Get your mojo back

Confidence is a must-have for riding success but building it doesn’t come easily for everyone. The mental and emotional muscle development behind the quality is what takes elite riders to the top of the sport – and, with some hard graft, it’s well within your reach. But what is confidence and why’s it such an essential aspect of successful and enjoyable riding? Let’s find out.

What’s it all about?

Fundamentally, confidence boils down to knowing that you’re capable of what you want to do, whether that’s getting your horse round a hack on bin day, perfecting a new movement in your lesson or riding the ultimate clear round on show day.

You know the feeling – your horse is going exactly how you want and you’re riding well. There’s an easy belief in what you’re doing and you know you can perform. Equally, you’ve likely experienced the other end of the spectrum, too. Those days where you don’t feel connected to your horse and nothing’s going how you want it to. These are the days when you need to be able to trust or believe, and feel confident, in your ability and decision making, even despite the challenging circumstances.

On the good days you may take your confidence for granted, but just because you aren’t focusing on it – or your lack of it – doesn’t mean it isn’t still a huge part of your success.

True or false?

There are lots of misconceptions surrounding confidence, how it’s built and why you might or might not have it. Let’s debunk a few of these myths.

Confidence is something you’re born with

FALSE – Life, and by extension riding, is all about patterns and cycles. There are days where you feel on top of the world and ready to take on anything, while others see your confidence preventing you from riding at the level you know you’re capable of. This is true of all riders whatever their level, so learning how to work on your confidence and feel capable even on the bad days is important to help you make the most of every ride.

Our new series helps you to get to the root of your confidence issues. Pick up your copy of August Horse&Rider, on sale 24 June 2021, to start your confidence journey.