Mental Tip: Planning Ahead
What does planning ahead mean?
In this context, planning ahead means to enter each ride, day, and task with a plan of action. Instead of simply going through the motions, think about both what you want to accomplish and what it takes to get there. We all want to achieve positive outcomes in our rides and daily lives, but we often forget to plan for just that to occur. Results aren’t just going to happen, as much as we want them to just miraculously appear. Reaching our goals takes constant effort, and part of that effort includes both creating and adhering to a plan.
Why is planning ahead important for riding?
Planning ahead creates a foundation for each goal that you are working to achieve. For example, you need to learn your course and know the order of jumps before jumping them, or else you will go off course and jump random jumps in the arena. Furthermore, you need to plan out what you are going to do before and after each of the jumps in the course, or else you will just blindly ride up to the jumps with no purpose. Planning ahead is important in riding for safety, goal setting, and skill acquisition. You need to know what you are doing and why before you can work to improve your technique going forward. Planning ahead is your preparation and purpose for your ride. Working off of a plan gives you intention and brings your focus both to the present moment and on the current task at hand. Without a plan, you have nothing to work off of or achieve, unable to track your progress as a result, whereas having a plan for each ride and course sets your ride up for success.
How is planning ahead achieved?
The best and most accessible way to plan ahead is to dial back to the basics. Think about your rides, especially your particularly successful ones. Watch a video or two if you can, and think about what you were doing in those rides to produce such desired results. Did your position, eye, pace, balance, focus, track, timing, cues, or all of the above make a big difference in how that ride turned out? Once you identify the key components of a personally successful ride, craft a universal ride plan. No matter the horse, environment, or course, this plan is what you will work off of. You walk into the arena…and then what do you do next? You get to fill in the gaps there. Your plan may vary based on the horse or course you are riding, but the key principles of riding do not change. Prepare by making a plan for what's to come, and work on actively accomplishing that exact plan! Take it with you from day to day, ride to ride, and task to task.
