In last week's blog I rambled on a bit about the four 'C's - to recap, they are confidence, control, commitment and concentration. Previously I focused on confidence and control and the overlap that they had, so this week I'll be looking more into commitment and concentration.
A fair few years ago I was in the process of helping out a young girl with her showjumping by giving her weekly lessons. She would often fall off, have run outs and refusals at home and at shows. Each lesson we picked up on something and worked through it, always finishing on a good note. But when I returned the following week there had been no improvement, and often she'd taken a step back and we had to go over everything again. | Commitment is required at all levels of riding, but even more so during any competitive stage of your riding career. |
After about 9 months she stopped having lessons, which didn't surprise me. She had barely progressed at all, and as a result had started to lose interest. At first I took it a bit to heart and was disappointed in myself for not being able to improve her technique - what had I done wrong? After some soul searching I realised that despite me setting her 'homework' each week, she had never even attempted to do it. Between lessons she would just hack out and go for a jolly, without considering that I had given her homework and exercises for a reason. This rider's total lack of commitment showed drastically in her weekly lessons and at shows, and as a result it was her own inadequate engagement with the sport that led to her quitting.
Another client I used to teach before I relocated was another young girl who was 110% committed to her horse & her sport. She rode almost every day, loved jumping and would get out to shows as often as she could. During her sessions with me we would focus on having a good element of control over her horse, who would run away with her quite easily. She would understand my concepts and exercises, work well at home, but as soon as she went out to shows it all went to pot - because she was lacking in concentration. This girl was always very paranoid about what other people thought of her, so much so that it would start to fall apart in the collecting ring. The lack of concentration wasn't directly her fault, but because she couldn't focus on the job at hand and what we had worked on at home she often went home feeling very glum and useless. | Just for a giggle - my concentration face whilst learning a course at a show |
Concentration is a tricky one. I find that when I'm out my attention can wander, so I picture myself & my horse in a bubble. No one can penetrate it, and we can't run out of it. It helps to keep me focused on what's important. | These situations, although unique to the subject, are fairly common. If I don't have something to aim towards I feel myself dawdling and feeling non-committal towards anything in particular, so I always give myself an aim. Having something to work towards can really motivate oneself, to maintain a peak level of commitment, and of course aid concentration whilst on board. Struggling to find a realistic aim? Ask your instructor, or see next week's post on aims. |