# Horse Show Jitters?



## kennaphoenix (Nov 21, 2014)

I am soon to compete in my first Highschool Equestrian meet of the year, and I am quite nervous. I competed last year, so I know what the meets are like, but I have been without a saddle for much of the year (poor fit and couldn't bring myself to ride my gelding in a saddle that was hurting him for any longer once I knew it hurt him), so I am really rusty and I don't feel well prepared. I don't expect to win or place, and I want to do it just for fun, but my nerves are taking a great deal of the excitement and fun out of it. All I seem to do is imagine the worst case scenario. Does anyone have any advice on helping nerves surrounding showing or just any tips in general? Anything would be much appreciated!


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## LoftyCastle (Jan 12, 2014)

I had my first show with my new horse last week and i was nervous too! Make sure you are well prepared with float set up and gear packed the night before as well as your horse washed. Remember you can always not enter in certain classes  it helped me having my family there. You'll do great and have fun!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Remember to BREATHE! Sounds silly, but really if you are nervous you tend NOT to breathe regularly which tenses up your body which makes your horse nervouse.

SMILE! Again, might sound silly, but smiling helps you relax; you being relaxed will make your horse relaxed. You might at the first have to keep reminding yourself to smile, but after a while it'll become habit. 

Look up and keep your shoulders back. This is a confidence stance, which with the smile, will help YOU feel confident. 

DON"T compare yourself to the other riders. That's a certain way to make you nervous. Remember, that all riders, even the PROs make mistakes while showing. Just go, do the best you can and have fun.

DON"T dwell on any mistakes you make in the show pen, once you do that everything that follows goes down hill. Just write it off for this show, make a mental note to work on that later, and move on.

All of these are simple sounding things, but are difficult to do if you let your mind get in your way. DON"T LET IT. Be the boss of your thoughts - you CAN do that! Think _*positive*_ thoughts, not negative. If you find yourself thinking negative, correct yourself and turn it into a positive thought.

Get as much pratice before hand as you can. Even if you can't as much as you like, go in and do the best you can. 

Some articles that may help you:

Increase Your Show Ring Confidence – America’s Horse Daily

5 Things Confident Riders Do - Horse Collaborative

Show Nerves: Fixing the Fear Factor

TONS more out there if you google (I did "horse show fears").

I've followed Barbra Schulte for my confidence issues. She is a cutting trainer who also does personal performance training. She has a blog at Personal Performance | Personal Performance Coach for all riders | Cutting Horse Trainer and Educator | Author, Speaker, Clinician for that. I got her book, called The Gift which helped me tremendously.

Good luck - you CAN do it!!


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