Horse riding isn’t an easy sport and it definitely isn’t easy to make it in the ‘equestrian’ world. Which is why we need all the help we can get. And that starts with a good coach.
A good coach is someone who pushes you but doesn’t scare you. They support, encourage and lift you up. They don’t belittle you and most of all they are there for you.
A good coach isn’t just there for the good times, they are there for the bad too.
As a rider I am always wanting to get better. I’m always aiming for something and I work as hard as I can to accomplish my aims. Over the years I’ve had various coaches, all of which have taught me something or helped me in some way. They have all been experienced within their discipline and they all knew what they were doing.
I can name at least 5 coaches who I would still go back to now for lessons. And they gave me so many great lessons where I learnt new things and most of all had fun with my ponies. But there is one coach who comes out on top. Everyone has that one coach they can’t find the words to describe or to thank. But that is why I am going to try and share what makes my favourite coach my favourite.
I am looking at coaches in a completely different way since meeting this woman. I always just had a one off lesson or maybe like once a month with someone who I liked as a coach. But what I’ve learnt recently is it isn’t just about the individual lessons, it’s about everything in between. The relationship between rider and coach. Staying in contact in between lessons and sharing the ups and downs.
I am also learning the importance of mindset coaching and not just riding lessons. This quote is something I found a few months back and I really like it. It is so true.
I want to share my experiences of working with someone who I think is an one in a million coach. Finding that perfect coach for both my horses and I truly is amazing. I was always happy with all my other coaches but I didn’t know what I was missing. And now I wouldn’t go back.
She isn’t in the top of the sport. She doesn’t have everything. She doesn’t even ride herself at the moment. But just like every other coach she has experience. But this doesn’t mean she is like any other coach.
She is different. She is remarkable. She is encouraging, supportive and most of all she is there. She is also a Centre 10 coach, one of the few in Ireland.
What I’ve learnt about her is that she isn’t just there for the lesson. She is there for anything and everything between lessons. I am very lucky that I keep my horses on her yard, so I see her quite a lot. If she knows I’m not happy with a show or training result she makes the effort to chat to me when she sees me. But even if I don’t, I know she is on the other end of a phone call. And like she always tells me she is there if I need to chat.
I started training with her in November 2019. Since then I have had flatwork lessons, jump lessons both at home and away on two different horses as well as mindset sessions. I started off reluctant to try her as I used to hate flatwork lessons and I already had a coach and I didn’t want to try someone new. But I did. I got a new horse and immediately booked some lessons. Started off with just flatwork and to be completely honest I didn’t really think much of them. I enjoyed them and I liked her as a coach and a person. It wasn’t until I had a fall of my new horse that I realised just how special she is.
After she found out I fell, we had a chat before my lesson. I told her exactly what happened and she was very sympathetic. To be honest I didn’t think anything was going to be different to before the fall. But once on board and actually in the arena, my confidence dropped, I was so nervous whilst sat on my horse. Something I really didn’t want to feel and I especially didn’t want to show my nerves in front of my coach. But being a good coach she obviously picked up on my nerves. She took things slowly, she didn’t push me any more than I was comfortable. She gave me reassurance and didn’t make me feel bad for being nervous, she knew exactly what to say and how to deal with the situation. That was the first time I realised that she isn’t just another coach.
A few lessons later I had gained a lot more confidence and I was really enjoying my horse again. We had flat and jump lessons in the wind, hail, rain and sleet. She is one of the most dedicated coaches I know. Since I started training with her we have cancelled two lessons, one because it was too windy to jump and the other was because it was heavy rain and we needed to jump. And I defiantly can’t say all our other lessons have been in nice weather because quite frankly we live in Ireland and 90% of the time its either windy or wet. But even in this horrible weather she is so focused, encouraging and most of all dedicated and happy. I look forward to every lesson even the ones in the horrid weather. Another great thing about her is she doesn’t run by her watch. If everything is going well and we are all happy, she might finish early to make sure we end on a good note. If something is tricky or taking a bit longer she wont just stop because time is up she makes sure everything is accomplished and we are always ending on a good note. And if the weather is horrendous she will take the time after once sheltered to debrief and talk about the lesson.
She always has a whole list of exercises for both flat and jump and she always knows which to use and which is more suitable for the horse or the weather. We’ve done a tonne of different exercises and I’ve enjoyed all thoroughly.
So that’s our jump and flat lesson pretty much summarised.
Now onto mindset sessions. I had a chat about them with her and I was intrigued and I thought it may be of use, so I booked my first session. I was very apprehensive and nervous because its not like anything else I’ve done and I didn’t know what to expect. She picked up on my nerves but with her I immediately relaxed. It’s actually really interesting learning about the mindset side of riding. We spoke about a range of things in the first session including the past year, so accomplishments etc, goals, performance lifestyle as well as some other things. It was really thought provoking and after the session I started to change things and I started to see a slight difference. She gave me a lot of things to think about and I did exactly that, in fact I didn’t stop thinking about everything we spoke about. I have since then had another 3 sessions which are usually about 2 weeks apart. She introduced me to visualisation, we spoke about fixed and growth mindset, we talked about everything going on with the ponies. Each session I became more relaxed and tore relaxed I was the more I got out of the sessions. In the four sessions I have had I have learnt so much about how to improve my performance but also about myself. I have actually really enjoyed working on my mindset alongside my riding.
This image shows what a growth mindset is which is the ideal mindset. We spent a lot of time discussing both the fixed and growth mindset and identifying where I saw myself.
And the coach I am talking about is Sarah-Jane Doyle. She is based in Wexford, Ireland and I highly recommend her to anyone and everyone. She truly is one of the best and I am sad that I am leaving Ireland because I will miss her coaching more than I could ever say.
I hope this gives an insight into what its like to work with Sarah-Jane but also what I’ve got up to over the last few months including the mindset sessions which I’ve had questions about.
And because I’m all about sharing. This is her Facebook page. Even if you’re not in Ireland, or in need of a coach, she posts some very good and interesting things which might even help you.
That’s my first ever blog done. I’m excited to share the next one soon.
Let me know what you think and also let me know if you have any requests for blogs.
Comments