The Mindful Equestrian

The Mindful Equestrian Performance coaching for equestrians wanting to achieve more positive results in all aspects of the Hunter/Jumper lessons and clinics.

Mindfulness is the practice of being present in every moment, not worrying about what was or what might be. A mindful rider is able to focus on what is happening right now with themselves and their horse, maintaining low stress and a higher ability for top performance. My clinics combine my 35+ years of experience in the hunter/jumper industry (AHSA/USEF, IHSA, Equine Science Professor Hunt Seat M

orrisville State College), mindfulness training and coach training and certification (International Coach Academy) to give riders strategies and tools for better mental focus and riding success. Each rider is considered individually and supported with the tools that will work best for them. The benefits from the performance coaching can also be carried into day to day life since we mirror the same issues in our riding that we do in other areas of our lives. Mindfulness then becomes a whole life practice and success tool. Performance coaching for riders of all disciplines who want more a positive experience whenever riding and competing. Group seminars available as well as private phone coaching sessions. Add a performance coaching seminar to your riding clinic. Over 35 years experience training hunters/jumpers and students.

An exercise I work on with my students is relaxing and feeling the horse while riding. We do shortening, lengthening and...
11/15/2025

An exercise I work on with my students is relaxing and feeling the horse while riding. We do shortening, lengthening and transitions. I have riders concentrate on sitting deep and communicating with their seats first before they go to their hands. I encourage them to stay elastic the whole time. In order to do this the riders have to fight their muscle memory so they can change old habits. They will sometimes say to me something like, I feel it, but I can't maintain the feel. That is probably the toughest thing about riding and definitely the toughest thing about life. We finally get this awareness about something we need to change. We know it is right and it is what we need to do, but we keep slipping back into old habits. That is okay. It takes time to change something we have done as a regular habit. It took time to create the bad habit so it definitely has to take time to change it. I acknowledge my riders for finding those moments of feel and encourage them to work on recognizing what is happening at that time and how they have come to that moment. They need to be mindful and in the moment to fully recognize what is going on. Letting go of self-judgement also allows the process to occur and it will help them discover the feel again and stay with that feeling longer each time. Give this a try and have fun with it!

Life is all about perspective. We can choose to celebrate all of it and grow and learn from our ups and downs or to stay...
11/14/2025

Life is all about perspective. We can choose to celebrate all of it and grow and learn from our ups and downs or to stay stuck in misery. Celebration seems like a better choice!

Hone your skills on the basics and work on one thing at a time. Create a good foundation and steadily build from there. ...
11/13/2025

Hone your skills on the basics and work on one thing at a time. Create a good foundation and steadily build from there. Let go of trying to manage too many things and making things more complicated than they need to be. Our brains do best working on one thing at a time.

Take time to enjoy the process every day. Don't get so caught up in your long trem goals that you forget to enjoy the jo...
11/12/2025

Take time to enjoy the process every day. Don't get so caught up in your long trem goals that you forget to enjoy the journey and learn as you go!

Feeling like you could use a little reset before the holidays?I’ve got something new coming in December — relaxed, small...
11/12/2025

Feeling like you could use a little reset before the holidays?

I’ve got something new coming in December — relaxed, small group Q&A coaching sessions designed for riders and equestrian professionals who want to finish the year with more confidence, balance, and presence.

No prep, no pressure — just real conversation and practical tools you can use right away.

Stay tuned for all the details coming soon!

In riding, there's often a tendency to strictly follow all the "rules" and work hard to do everything perfectly, driven ...
11/11/2025

In riding, there's often a tendency to strictly follow all the "rules" and work hard to do everything perfectly, driven by good intentions and a strong will to please. While striving for excellence is commendable, fixating on perfection can lead to frustration and disappointment.

This is where cultivating a sense of curiosity can be truly beneficial. When mistakes happen or old habits resurface, take a moment to be curious about what's going on without judgment. Pause and consider what might have caused the mistake or what's driving the habit you'd like to change.

Don't get too caught up in following the rules. See the rules, techniques, strategies, and lessons you're taught as tools to adapt and make your own. For example, if you've been taught a certain rein aid and it doesn't produce the desired results, don't get upset. Instead, be curious about why it's not working in that specific situation or with that particular horse. Perhaps the standard rule isn't the right approach in this case, or maybe you need to apply it differently.

Learn from your mistakes and see everything you've learned as tools at your disposal. As you use them, bring in curiosity to truly understand how what you've learned works, and be curious about how you and your horse both operate as individuals. With an open and curious mindset, you'll be able to adapt the "rules" to each situation, helping you learn and grow!

It's all about perspective. If we can shift how we view things in our lives we can look for opportunities to learn and g...
11/10/2025

It's all about perspective. If we can shift how we view things in our lives we can look for opportunities to learn and grow.

What a wonderful weekend I had teaching a two day clinic at Horse Heaven Stables ! Riders and horses were fabulous.🐴🦄 Th...
11/10/2025

What a wonderful weekend I had teaching a two day clinic at Horse Heaven Stables ! Riders and horses were fabulous.🐴🦄 Thanks Renee Stobie for inviting me back again! And thanks for all the great pictures!

I am booking clinics and judging for 2026. Contact me at [email protected] to learn more and get on my schedule.

As riders, it's easy to fall into a routine and stay within our comfort zones. However, true growth and progress happen ...
11/09/2025

As riders, it's easy to fall into a routine and stay within our comfort zones. However, true growth and progress happen when we push ourselves to try new things, even if they feel uncomfortable at first. Embrace the challenges and step outside your comfort zone, and you'll be amazed at how much you and your horse can achieve together.

Research at Stanford University has shown that when you multitask you become less productive and you make more mistakes....
11/08/2025

Research at Stanford University has shown that when you multitask you become less productive and you make more mistakes. In fact, you aren’t really multi-tasking, you are shifting focus back and forth between tasks. So it is important to prioritize what needs to be worked on and do the most important thing first and then when that is done, work on the next. This can be useful in all aspects of your life. In riding particularly it is so easy to try and fix and work on too many things at once. This leads to frustration as you don’t end up doing anything very well. So when you want to work on changing your riding position or technique or changing something in your horse’s training pick the most important foundational thing first. Work on that until it becomes automatic. Then work on the next most important thing. If you are a trainer keep this in mind when working with a rider. Don’t throw too many things at them to fix at once. Remember, keep it simple! Consider how you can apply this to all parts of your life.

Do you have a dream? Is there something you want to achieve? It won't happen without getting out there and trying and pu...
11/07/2025

Do you have a dream? Is there something you want to achieve? It won't happen without getting out there and trying and putting in hard work to make what you want a reality!

Mistakes are an inevitable part of the learning process, both in riding and in life. Instead of beating yourself up over...
11/06/2025

Mistakes are an inevitable part of the learning process, both in riding and in life. Instead of beating yourself up over them, embrace them as opportunities for growth. Ask yourself what you can learn from each mistake and how you can apply that knowledge to improve your riding and your partnership with your horse. Remember, the only true failure is failing to learn and grow.

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Sherrill, NY
13461

Telephone

+13154279498

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