What does it mean to “ride in the zone”? Most riders will say they have experienced it. Some would even say it’s the very reason they ride. It’s an effortless feeling when everything is going your way. If you haven’t had the pleasure of visiting that famous zone, or want to know how to get there more often, read on.

I am not good enough - I don’t have an equitation body - I’m too nervous - I’m such a wimp. Have you ever tried to shame yourself into better riding with discouraging statements like these? Shame goes beyond garden variety negativity. The message you send yourself is: “I am useless” or “I am worthless,” and the implication is that there is something wrong with you as opposed to you having done something wrong.

It’s amazing how that same body that tingled at the opportunity to go for a ride this summer is now locked in a horizontal position on the couch. Inertia seems to have set in, and it may take some serious convincing to get some movement going again. What can you do?

If you have been riding for some time, chances are you have come across a mount that challenged you. Or maybe he scared you. Perhaps the horse forced you to face that very difficult question: Is this the wrong horse for me… or is it just me? What can you do when fear cripples your riding experience?

There you are, standing at the in-gate, trying to present a picture of poise and confidence. But the reality is that there are butterflies slam-dancing against the walls of your stomach. Right now you want nothing more than to just get this over with so you don’t have to feel this way ever again. Then some well-meaning bystander offers you a granule of wisdom. “Just relax!” she chirps. Don’t you just hate those two little words?

Do you consider yourself to be a tough rider, or a tender one? No one is completely one or the other. Different situations elicit strengths and weakness to emerge in people. The challenge is to first know yourself well, then ask yourself how you can move along the toughness continuum. You don’t need to throw yourself into the fire to get tougher, just make a habit of going a little bit further than you are used to and over time you’ll find your strength increasing.

“My mind was a constant jumble of competing thoughts at shows,” says Amy, a junior dressage rider. “I would be trying to sort through them, just getting more and more nervous. But when I developed my guiding phrase it helped me immensely. I now repeat ‘enjoy and shine’ over and over as I warm up. It brings me back to my important things, which are to have fun and to show off the skills I have worked so hard to perfect. It really works for m

Then he was mine for forty-five minutes or so, way past my initially allotted ten minutes. Thankfully, it turns out Ian loved to talk about his mental game. I think everyone can learn something from what Canada’s most successful rider had to say about the psychology of his ride.

What are mental traps? They are those little mental glitches you fall into again...and again. Here are some common traps and deep trenches that can lead you off your game.