In my Adam Sandler Era and Doing Better Than Ever

POV: You used to be a 5 am at the barn for 2 hours wearing cute outfits type cowgirl, and now you’re a ride at home 3-4 days a week with your horse for 45 minutes wearing adam sandler’s clothes AND seeing better results 🫶

No - for reals. I literally used to wake up at 5 and go to the barn from say 5:30-7:30 am. I was there five, six days a week. I would get all dressed up, and I was just doing the most. 

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love dressing up. I love being girly. I love long relaxed rides where I have the opportunity to not rush through teaching my horse something or not rush through learning something myself! 

But life goes on. I have 3 young children. We’ve been through injury and job changes in our family that completely threw off my old schedule. I had to shift. 

To be honest, I didn’t have as much time to keep up on laundry and I started occasionally riding in sweatpants. (If you have never done this… try it. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. It’s so comfy you may have a hard time going back to jeans). 

My rides got shorter. More focused. My horse had some lameness issues and could only handle being ridden 3-4 times a week. 

But despite all the differences, we had an amazing show season. 

It made me think – what’s going on??

Here’s my thoughts: I still show up. It’s different, but I’m still consistent. 

It’s not at 5am to drive to the barn while slamming coffee as I jam out in the car on my drive to the barn 6 days a week. 

And honestly, thank God that’s not what my riding journey looks like anymore. Growth and change are a sign that I am growing and changing and progressing. 

A lot has changed over the years. Life has a way of changing even if you aren’t looking for change. 

That change taught me a lot. The biggest being how to do less, more effectively. 

As a mom of 3, I don’t have hours to dedicate to the barn anymore; or any time to waste. If you don’t have kids, or your kids are grown, this isn’t about you and kids or not. This is about acknowledging that as life goes on, we all have demands placed on us and our time. For a lot of folks, myself included: that’s kids. In a way I didn’t appreciate pre-kids, it changed everything. 

Having my time more restricted forced me to learn how to filter out all the extra fluff and focus on what was going to give me the biggest bang for my buck when it came to results. 

And you know what was left after I cut out all the flashy stuff that didn’t matter anyway?

The boring basics. 😆

• A soft horse

• Quality gaits and transitions

• Partnership

• MY MENTAL GAME

Yes. things like breathing, visualizing, and meditation improved my riding without more time in the saddle no joke. So of course I am passionate about sharing these things! 

The basics for a horse and the basics for an unshakable mental game are so similar. 

Focusing on my mental game and doing less, more effectively got me into the best competitive shape of my life.

Yes even after having kids.

Being middle aged. 

With limited time. 

And realizing that was so empowering. To realize that I am still capable. I can still make progress. That just because things don't look like they used to doesn’t mean I am doomed to failure. (Yes, I can be a bit dramatic). 

One thing that hasn’t changed is that rain or shine - I always show up for myself. 

Consistently. And this is so key!! It might be less than I’d prefer. It might be at odd times. But I always show up for myself. 

So however the circumstances have changed in your life, don’t let it bring you down. Just because things have changed doesn’t mean they are worse. Just because things change doesn’t mean they are better. The real power is your perspective. 

Let’s say your horse is laid up for 6 months with an injury. Instead of focusing on how you will miss the show season; focus on how you can lesson on other horses and develop your adaptability, feel, problem solving and confidence. You spend more time with your horse just hanging out and hand-grazing and deepening your bond. 

Let’s say your horse just doesn’t love your discipline, and you finally decide it’s time to sell. Instead of feeling sad and defeated, you can embrace how you are doing the best for yourself, and your horse; finding a suitable home for them where they can do what they love and be appreciated. 

Perhaps you’re riding a young horse and have to adapt to shorter rides to accommodate their shorter attention span. Instead of focusing on how it’s so much harder than riding older horses, and being frustrated and stymied after every ride, you can focus on the opportunity to practice getting “in and out” quickly. To really focus on having to decide your number one priority for a ride, and to practice quitting after progress not perfection.  

So, friend, definitely give riding in sweatpants a try at least once before winter ends. And, shift your focus to showing up for yourself. Even when it looks different than it has in the past. 

I believe in you. 

Happy Trails,

Nicole Burnett

Interested in developing your confidence as a rider for unshakable performance in the saddle??

Click here to get on the waitlist for Resilient Reiner Academy when the course launches where I will teach you to be a confident rider. Get in for the nitty gritty of the HOW, not just the WHAT. 

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