First CT and NERVES

[easyklc]

I sent in the entry and now my chicken nerves are working their way into my head and I'm wishing I hadn't sent it. Isn't that the silliest thing ever? Although my mare is green, she is very steady eddy and it's not the jumping, but the dang dressage test that has me wanting to vomit. OY! :lol:

It will be fine I'm sure, but I can't believe that in my 40's I still get this way. I am excited however, because I am bound and determined to go recognized in the near future. I've worked hard and it's finally paying off.

[frugalannie]

If it's the dressage that you're worried about, then you are battling self-imposed notions of perfection. Do lots of visualization, deep breathing, whatever works to get your nervous butterflies flying in formation, and go into the ring with no expectations other than to get through the experience of your first outing. Then you can be pleasantly surprised when you do better than you thought you might. It also helps if you (with your coach/instructor if you have one) work out a warmup routine that relaxes and focuses your horse AND you.

And if the butterflies transfer themselves to the jumping phase, just promise yourself that you will jump the first fence, and then if that feels good, the second and etc. I promise that by the third fence you'll be having a great experience: intense, perhaps, but that's part of what makes it great.

And, believe me, I speak as someone who still frets about dressage, but has learned to (sort of) manage it.

[Roney]

I'm not normally into the psycho-babble stuff, but I used to get really nervous before shows, and was much helped by reading Jane Savoie's book "That Winning Feeling"
( http://www.amazon.com/That-Winning-Feeling-Program-Performance/dp/1570760497/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245248403&sr=8-3 )

It helped enormously - a good collection of principles that helps you focus and calms nerves. I know not everyone is into it, but it may be worth checking out...

[easyklc]

Thanks for your encouragement! It is always a build up for me. Once I get to the show grounds I'll settle down. It's the same pattern time after time. Getting in the tack and staying focused and calm wins out. Fortunately I am not a perfection person, so my nerves stem from my own negative thoughts of simply being able to do a decent test. I know I can do it.

I have read Jane's book. My old copy got lent out some years ago and never returned. Guess I need to buy a new one, eh? I read her blog regularly and recently reread her cross training series. She is uncanny at simplifying the process.

I have been riding several tests to prepare. My trainer is very tough, yet supportive and believe me if you saw the changes in us over the past 9 months you would agree we can nail it!

Cheers!

[riderboy]

Although I really DO try to do well in dressage my big fear is that I'll screw it up, be eliminated and not get to XC. That really is a worry. Sometimes in the middle of a test I get that odd feeling that I've gone off course-but then something familiar pops up and no whistle goes off and I'm safe. I get nervous in stadium too and XC but for me XC is about as much fun as I can have with my clothes on so I don't mind. I think EVERYONE gets nerves to some degree.

[tcgelec]

Another Jane Savoie fan here..."That Winning Feeling" helped me get over show nerves. One of my favorites is this: Whatever "what if" you're obsessing over, "What if I make my first turn in the wrong direction?"; "What if I go blank in the test?"; "What if I go off course?"; "What if they laugh at me?"...etc.... put the word "so" in front of it: "SO WHAT if I make my first turn in the wrong direction? I can handle it!"; "SO WHAT if they laugh at me? I can handle it!"....you get the idea..

Someone else (don't even remember who) told me something that forever changed the way I looked at perfectionism...I used to think it was an attribute. But when it started to stand in the way of doing anything in public on horseback that I didn't think I could be perfect at, it was time to reexamine that. What I was told was this: "The perfectionist, by definition, fails at everything he attempts." That cut right into me, and it made me see things another way.

I show a few times a month now and while I can't say I never get nervous, I don't get paralyzed by it like I used to. I'm relaxed enough now to let my horse do his job and not make HIM crazy.

[easyklc]

Although I really DO try to do well in dressage my big fear is that I'll screw it up, be eliminated and not get to XC. That really is a worry. Sometimes in the middle of a test I get that odd feeling that I've gone off course-but then something familiar pops up and no whistle goes off and I'm safe. I get nervous in stadium too and XC but for me XC is about as much fun as I can have with my clothes on so I don't mind. I think EVERYONE gets nerves to some degree.

:lol: I do that too! I just want to get to the jumping. And I'm a talker when I ride, because my mare seems to appreciate that loud "good girl" with a pat. It sucks we can't do this during our dressage tests.