People who are confident are sometimes seen as being arrogant; they have an air about them that comes from being confident that sometimes gets mistaken for arrogance.
How do you get confident? Well, I build my confidence from my training paying off with winning runs. My horses working well for me is what builds my confidence. Easier said than done at times!
Knowledge is power! The more knowledge I have, the more confident I become. Why? Because if something doesn’t go well or as I had hoped in a competition run and I am confident in knowing how to fix it, then I’m okay with that. I work on it and see if I gained in my next competition. I’ve learned as much if not more from what’s gone wrong in runs than from what’s gone right. When you win you go away thinking “that was fun and exciting,” but you’re probably not thinking about what or how you’re going to ride in your next run. Now, if you aren’t happy with a run, you’re thinking about what you’re going to do to make your next run better. That’s if you’re not making excuses for yourself or your horse—“the ground was bad,” “I drew up bad on the ground,” etcetera.
Now if you do have a nice run, pay attention to what you did with your horse preceding that run and try to duplicate that.
It also helps to hang out with winners, they can rub off on you if they’re open and have good intentions. Most winners are like that.
Experience is Knowledge…
Knowledge is Confidence…
Confidence is a Job Well Done.
Knowledge is Power—Be Confident—Be Fierce!