Inside you is a great rider—a rider who’s full of possibilities, potential, courage, and confidence. All you need to do is figure out how to let that inner greatness out.

Your ability to release your inner greatness depends on a series of important physical and mental skill sets. For example, you might have the world’s best leg, seat, position, and posture, but if you’re constantly freaking out, panicking, hyperventilating, and worrying before every ride, there’s a pretty good chance your brain is going to hold your body back.

Building a Complete Rider

If you’re like most equestrians, you’ve probably spent years developing your hips, heels, and hands because you know they’re a major key to your success as a rider. You’ve probably also spent countless hours developing your horse because you know that without a confident partner, there’s little chance you’ll succeed.

But I want to remind you that your puzzle is still missing a few important pieces—your head, health, and heart. Your head is where confidence, courage, self-belief, and resiliency are born. Your health is how you prepare for (and protect your body against) the physical demands of our sport. And your heart is where your ability to forgive yourself after making a mistake—or finish strong after a slow start—resides.

Combine them all together and they create the ability to turn setbacks into comebacks—to hold it together when it would be easier to let it fall apart. This is what it means to be a complete rider.

A Map for Your Riding Destination

If you want to get somewhere important, you’re going to need some pretty solid step-by-step directions to get you there. After all, when you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up somewhere else!

Maps are what you use to ensure you’ll arrive where you want to go—physically. Likewise, goals are the maps you use to ensure you’ll arrive where you want to go—mentally.

There are many different kinds of goals. Right now, I’m just going to talk about these three:

◆ Immediate goals: Goals you can complete in minutes or hours. These often act as the spark that lights the fire of desire to accomplish your goal.

◆ Progress goals: Often called “short-term” goals, these goals can be completed in days or weeks and are what allow you to achieve your final goal, one step at a time.

◆ Product goals: Often called “long-term” goals, these can be completed in months or years and will ultimately be the product of all your progress goals.

For example, say you’re a flat rider with a product goal of learning to jump. Your immediate goal might be to simply read a chapter in a jumping book by the end of the day; and your process goals might be to learn to (1) trot over poles; (2) canter over poles; (3) trot over cross-rails; and finally (4) canter over cross-rails.

Your product goal is the result of all your progress goals.

Put Your Pen Away

Setbacks are a common, and even important, part of the goal-setting process because each time you experience one, you’ll learn something you didn’t know before.

With this in mind, consider writing your goals in pencil so that each time a setback occurs, you can simply erase the original goal and replace it with a new and improved one.

Get Your Pen Back Out!

Achieving your goals can be wonderfully motivating, so each time you accomplish one, pull out a big colorful marker and cross it off.

Make Your Goals SMART

You may have heard of “SMART” goals before, but here’s a refresher on what SMART stands for.

◆ Specific: A goal like leaning to ride without stirrups is better than a goal of becoming a better rider because it’s more specific.

◆ Measurable: A goal like learning to canter is measurable because you know when you’ve accomplished it (or not).

◆ Attainable: When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true.

◆ Realistic: To be realistic, a goal must be an objective that you’re both willing—and able—to accomplish. If it’s beyond your reach, your motivation might take a big hit.

◆ Timely: Goals need a time frame. Without one there’s no sense of urgency. When you have a complete-by date, you’ll have the motivation to chase after it. But you’d better hurry!

Try This

Create something called a goal-setting ladder. Start by drawing a six-step ladder with a product goal written on the top step and an immediate goal on the bottom step. Next, fill in the remaining four steps with a series of achievable process goals.

The purpose of this ladder is to show you how to reach your goals, one step at a time.

This excerpt from Fit & Focused in 52 by Coach Daniel Stewart appeared in the January/February 2025 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post New Year Riding Goals appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Photo by Shoshana Rudksi

Because so much time, energy, and money is invested into these creatures we love, frustration may creep in when the reality of other life responsibilities interferes. It’s important not to internalize these restraints and allow them to make you feel discouraged. Instead, you must recognize and include them as part of your goal setting in order to make your goals more attainable from the start.

Get Started with Goal Setting by Gaining Perspective

A helpful exercise that I use for horse owners and riders is to ask them to write down all the important sections of their life. Examples might be work, family, relationship, other pets, hobbies/sports outside of riding, et cetera. Oftentimes when you see how many things are on the page, you realize that there are quite a few people, animals, and other commitments vying for your attention.

There are a lot more things than horses vying for your attention; this can help put your goals in perspective. Photo by Virgonira/Adobe Stock

This is a great way to put it all in perspective. When you’re at the barn, nailing those flying changes may feel like all that matters, but no matter how much you love riding, it’s just one piece of your much larger existence.

Most things in life end up needing to be a compromise. You may want to participate in all of the shows on the local circuit, purchase a competitive horse for the division or class you want to show in, master the sitting trot, or ride the perfect pattern, but all of those things require an investment of some kind. You must be honest with yourself about what resources you have available.

This situation also becomes difficult for the professionals guiding your equestrian journey. We never want to tell anyone they can’t do something; good trainers will build you up and encourage you every step of the way. But it’s also our job to manage expectations when a client mentions goals that we know to be outside of their scope of resources.

Setting Goals for Ownership and Showing

Goals can be set in any sector of equestrian sport. A common one is horse ownership. Other than buying a horse, there are many options available, including leasing, half-leasing, care leases, or riding school horses.

Just as horse ownership causes you to compromise by allocating resources (i.e. time and money), choosing one of the other options may take less resources, but requires compromise on how many times you ride per week, how high you jump, what movements you school, et cetera. However, all of the above options will help you continue to grow as a rider.

Other common goals center around showing. Rated horse shows can be extremely costly, plus paying your trainer and your own travel expenses.

I find the best way to get the most out of show season isn’t to only commit to one show at a time, but rather to present your trainer with a show budget for the year that is reasonable to you.

From there, the two of you can brainstorm and put together a calendar of shows that fit your schedule, finances, and goals. This way you can also plan to use those shows to build to some sort of “peak.”

Work with your trainer before the season begins to determine the best flow of competitions for your budget. Photo by Lynn Schwab/Adobe Stock

For example, if you can afford six shows for the year, your trainer may decide it would be better to do a cluster of three in the spring and three in the fall so that you get into a rhythm rather than just showing once every other month.

It’s also important to mention that not every rider enjoys showing, and that is totally fine. No one should ever make you feel “less than” for that.

Setting Smaller Goals as an Equestrian

The secret to equestrian goal setting is to use the time you have in the saddle to work on the basics that need brushing up. Rather than having a grandiose goal such as “I want to show in X class,” break down what would be needed to be successful in that class: A better sense of canter rhythm, tighter turns, cleaner lead changes—whatever it is, all of these things are achievable with basic exercises that can be done both inside and outside of a lesson.

Instead of setting a goal of showing in X class, try a more controllable sub-goal, such as spending 15 minutes of each ride improving your basics. Photo by Proma/Adobe Stock

Dedicating even 15 minutes of each ride to improving the basics you have targeted will result in reaching the next level. As your foundation builds and your basics and communication with your horse improve, more and more doors will open.

From a sports psychology standpoint, achieving lots of smaller goals on the way to the larger goal will make the journey much more rewarding!

Potential and Comparison

Another common occurrence when setting goals is feeling “I’m not using my horse to his full potential.”  The horse has no idea if he was born with fantastic bloodlines, perfect conformation, or great aptitude for a certain discipline. The only thing he knows is whether he has food, water and shelter, and whether his handlers treat him kindly or roughly.

Your horse doesn’t understand the significance of Finals or the World Show, the difficulty level of the exercise at home or class at the show, the color of a ribbon, nor the concept of what could be. Equines are very lucky to live in the now, and we humans could learn a thing or two!

Your horse doesn’t know if he’s “living up to his potential,” only whether he has food and water and if his handlers treat him kindly. Photo by Amanda/Adobe Stock

Where do we as humans get these ideas of what we should be doing? Usually by looking around and comparing ourselves to friends, barn mates, and social media influencers. What they say about social media is true, though: people tend to only post the good.

This is also the case for what people tend to allow others to see in real life. Generally, only a person’s immediate family and closest friends will know about all of their fears, struggles, and hard work. The rest of the world tends to only see the very biggest failures and triumphs, and even those fade from the collective memory of society very quickly.

Social media just happens to be a place where all the happy and colorful win photos are curated and posted, whether you as a viewer have had the best day or the worst day. However, what you don’t know is what the other person gave up to be at the show, to buy the horse, or to finally be able to execute that upper-level movement.

It’s hard not to compare to the social media highlight reels of others, but you never know what someone gave up to get there. Photo by Skumer/Adobe Stock

The person posting could have sold their car, missed important family events, cried driving home from the barn for six months after tough lessons, or endured injuries and layups for their horse. Just because those parts of the journey are kept quiet doesn’t mean we don’t all go through them.

Key Takeaway

Overall, as an equestrian, it’s crucial to set goals that fit into the big picture of your life. Riding is supposed to be fun, and our relationship with horses should bring joy. If the time we have at the barn is spent stressing or rushing, then something needs to be adjusted. Throughout all of it, take comfort from your horsey friends and your trainer to help guide you through this balancing act that is the equestrian experience.

Keep in perspective that riding should be fun and horses are in your life to bring you joy. Photo by Dotana/Adobe Stock

This article about equestrian goal setting appeared in the January/February 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Equestrian Goal Setting appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Photo by Konstantin Tronin/Adobe Stock

Spring is a crucial time to start getting your horse slowly back in shape and reach your goals for later this year. What do you dream of and hope to accomplish this year with your horse? What steps do you need to take in order to accomplish these goals? What exercises might your horse require to get back into shape and perform their best? Be sure to talk to your coach and veterinarian and let them know what your goals are so they can help you come up with a plan to set in motion.

Before setting your goals, take time to think about what you want to achieve. Then, once you have some ideas, write down your three separate categories: short-term, which are considered daily or weekly goals; medium-term such as monthly goals; and long-term, yearly or even multi-year goals. Once you have a vision of where you want to be, now you are ready to start the most important part of achieving success: tracking your progress.

Many successful riders create their own “SMART” goals for themselves and their horses, or goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Stay on track this spring by using this highly successful method below.

What Are SMART Goals?

Smart: “I want to improve” is not specific enough. Think what about what you want to achieve with a timetable in mind. An example would be, “I want to learn the USEF Dressage First Level Test 1 and memorize it by next month.”

Measurable: “I want to improve my First Level Test 1 score by 2 points” is a measurable goal that is specific as well.

Attainable: Make sure you and your horse can achieve the task. The task should be challenging but not one that is too difficult. If your horse is already struggling to perform skills at Level 2, don’t push it and ask him to do those tests yet at a show.

Realistic: Achieving goals requires commitment. Make sure you and your horse are motivated, willing and able to make your goal happen.

Timely: Every goal needs a deadline to keep you focused and working toward it. Set a date by which you want to accomplish your goal. Then, check in with yourself to see how you are progressing and if minor changes need to be made to meet your timeline.

An Example of a Complete SMART Goal

Instead of saying “I want my horse to listen to me,” a SMART goal would sound more like, “I want to improve my horse’s responsiveness to my aids. I will accomplish this by doing 15 sets of up and down transitions (walk to trot, trot to canter, trot to halt)—asking once, then demanding the second time—during each ride for two weeks.”

How Might Goal-Setting Positively Impact a Rider’s Mindset?

Writing down something about your daily activities with your horse is very rewarding to see the progress you make as an equestrian. Sometimes progress can take a while to see, as progress is not liner. You may find some days where everything is going well and other days not so much, but progress is not the moment. Rather, progress is a continuation of moments over the long run. When you have notes, photos and videos of your sessions, it really helps put everything into perspective as you work toward your goals, not to mention this makes for wonderful memories to look back on!

Journaling your daily progress helps maintain a positive mindset. Upon reflection, you will likely learn something new about your horse or yourself and feel proud of an accomplishment or progress after each session. In addition, it’s helpful to record behaviors, attitudes and anything about your horse’s health.

Fun fact—did you know pilots keep a record book and log each flight with their airplane? Does that make us horse pilots? Photo by SKumer/Adobe Stock

Finally, remember to celebrate and reward your horse (and yourself) for the daily progress you achieve together. It’s about the journey you are on as a team and the beautiful partnership you continue to build. If you need to reevaluate your goals, change them or make adjustments, that’s OK. Your long-term goals are made up of many small daily accomplishments. Good luck with your goals and have fun on your journey with your horses this year!

This article about SMART goals for horses and equestrians is a web exclusive for Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Spring Forward with SMART Goals and Journaling appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.