Last ride, you nailed it. The canter work felt powerful, the transitions were crisp, and you finished the session feeling like you finally got it. Fast forward 48 hours, and suddenly you can’t manage a clean downward transition, your horse is spooky, and you leave the arena frustrated and questioning everything.
If this sounds familiar, welcome to the rollercoaster of equestrianism!
The biggest fantasy in horse riding is that progress is a smooth, upward trajectory. We often picture a steady 45-degree climb, but the reality is a messy, beautiful series of plateaus, breakthroughs, and frustrating dips. If we want to stay sane, resilient, and effective partners to our horses, we have to acknowledge this non-linear truth.
The non-linear truth: dips are precursors to breakthroughs
In any athletic pursuit, particularly one involving two living beings, setbacks are not failures; they are often necessary steps in the learning process.
Imagine your horse is refining a skill, for example, correct bending. They have to delete the old, ingrained habit before the new, correct muscle memory can be fully installed. That period of struggle – where the movement is messy and inconsistent – is the phase where the brain and body are rewiring themselves. It looks like a “dip” in performance, but it’s actually the construction phase of a major breakthrough.
Three unavoidable factors guarantee non-linear progress:
- Biological variance. You and your horse are athletes. Training fatigue, minor aches or hormonal shifts can affect performance. Something like tightness in your hips, or a minor, temporary stiffness on your horse’s part is enough to throw off the rhythm.
- Environmental variables. Windy conditions, a dog barking across the yard, or a set of new jump wings by the arena fence can turn a focused schooling session into a lesson in distraction management.
- Psychological factors. Rider stress, lack of sleep, or even subconsciously putting too much pressure on a single movement can lock up your seat and hands, sending yesterday’s fluid movement into today’s sticky mess.
The key is to reframe the dip. Don’t see it as a failure; see it as a data point. What were the variables today? Use the information to adjust your plan, not to judge your overall competence.
Embracing the variables: Good Days vs. Bad Days
The complexity of equestrianism lies in the fact that we are managing two independent emotional and physical beings. The chances of both of you being 100% on the same day are slim.
The horse’s perspective
Your horse is allowed to have an off day. They might be tired from the field, feeling playful, or simply be distracted by the smells of the changing season. As riders, our job is not to demand perfection, but to meet them where they are.
If your schooling plan was to nail upwards canter transitions, but your horse is clearly focused on everything outside the arena, pivot. Spend time on low-level exercises that engage their brain and keep their attention with you, finish on a good note, and try again tomorrow.
The rider’s perspective
Give yourself permission to show up tired or stressed. You don’t have to pretend everything is “fine”. The best coaches can see when a rider’s brain is overloaded and will recommend a change of focus – perhaps a relaxed, fun session instead of traditional schooling.
Aim to shift your expectations and goals from “perfect performance” to “consistent effort and smart management.” If you consistently show up with a smart plan and adjust based on the variables you encounter, the overall trend will be upward, even if individual rides fluctuate.
The thief & the teacher: redefining comparison
Comparison is often the thing that steals most of our joy and compounds the effects of a bad day. Immediate, in-person comparison can be as damaging as the curated content we see on our social feeds. It’s easy to look across the arena during a group lesson and see someone effortlessly achieving what you’re struggling with. We immediately jump to “Why can’t I do that?”
The truth? You are comparing your current struggle with their current comfort zone. They inevitably went through the exact same messy, non-linear struggle you are in now, perhaps just weeks or months ago. They are simply demonstrating a skill they have already processed and secured.
Instead of comparison, turn these moments into observation opportunities. Comparison is the thief of joy because it pulls you out of your ride and makes you focus on someone else’s. It breeds insecurity. Observation, however, is a tool for learning and inspiration. Instead of thinking “I’m a failure compared to them” ask yourself “What are they doing differently from me?”, reflect on what you see and try to emulate the skills and techniques they’re demonstrating.
By using these opportunities to focus on what they’re doing, how and when – looking deeper than the glittering result – these moments of self-doubt can be transformed into moments of learning, turning the “Thief” into the “Teacher.”
The power of your own journey
Your progress is measured against only one thing: your own previous self. The greatest value in the “bad days” and the “dips” is that they reveal the weak points – the things you need to strengthen before you can successfully move forwards. They build the deep, foundation that allows you to ride through adversity.
So stop measuring your journey against the highlight reels and the effortless rides you see across the yard and instead celebrate your small, non-linear victories, and know that every challenging day you persevere through is a necessary part of your unique story.
Your next step? Commit to documenting your rides (even if it’s just a few notes on your phone). Then, when you inevitably hit another dip, you can look back and see the undeniable upward trend. Your story is a masterpiece, far richer and more beautiful than a straight line.