The 4 highly ineffective habits of upper level event riders

I'm sure this is not the habits of all event riders, but they are bad habits of mine that I feel most of my friends trying to compete at this level (especially those of us on a shoe string budget with one or two horses)

1.  The tiny basket full of eggs.  First off, those of us that have one or two horses basically has all of our eggs in one tiny basket.  I found this past season that my poor basket had some seriously BIG holes.  I've been riding at home with Reese and Craig for dressage and SJ and made some HUGE improvements over the past several years on those two phases.  BUT I was hoping that have influence from those two sides of the spectrum would just magically keep my cross country on the straight and narrow.  Though i dont think that riding at this level is easily achieved with just the help of one eventing coach.  It is important to get the help in all 3 phases from an eventing coaches perspective even if it is just time to time.  The show jump trainer and dressage trainer (unless they once had a background in eventing) do not have the perspective to get their teachings flow into another phase.  But from the eventing coaches/trainers perspective he understands how all 3 disciplines have to communicate with each other.  This, I believe, is very difficult for trainers specializing in one phase/discipline.  
I also will add that I do think that the outstanding training that I have received from my dressage and show jumping trainers has made me incredibly competitive in those areas!

2.  We tend to tell our horses what not to do instead of WHAT to do.  I am so guilty of this with Lewis.  Mainly "stop spooking at that stuff near the fence!".  It would be a better use of my focus and his, to tell him "jump this" or instead of "stop spooking at 'M'".... "sit on your hocks now or shoulder in now".

3.  Looking at the stuff you are trying to avoid instead of looking at what you are trying to accomplish.  Lewis being a very spooky monkey, has trained me to look for the stuff he will spook at.  So i find myself on xc or in sj starring at the pile of brush or banner on the rail that I KNOW he will spook at.  I then will miss my line to the next fence because I wasn't focused on where we were putting our feet in the turn.  Or I could be on xc and have a group of people get in my way, that is always unnerving.  They will move, you just focus on your line to the fence.


4.  Taking it personally.   I think the biggest problem I had last season was that I took every stop, run out, spook, dropped rail, bad fence, tense dressage test, lackluster preformace PERSONALLY.  Like someone was physically ripping my heart out of my chest.  To me this ONE horse is EVERYTHING.  (Again all eggs one basket). I felt like every problem was jerking that dream of ROLEX further and further away.... taunting me!

I was so deflated every time I had a problem it was chipping away at my confidence.  And in the mean time, I think it was making my horse really dislike me!  Somewhere between Ocala and Lexington after Christmas my sweet Lew was asking me to scratch is spot and picking my pockets for treats.  After our disaster at Poplar in Nov Lewis has stayed in the back of his stall, avoiding me like the plague, no interested in being touched or given any treats.  Apparently it took a 12 hr drive to FL, about 30 run outs, then some rebuilding confidence, and a 12 hr drive home for my horse to like me again.  (and before people blame gastric ulcers he was scoped and we found none, and just to be safe I had also put him on gastro gaurd!  none of it helped, he really was avoiding me) Today was the first day I have been on him in my dressage saddle in over 2 weeks and I had the best ride I have had on the flat in months!  Flying changes every 3 strides with no kicking out!!!!  And his ears were up.  Oh joy!

I guess to sum up my ineffective habits of upper level event riders:  fight like you train, train like you fight

Keep your ears up
Jenn