This is Nadia. If I were to describe Nadia as a person, this is what I would say: Nadia has a heart that swallows you
Never at any point prior had I ever imagined myself sitting barefoot on an unstable plastic chair dressed in a nightgown that buttoned all the
A little while back, I had two experiences, very close together which changed the fabric of my world as I saw it. I came home
Change is a difficult thing for us to get our heads around. A while back, I worked with a rider who was becoming very successful
I’m a freedom lover. For a very long time, I rebelled against the idea of any sort of routine because I believed that true freedom
You know when you are just trucking along and everything is going great and then all of the sudden, you look to the left and
Occasionally, I get tagged in posts on Facebook from riders who are going through some confidence issues or challenges that relate to my area of
As someone who throws their whole arse into most of everything they do (no half arsing here!), I always find it vaguely disconcerting when the
I extended my hand out to the side and held it there ‘til her nose followed the feel. An inviting hand, I reminded myself, not
I had the great pleasure of talking with the wonderful Olivia Towers on her podcast recently. Our conversation covered a lot of territory, the central
The first time we did it, I led her down the road. The constant rain of the past month had now cleared, and the gravel
I don’t feel like it today. A simple enough statement. Harmless in and of itself. And at times, completely understandable. After all, most of us
Everyone has a style that works for them. I know when it comes to speaking of any kind-Facebook live, podcasts, clinics, presentations- I’m definitely a
My whole world blew apart when I stop thinking in terms of straight lines and instead began thinking in cycles. After all, nature moves in
Much of the confusion, overwhelm and disempowerment we feel in the midst of emotional challenge comes not from the emotion itself, but through a lack
I love the word courage. Just letting the word roll through my head makes me sit a little taller. When thinking about courage, and perhaps
Here’s the thing: If you are trying new things, putting yourself out there and make any sort of effort towards improving yourself and your abilities,
One of the most difficult things about learning something or challenging yourself to do new things with your horse is the lack of lived experience
Over the last while, I’ve been sharing snippets of my progress of working with my horse, Dee. Dee is the first horse that I have
// W H A T S T H E O N E T H I N G ? // # 10 The Question: When I
Find yourself running short on time when it comes to getting out there and riding your horse? Not to mention everything else that we have
If we were to choose a handful of common mottos or statements that are thrown around when it comes to increasing confidence and moving through
We’ve talked a lot about how to make the most of your time this week, and I want to share another powerful mindset hack with
Fringe time: the tiny pockets of time that transition us from one moment to another When it comes to making the most of the time
The Question: When anxiety starts to take over when riding, what do you feel is the quickest and most effective way to distract from those
I had a fabulous question about anger emailed to me recently that I wanted to share with you all. Interestingly, along with fear, anxiety, and
Hey team! It’s another episode of “What’s the One thing?!”. The question of the week is: How to get up and go when you feel
I’ve long been fascinated by the possibility of the connection and communication that’s possible at the subtlest level with our horses. I aspire to be
Q: I would like to know how to approach teaching my horse flying changes without the fear of being a flying angel and my horse
When we think about comfort zones, what often springs to mind are all the things that we do our best to avoid. Some examples of
It’s not uncommon to find yourself in the place where everything feels like it’s getting on top of you. I’ve been talking about this a
A little while ago, I did a Facebook Live on emotional busy-ness, but the topic is such an important (and common!) one, however, that I
I was fortunate enough to be interviewed a couple of weeks ago by Debbie Loucks for Horsemanship Radio. The episode is now live and I would love
A recording of a Facebook Live Session with Katy Negranti. Katy has come to be one of my closest friends after we spent a month
“Every horse is a therapy horse, some of them are just freelancing”. The last two weeks, the only contact that I have had with my
One of the things I’ve been mindful of over the first few rides with Dee is negotiating the resistance line; where pressure is applied, there’s
The aids and the application of the aids is something that’s frequently discussed and written about. In physical terms, there is no such thing as
I had the total pleasure of talking with Karsyn and Carolyn from Equine Connection for their horse welfare series. What does it mean to have a partnership
The concept of transformational vs transactional horsemanship has really spoken to me over the past 12 months, and I have realised the former is where
The practice of emotional agility means that we need to become adept at emotional transitions, the crossover where one mood state is allowed to pass
“Leave your emotions at the gate”. It’s a principle that I subscribed to for a long time and only recently have I fully processed my
We’d just finished eating dinner and were sitting around the table. Sometimes they come over to me in the playground and they say that I’m
Imagine that every morning when you wake up, ten credits are deposited in your emotional bank account. A withdrawal is made every time you do
“I did a really intensive practice of non-judgement for a whole month,” she said. “It was really hard, but at the end of the month,
Reflections from WEG I’m in the hotel room, kicking back. It’s the night before the “big day”. The competition is due to start in the
Anxiety is something that can be simultaneously complex and simplistic to deal with; it also ranks #1 on the list of topics that I hear
https://vimeo.com/278237639 Want to come join me for my membership program JoyRide?! You can check it out or Sign Up Here. In horses and humans, it
https://vimeo.com/273625457 Want to learn more about Warwick, the work he does or his (truly) awesome subscription program? Of course you do- what a crazy question.
I’ve been running my free Confident Rider training series for close to 12 months now, so it seemed like the perfect time to jump in
I’ve spent most of my life living as an over-apologizer. I’m sure that some of you out there will relate. Chances are that if you
Recording of Facebook Live Session https://vimeo.com/263088160 Fear. It has a lot to answer for in the horse world. Its presence has derailed many a horsey
Recording of Facebook Live Session https://vimeo.com/262123284 Sarah sat down in front of me, slumped over in her chair. It didn’t take an expert to see
Recording of Facebook Live Pop up Clinic It gets to us all at some time or another. The feeling that maybe you don’t quite have
At one point during the movie “Buck”, a documentary about the life of horseman Buck Brannaman, his foster mum, Betsy Shirley, turns to the interviewer
Oh yes, there’s nothing that can send us quicker into Camp Crappy than feeling of frustration. So what is frustration, and how can we navigate
Session Recording ]Thank you to everyone who took the time to join us live or watch the recording. We really hope it was useful to
There are two things that tend to happen at this time of year. Either our focus switches to the future and we become all about
This really cool thing happened the other day; my horse got a hoof abscess. It was a beautiful day. Sunshine. Birds. I had a bit
I’m not sure this blog is an article that helps so much in terms of my expertise as a mental skills coach, so let’s go
This past weekend I have been in Auckland teaching at a show jumping camp. I was driving up the hill, en route to teach and
What to do when you are all excited about setting an ambitious goal for yourself, you share it with someone and they make you feel
We all know the picking out the things that went wrong during training is high on our list of skill sets, which is why I
Ever found yourself sharing a meme of someone in a less than favourable riding moment? Caught yourself pouring over a video of someone in a
You may have seen my posts about a training clinic that I attended with my lovely horse Dee on Facebook- did I mention how much
Find yourself worrying about what other people think? You are not alone! Here’s some tips and strategies to help you push through and come out
When I started writing this blog yesterday, I was being all very adult about it. I wrote down some stats about the positive effects that
I’m all for Super Heroes. Those that work with me know that I bandy the old super hero phrase around a lot. I’m all for
Your focus determines your reality. It might sound simplistic, but it’s true. The basis of it is this: whatever you choose to focus on you
I’ve been trying to think of a specific example to share with you of times where I have been deflated by criticism- and there have
Let’s have a chat about comfort zones. Here’s the thing… when you are about to do something that is uncomfortable or causes anxiety, it’s likely
The other day I went out for a ride on my beloved black pony and I thought I would share some of the things that
A little while ago, I posted on the Confident Rider Facebook page this quote: Perfectionism gets in the way of success. Commit to daily, imperfect
Attitude and self-confidence seem to exist in a dynamic state of flux. They are involved in a cosy little relationship where they like to do
One of the most common conversations I have with riders involves breaking patterns; intercepting modes of behavior or ingrained responses that are preventing them from
I was talking to a friend the other day who was feeling a bit blah about life, and we got to talking about positivity. She
Let’s talk fear. But first… Let’s talk rabbits. Now rabbits are pretty much the same the world over; no matter where you are reading this
We have all had rides that have left us feeling well below average on the Rider Hotness Scale, and whilst on many occasions its good
Let’s talk Jealousy… Oh, the old green eyed monster! Unless you are some sort of highly ascended being who has never been caught in the
Survival Tips to Transcend the Moments When You are Going to Put Yourself out there and feel a little …. Stupid. It’s a sad state
Jenny really has it going on. At the moment, she is pretty much at the top of her game. Pictures of Jenny pop up on
Earth to Planet Confidence? Can you hear me? Confidence issues. They are the Captain KillJoy to our Super Hero selves. You don’t have to be
