
Timeline Technique
Solution-Focused,
Analytical
Hypnotherapy
No one-size fits all
approach, the combination
of support I give you is
unique to your own needs.
“Thanks so much for the great session yesterday and to let you know it really paid off! We went back to the arena from last week for a lesson and I was so confident and self-assured that I had an awesome ride. My trainer commented that from the moment I got on my horse I was just really confident and focused on the exercise. I’m so happy and loving my progress!!!”
How it works
GOALS
First, we’ll nail down your goals. This is where we get specific, we’re not generalising because it doesn’t work. For example, you might choose the date of an event and give yourself a goal of getting a double clear and a dressage score of 29. Your conscious mind is the goal setter and your unconscious mind is the goal getter. Programme your mind for success.
MENTAL REHEARSALS
This is where we’ll use a variety of evidence-based sports psychology techniques to mentally rehearse your performance. They are designed to help you mentally prepare, boost your confidence and teach you how to get into a state of flow.
THE PLAN
We’ll develop a plan and reverse engineer it from your goal date, so you know exactly what your first steps and next steps are. We’ll work out what daily tasks you need to accomplish in order to progress toward your goal.
IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU
During our time together, I will also be using a blend of techniques to unpick your fears, so you can develop a more resilient and focused mindset and achieve what you want. You’ll also be taught techniques to support your performance, which you can draw on as and when you need them.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Keeping yourself accountable when going through a growth phase is often the hardest challenge, consider me your accountability partner as we work together.
The Brass Tacks
6 x 60 minute sessions delivered fortnightly over Zoom (they can be delivered over 6 weeks if you need to get it done more quickly).
Full support via WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger for the duration of our time together, so you can be coached ‘in the moment’ when challenging emotions arise.
A detailed plan of what you need to do to achieve your goal and support to get you there.
An accountability call 30 days after the final coaching session to keep you on track.
A 90 day follow-up call designed to do the same.
What my clients say
“I’m a Grade II Para Dressage rider, who despite moving forward successfully in able bodied and Para Dressage with my self-trained mare, lacked self-belief.
I felt I was always knocking on the door of my dream without knowing how to walk in.
Julia has, via a carefully tailored plan (which even includes daily tasks), raised my levels of motivation and confidence to train and compete with real focus once Lockdown has lifted.
This has seeped into every aspect of my life and I find that I’m more forward thinking and positive than I thought possible. The effect is incredible and uplifting and I’m able to turn negatives into positives.
I can’t recommend Julia’s coaching highly enough; it’s life changing and powerful.”
Deborah Parkinson Wicks
Para Dressage Rider
Frequently Asked Questions
I've had a bad fall and I'm not sure I'll ever get over the fear of it happening again, will this programme help?
You have to be committed to do the work, but something like TimeLine Technique will help you release the unnecessary fears.
Can I work with a trainer alongside this programme?
Yes, absolutely. Their skills focus primarily on your riding ability and technique, I’m working with what goes on in your head.
I’ve had hypnotherapy before but it didn’t work out…
You’ve got to be committed to change and hypnotherapy will only work if you want it to.
I’ve been struggling with a particular fear for a long time, will you be able to help me?
If you’ve been struggling with a fear for a long time, it’s likely it stems back to an event in your childhood which is probably unrelated to horses and your unconscious has been reinforcing that fear throughout your life.
Will I be in control if I am under hypnosis?
Yes, I can’t make you do something you don’t want to do. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis, you are in control all the time.
Do I need to be at a certain level of competing before I can work with you?
Absolutely not. In fact, you don’t have to be competing, you can be preparing to compete. If you’ve got a goal and the drive to succeed, that’s all you need.
I’m not comfortable asking for help…
Everyone can feel that way, it’s feeling and/or knowing that you want to change and taking the first steps that matters. If you are feeling this way, I encourage you to reach out to me for a chat to see if it’s right for you.
FAQ
