Why Most Riders Never Reach Their Full Potential

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A rider sat next to me on the bleachers, glowing with excitement. “Check this out,” she said, pulling out her phone to show me some recent pics. “I’ve finally dialed in my horse’s training. He’s perfect. We’ve spent the past year working on every single detail—lead changes, stops, speed control—he’s ready.”

I smiled and nodded, watching as she played a video of her latest ride. To be fair, her horse did look impressive. Smooth, effortless transitions. Perfectly timed cues. Clearly, a ton of time and effort had gone into their training.

“So,” I asked, “how are you preparing yourself for the show next month?”

Her excitement faded for just a second, but she quickly recovered. “Oh, I’ll just stay relaxed and focus on what I know,” she said with a wave of her hand. “If my horse is trained this well, the results will take care of themselves.”

I took a deep breath.

This was going to be a tough conversation.

Mental Strength Wins the Game

Most riders believe that if they just train hard enough, the wins will follow. And I get it. When you’re dedicated to your riding, your horse becomes your focus. You school, tweak, refine, and obsess over every maneuver, every cue, every little detail. You convince yourself that if you just get it perfect, success will come. In service of that, of course you’re riding and training. And you accumulate Back on Track blankets, the perfect SmartPak of supplements, and the most amazing farrier ever. 

But here’s the hard truth:

You can have the most finely tuned, perfectly trained horse in the world… but if you crumble under pressure, overthink your run, or second-guess yourself in the moment? It won’t matter.

The best-trained horse doesn’t always win.

Think of it this way. Let’s say Andrea Fappani lets you hop on one of his horses. You think you’re going to score as well as him? 

Let’s say Em Beisel offered you a ride on Chongo. You’d win the rodeo, right?!????

The thing is, this is about so much more than riding skill alone.

The rider who wins is the one who handles pressure, stays mentally clear, and makes the best decisions in the moment.

Or, put another way: Winning isn’t just about training your horse—it’s about training your mind.

Think about the most dominant riders in the sport. Are they the only ones who know how to train a horse? No. Are they the only ones with access to world-class coaching? No. Do they win because they have some secret training method? Again, no.

They win because they know how to manage their energy, focus, and mental resilience in high-stakes moments.

The best riders don’t just train harder. They train smarter—by training their minds.

Obsession with Training, but No Mental Strategy

Consider the rider I was sitting next to. By the time I was talking with her, she had spent over a year perfecting her horse’s training. Every maneuver, every cue, every adjustment had been worked over and over.

And in all that time?

She had done zero mental preparation for competition.

A year spent training her horse.

Zero time spent training her mind.

Even worse, when I asked how she planned to mentally handle competition pressure, she had vague answers:

🌀 “I’ll just try to stay calm.”
🌀 “I know my horse is ready, so I should be fine.”
🌀 “Hopefully, I won’t overthink things.”

That’s not a strategy. That’s wishful thinking.

Simply put, if you don’t have a concrete strategy for handling nerves, pressure, and mental blocks in the show pen, your success is already limited—you just don’t know it yet.

Train Your Mind Before You Enter the Arena

The best riders don’t just school their horses—they school their own mental game.

Before they ever step into the pen, before they ever think about executing a pattern, they ask themselves:

• How will I handle the pressure?

• How will I keep my mind from overthinking?

• What strategies do I have to stay focused and ride in the moment?

If they don’t have those answers, they don’t just “hope for the best.” They do the work to develop mental mastery.

Because here’s the truth:

🎯 A confident, focused rider on a solid horse will always outperform a great horse with a nervous rider.

And this is exactly why I coach riders and created the Mental Gym for Equestrians.

If you’re ready to stop holding yourself back, to develop unshakable confidence, and to ride like the best version of yourself every single time—this is for you.

Because talent and training will only take you so far. Your mindset takes you the rest of the way.

Let’s train your mind like you train your horse. 🔥🐴

- Nicole