"Editing" our riding

Some of you may know that I have a Journalism background (resulting in a strong urge to edit things). This habit has carried over to my riding and I find it extremely useful to improving my riding when I am not in the saddle.

Most often on my day off, I find myself going over my rides and thinking about the moments I struggled with. With Barb's instructions of how to work through it in my head, I visualized the correct way to ride these difficult parts of my previous rides.

While it is true that nothing beats time in the saddle, I can promise you that my riding has improved most after a lesson AND after a day off where I can process what I learned in that lesson.

Tip #1: Write down what you learned in your lesson and WHY it was important to improving your ride.

Tip #2: Visualize yourself, doing what you were taught to improve. Using each step of what you were told to change, create a picture of a new you. With your new you, imagine yourself successfully riding through the tough times of your ride... and everything going perfectly.

If you are a "feeler" then think about how it feels to ride through as your new you. A visual person can imagine what it looks like from the horse and as a spectator.