Do you remember your first?

Hey! Prefer to listen instead of read the Newsletter? I got you! The Resilient Reiner Newsletter also comes as a podcast! 🎙️ Tune in to listen now! 

You never forget your first—
🏆 First big score.
🏆 First blue ribbon.
🏆 First time stepping into the show pen and actually believing you belong there.

But getting there? That’s the hard part.

I was so excited to get this text—I literally squealed like a little girl getting a double scoop of choco-choco-double-fudge ice cream in a waffle cone.

When I say I’m in your corner and your biggest fan… I mean it.

The moment I saw it, I jumped out of my blue boucle chair and sprinted down the stairs to tell my husband—because of course, I was going to celebrate my client’s win!

And I can’t not take a second to brag on my people.

Because let me tell you, they’ve been putting in the work—and it’s paying off in the most incredible ways.

Like one of my clients who just walked away with her first-ever blue ribbon. She wasn’t even sure she belonged in the show pen a year ago. Thought she’d never be ‘good enough.’ Now? She’s out there proving to herself that she’s way more capable than she ever gave herself credit for.

Or another who just scored her first 70 in reining—which, if you know, you know. We’re talking about a huge breakthrough moment. The kind that makes all the late nights, the extra reps, the mental battles so worth it.

Then there’s the client who qualified for the NRCHA Celebration of Champions. AGAIN. Like it’s just another day at the office. (It’s not. It’s a BIG freaking deal.)

And I can’t forget the one who said, “I’ve never felt this connected to my horse before.” Because yeah, the wins are great, but THIS? This is what it’s really about. Feeling like your horse and you are finally speaking the same language, that you’re showing up for each other, and that riding is fun again.

I’ve got people…

🏆 Finishing in the Top 5 at the NRHA Derby

🏆 Placing Top 10 at the AQHA World Show

🏆 Top 10 at the NAAC

🏆 Winning year-end high points and reserve high points

🏆 Taking home their first check from a competition

🏆 Walking away with their first-ever shiny buckle

🏆 Finally mastering those elusive lead changes

🏆 Being brave enough to mount up again after an accident 

🏆 Knowing they belong

🏆 FINALLY feeling proud of themselves after struggling with confidence for years

I’ve got youth riders, adult riders, Select riders (who thought their best days were behind them—spoiler: they weren’t). Some are in full-time training, some are DIY’ers grinding it out in their own arenas. Men, women, reiners, cow horse riders, ranch riders, barrel racers, team sorters—you name it, my clients are out there making things happen.

And here’s the best part…

They’re not just winning. They’re having more fun than ever. They’re more confident, more in tune with their horses, and finally getting to enjoy the thing they love without all the mental baggage weighing them down.

I know what it feels like to want this so bad it hurts.

I remember sitting at the gate, watching the riders who had it all together—the confidence, the presence, the belief in themselves. And wondering if I’d ever get there.

I know what it’s like to fight through the doubt, the frustration, the mental battles that try to convince you that maybe you’re just not that kind of rider.

And that’s why these wins? They hit different.

Because I see the work that happens long before anyone ever calls their name.

I see the early mornings.
The gut-check moments.
The times they wanted to quit—but didn’t.

And now? They’re proving to themselves that they can do this.

I hope this fires you up as much as it does me. Because if you’re reading this thinking, Dang, I want to feel that way too—just know, it’s 100% possible for you.

I’ve seen it happen over and over again.

And I cannot wait to see what we’re celebrating next.

-Nicole

PS 🚀 Ready For Your Own Breakthrough? Here’s How: ⤵️ 

🎯 Join the Mental Gym for Equestrians! → Align your subconscious mind and nervous system with your biggest riding goals for better rides without more time in the saddle! Live high-touch group coaching. Limited Spots. Starting April 1st. Sign up here!

🎯 Resilient Reiner Academy → The confidence to win so you ride like you belong. Sign up here!