British Dressage - Issue 1 2022

BODYZONE.

FIGHTING

fears MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS IS FINALLY BECOMING MORE WIDESPREAD, AND THIS YEAR’S ‘MIND AND BODY’ SERIES IS GOING TO FOCUS ON SOME OF THE

CHALLENGES THAT AFFECT RIDERS. ANDREA OAKES BEGINS WITH THE TOPIC OF ‘LOSING YOUR NERVE’.

F

ew riders breeze through their dressage career without encountering some bumps in the road. Most of these are merely blips and are soon overcome, but occasionally something far bigger can really knock you off your stride.

When you just can’t find the courage to compete, or you fear the worst will happen in a certain situation, the term typically used is ‘losing your nerve’. This can happen after a single, traumatic event or because of ongoing issues, such as struggling to cope with a new and more di cult horse. Perhaps you’re returning to competition after taking a break to have a baby or raise your family. It’s understandable that your old confidence might desert you, but can you get it back again?

According to Tracey Cole, an accredited Trainer and Master Coach of neuro-linguistic programming NLP traceycolenlp.com , the trigger for this apprehension can be real or imagined.

“Maybe you or someone close to you has had an accident, or you’ve read about something unsettling,” she says. “People who post details of their accidents on social media might feel OK themselves, but they’ve planted those images in someone else’s mind.

“Our minds are very good at being sponges, for both positive and negative events,” adds Tracey. “While we needed to be alert to risks and hazards when we were cavemen, this is not so necessary in the 21st Century when we’re so cosseted. But we still have that wiring.

Once we’ve experienced that danger, or imagined it happening to us, we can’t get it out of our head.

50 // Issue 1 2022 // BRITISH DRESSAGE

ZERO TO HERO After breaking her back in a fall, Ellie Barlow was understandably nervous about riding a new horse.

“I had zero bottle,” she said. “I was so frightened I wouldn’t even canter.”

With NLP, Ellie is now winning at elementary with Elixer.

“I was amazed at how efficiently it worked,” adds Ellie, who has also used NLP to build confidence with public speaking. “I wouldn’t have imagined that my brain was that malleable. I had sessions by Zoom and the techniques were easy.

“It really bothered me how scared I was and I desperately wanted to ride well,” she adds. “We all make such a big investment in our horses, so to give up and walk away from it all is a big deal.”

“We may have the mental resilience to brush off a short-lived or minor event, but something more prolonged or intense can be troublesome,” she explains. “Some traumatic events can really bowl us over or have a knock-on effect in other areas of our lives.

“When we experience something happening in reality, or imagine it, our mind makes a series of little pictures, like a film. These pictures