A SMARTER WAY TO COMPETE

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Not all of us want to compete with our horses, but for many of us competing is a natural extension of our training. Setting a competition goal gives a sense of purpose and a timeline for our training.

Competitions are usually quite social events. Image by Michelle Terlato Photography.

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“Some of us ride to
compete… some of us use
competitions to ride.”

Competitions are usually very social events. Some of us ride to compete, the competitions being the main focus of our riding, but some of us use competitions to ride, giving us another way to enjoy our horses and our friends. Competitions offer the opportunity to build personal skills as well as equestrian skills. Working consistently towards goals, regulating our feelings and managing stress, dealing with the highs and the lows of winning and not winning, are some of the personal skills we can build with competitive riding in any discipline.

I think that equestrian sports both require and build capacity for us to regulate our feelings. We need to be able to achieve equanimity, to be calm in the face of all kinds of stress, in order to be able to train and manage our horses most effectively and enjoy our competitions.

If you’re going to compete you should set a SMART goal for the competition. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely. For example, at the recent Sydney CDI my goals were to do an error-free Grand Prix and hopefully qualify for the Freestyle, which is my favourite class. This goal meets all the SMART criteria, although I knew it would be difficult given how tense Limelight was in the arena at SIEC last year.

We can achieve an error-free Grand Prix outdoors quite often but it’s not so easy for him indoors. So, my overarching goal was to try to ensure that Limelight was as relaxed as possible so that he would leave the ring feeling that it wasn’t too frightening. It would not have been realistic for me to set a goal like “I want to get 70% in the Grand Prix” at that indoor show – even though that is certainly a long-term goal of mine. When we can achieve an error-free relaxed test, then I might be able to ride for more power and higher marks. But we need to build towards that in achievable steps.

So, set yourself a SMART goal for your competition, building steps towards your ultimate goal. Your goal might be to travel evenly in your showjumping round, or to be able to do some shorter lines against the clock. You may be aiming for a cross-country round clear and confident, without stressing on time if you are stepping up a level; but if you are competing at an established level you may want to be clear on jumping and time, or achieve a score to qualify for another level or a championship.

REMEMBER THE 6P RULE

As always, remember the 6P rule: Perfect Preparation Prevents P— Poor Performance. If the competition is important, plan your horse’s shoeing a week or so before the competition. Know the rules and the requirements of your competition. Have a running sheet with the relevant times schedule written down. Allow extra time in case of unexpected difficulties. Share this with all your support crew. Ensure your gear is all ready, is clean and well maintained, especially reins and stirrup leathers. Do not use new gear, it may not fit as you want it to.

Riders don’t tend to think of themselves as athletes, but we are. We think of our horses as athletes and are aware of the need to ensure that our horses are fed and watered, given electrolytes and supplements as needed. We ensure that they are warmed up and cooled down, legs iced etc. Horses competing in strenuous disciplines should be given a small, nutrient-dense feed about two hours before competitions, and hay limited in this time. Clean water should always be available.

Andrew Hoy and Vassily de Lassos on their way to team silver and individual bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. Image by Dirk Caremans - Hippo Foto.

“Actually, riders are athletes too.”

Actually, riders are athletes too and it is important to consider this in planning your competition. Hydration and salt and electrolyte replacement is important. It can be very unpleasant to ride with a tummy full of food or fluid. However, I find drinking an electrolyte drink one to two hours before a competition reduces the incidence of muscle cramps in competition. Frequently riders won’t eat when in competition, but a small, digestible low-GI meal two to four hours before a competition can increase endurance, reduce fatigue and, in my experience, reduce irritability and increase attention.

Complex carbohydrates such as whole grains and pasta are low GI. Bananas are very convenient at shows. Quinoa pudding is easily made by putting three tablespoons of quinoa in a glass or a small jar, topped up with almond or coconut milk and added berries for flavour. Make it the night before, or in the morning and you have a healthy low-GI snack. Protein such a chicken, lean meat, beans, nuts, cheese, hummus, a protein bar or quinoa pudding, can help give you lasting energy. Avoid the trap of sugary foods to give you a quick energy hit, except really close to the competition if needed.

Ingrid Klimke very much enjoying her time in the competition arena with Franziskus. Image by Leanjo de Koster for the FEI.

Sleep is really important. Sleep deprivation, for example being awake for 16-19 hours, leads to performances similar to having a blood alcohol content of 0.05. Reduced accuracy, reduced endurance, slower reaction times, poorer decision making and increased risk of injury are all effects of poor sleep in athletes. The effects of poor sleep are cumulative over subsequent days. So if you want to perform well, ensure that you have somewhere comfortable to sleep. Keep to your normal pre-sleep routines where possible. Switch off your devices to minimise blue light exposure in the hours before bed. Avoid napping after 3pm, and keep naps short if you are someone who naps. Avoid caffeine and alcohol in the evening. Even one standard drink is associated with a measurable reduction in performance 24 hours later.

FOCUS & RELAX

Work out what works best for you to be focused and relaxed. Using imagery to rehearse in your mind your competition performance, imagine your task in real time. Imagine the environment, imagine (choose) your preferred feelings (calm, excited, determined, whatever works best for you). Some people like to be around others, some are better quietly on their own. Avoid unnecessary distractions. Don’t get drawn into polite but irrelevant conversation when you need to be focused. Use positive language both internally and externally. Keep positive people around you and politely ask anyone who is loud or disruptive to leave. Your coach should be helping you to go into the ring confident.

You may benefit from your own warm-up, a stretching routine before you get on your horse. Allow plenty of time to ride the warm-up, but adjust it according to your horse. Some horses are better a bit fresh, some benefit from a long walk to stretch and relax. Take a moment to check your position. Stretch up from the waist up and down from the waist down, stretch the front of your thighs and the back of your calves (heels down). Remember that the warm-up is not the place to train something new or try to get something to work better than it does at home. If you make a mistake warming up, that is fine. It will remind you to do it correctly in the ring. Plan your warm-up so that you and your horse both get a moment to recover, a slower heart rate and respiratory rate and cooler tendons before you go into the ring.

Ride your own race. Many of us worry about what other people think. This is very unhelpful. Firstly, we cannot read minds. People may be thinking the opposite to what we think. For example, I am quite self-conscious that I am not a tall, slender attractive woman like the “typical” dressage rider. But I have been told that I have inspired others who are also more Rubenesque to get on with their riding.

Secondly, if we really understood how little time people spent thinking about us, we wouldn’t spend so much time worrying about whatever it is they think. People are more likely to be thinking about themselves than us.

Thirdly, it doesn’t matter what they think. Even if we make a mistake. The person who never made a mistake never made anything. The best way to never have a miss or never hit a rail is to never jump a fence. We learn more from our mistakes than the times things go well, so don’t stress over what people think. You are the one who has the pleasure of riding your horse. If you find yourself thinking about what other people are thinking, you can challenge the thought, or you can use the imagery of the delete button on your computer, or just bring your attention back to your horse and what you are doing.

So, did I achieve my error-free test? No. Far from it. But I did achieve a new level of equanimity and emotional regulation, which pleased me greatly.

There are 162 million children suffering from malnutrition, not just hunger, in the world. This puts a bad dressage test or a stop on cross county in a different perspective. Of course, if we put everything into it, we can feel shattered when we don’t achieve our goals. Successful competitors are driven, they strive. But at the end of the day if the worst thing that happens to you is you ride a bad dressage test you have a pretty charmed life. We are so privileged to share our lives with these creatures. Living the dream. Have fun. EQ

“Enjoy your competition.
Even if it goes wrong.”