Les Bunning

Given a reliable horse where I feel up to the task, I have very little problem dealing with nerves. However, given an unpredictable situation and an unreliable horse I can still feel extremely nervous.

How does one deal with this situation? Here are a few tips that may help…

1. Never set yourself a task in competition that you feel is unattainable – HAVE REALISTIC GOALS
2. Realistic goals are achievable, and therefore… there is nothing to be nervous about
3. BE WELL PREPARED – If your preparation is thorough, you will feel up to the task. Again, this makes for more self confidence.
4. Talk to yourself if you feel nervous. Before the Olympics in Atlanta I felt quite nervous so I talked to the team psychologist. He said “Ask yourself these questions”.

a)   Did you qualify for the event? Answer – YES

b)   If you were selected and qualified you have already proven you are able to perform well. Therefore, there is no reason to be nervous

c)   Look around you – is it the same kind of arena? YES. Same Judges? YES. Same competitors as you have competed against in Europe to get here? – YES. Therefore, go and ride the same as always and don’t think about it as anything but another day in the office .

5.   You may not be going to the Olympics, but it is all relative. If it is a competition at the local dressage club think like this… Presumably:

a)   You have ridden the test at home, and got through it, therefore you can do it again.

b)   The arena is the same size and the requirements are the same – nothing to worry about.

c)   Don’t think about who is watching, the judges, the surroundings etc. Just concentrate on the task at hand and all will fall into place.

d)   Horses only get nervous if the rider becomes nervous, so if you stay calm and focussed – so will your horse.

e)   Stick to your normal warm up routine and block out all the distractions. Be PREPARED, be CALM and be FOCUSSED… and all will go well.

Good Luck! Mary Hanna

Back to Top

Amanda Howell - Eventing

Competition nerves can definitely be the make or break difference of winning or loosing an event. Feeling nervous is perfectly normal, but whether you can control your nerves, so as to perform to your best ability, will determine the end result.

I would say that personally, my nervousness comes from a personal pressure on myself to do well & not disappoint myself, by making a silly mistake because I didn't ride to my best ability at the time. It is a common thought that event riders are mad adrenalin seekers, so being a little scared of big hairy looking jumps is a very real fact of life for many competitors!

Obviously being more experienced, & confident in your own & your horses' ability helps a lot to lessen nerves. For me it's important to be really organized. I am a mad list writer, & print out a list of my gear that's required, what needs to be done, & look over my tests, so that I feel like everything's under control & not left until the last minute. If I feel I'll have trouble remembering a number of different cross-country courses, I'll take around the course a map & a pen, & note down distances, particular approaches or features of a particular jump that will make it easier to remember. I am more confident when I'm organized, so this is a way of lessening my nervousness so I can concentrate on riding well.

It's very important to feel confident riding at the level you are competing at. I always think that if you can train at home at a slightly higher level than you are competing at, then you shouldn't feel overwhelmed by what's being asked of you at the competition. If I have a horse with a water or ditch problem for example, I will take that horse to as many water jumps & different ditches as possible, to increase his confidence so he doesn't get scared at the event. I would rather do too many easy events, than possibly ruin the confidence of a horse who was obviously going to struggle at a higher level.

I have a friend who is a sports psychologist, & I have asked her on many occasions how to deal with different competition situations. Competitors need to be a little nervous in order to respect the competition for what it is. If I wasn't nervous at all, I think it would be because I didn't care enough or wasn't serious enough about the event. I find that if I accept that being nervous is a part of competition, then I don't fear it or worry that I'm nervous. I once thought that I shouldn't be as nervous at the lower grades because I was quite an experienced competitor, but I know now that I need a degree of nervousness to perform at my best, no matter what level I'm competing at.

I always try to be prepared in plenty of time for each phase. I run over the test or course in my head, or with another trustworthy competitor if I'm not sure. Just before I enter the arena I take a deep breath, & make all my muscles relax so I know I'm not freezing up or sitting too tightly. I also try to make sure I don't take my leg off & not ride the horse positively enough in the arena.

Sometimes when I'm nervous, I start to yawn & feel sleepy - usually you'd think people would get wound up! The yawning comes from shallower breathing due to being tense, & the lungs do not get the oxygen level they require. To combat this, the body reacts by yawning, to allow more air into the lungs. I help fix this by breathing through my mouth rather than my nose, as I can take a bigger breath this way.

Nervousness can affect people in different ways, & if you are organized, feel you have trained confidently at the level you are competing at, & can take a deep breath & smile, you will find you can concentrate better on riding well. Also, don't hesitate to ask an experienced competitor their advice on how to jump something you may feel unsure about, or ask your coach's advice as they will know you & your horse well.

Amanda Howell

Back to Top

Francesca Christie - Showing

I am lucky… I have worked out what makes me nervous and what does not, which I believe, is number one on the list for dealing with competition nerves.   

For myself, once I am on the horse I am in my own zone. I have learnt how to develop and gain trust with the horse I compete on and I am lucky to have the best owners to compete for and also amazingly loyal staff members who never let me down. Put all that together and I can do what I do best.  So what I am really saying is ‘plan ahead to make it easy’. 

What does stress me out is the thought of running out of time.  Time runs so fast at big competitions - Plan your time table well, add two extra hours (that will get lost anyway) – this plans for things that do not quite go to plan and send your stress levels into over drive.

Things that go wrong…

• the horse needs 30 minutes more work

• the plait that wont go in

• the shoe that came off

• the wash bay queue that goes on for miles

• the lunge spot that’s not there

• the gel pad that’s missing 

• lets not forget the horses number that really was there yesterday.

…All this happens and. So with all those thoughts in mind you are now under control. Like me, you now get up at 2am and not 5am just to make sure you’re as relaxed as possible to be able to block out everything but yourself and your beautiful horse. Your horse needs you calm so he or she can put there total trust in you and remember everything you have ever taught him. 

Picture that feeling of the best training moment you ever had give your horse a pat and then say lets go.  They love the feeling of confidence which makes them feel safe.

Always remember the saying that ‘time is on your side’ when you are organised. My advice is plan well ahead and allow plenty of time, have people around that keep you calm, believe in yourself…. and I’ll see you around 2am.

Francesca Christie

Back to Top

Les Bunning - ShowJumping

You buy a good horse, employ a good coach and train, prepare the best you can for the competition. The day finally arrives that you are going to the show! When you get up in the morning you can’t eat, you are edgy with your parents, wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, and groom. By the time you reach the show your feeling fairly nauseous your stomach churns and you can’t think of possibly riding and if you do, doing your best. But you do start and one of  two things happen, you go great or it ends up in a big mess and it seems that the whole time you were competing it was a big  blur!!

If something like the above has happened to you, you have suffered competition nerves/anxiety, if it hasn’t happened to you check your pulse you must be dead. That fact is that every competitor from the amateur to the elite level will suffer pre competition  and competition nerves, anxiety, stress, excitement, call it what you will its all the same and it can effect us all in different ways. The extremes are you are so wound up that are become unbeatable or you can’t perform at all and everything that happens in between.

So the “experts” start telling you to get over it, cool down, relax, breath do yoga, whatever. You try hard to do all that with different degrees of success but you still get a knot in the stomach and your still on edge and it’s that feeling that really starts to worry you. And there is the problem its not the pre-competition nerves it’s the fact that we worry so much about feeling that way and we think we shouldn’t but by feeling that way you are ready  perform at your best. The first thing I think really helps is to accept the fact that you, and I will always probably feel a little on edge before, and during the competition. I think this is the edge that one needs to be totally sharp. Mentally changing the statement ‘competition nerves’ to “competition excitement” seems to help cope with the feelings you have at the event before and during. 

There is well documented evidence that elite athletes in all sports suffer from nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite mood swings before competitions, but they learn to accept these emotions as the way their bodies react to pre-competition excitement, so they can then get on with their job without getting stressed about the way they feel. There are many tools you can use to help with trying to remain calm and focused on the event. Sitting in a quiet area prior to the start, reading the paper, a cup of tea, talk to friends etc. There are sport psychology books available that detail mental tools used to help competitors cope with their anxiety.  

During the eight’s show jumping rider Guy Greighton was always referred to as “ Mr Cool” because he showed no out ward signs of pre competition nerves, but quite often his grooms would have to get him away from the TV to jump in classes, maybe this was Guy’s way of relaxing and focusing before a competition.

For some of us competition nerves/anxiety/excitement whatever you call it will be a part of our life as a competitor, I think if you accept that and say that is “my edge” working you will cope with that  feeling and you will learn to embrace it, take it to the shows as your mate. I feel that if you don’t have a few butterflies you must be bored and that can’t make for a focused performance.

Les Bunning

Back to Top