Riding ambition......

I'm a bit late too late for the Equestrian blog hop, but I really liked the November theme post. Riding ambition. Check out the hashtag #equestrianbloghop to read some posts on it, really great reading!!


The definition of ambition is 'a strong desire to do something or to achieve something'.
So really ambition is a goal, or a set of goals. My riding ambition is really a set of goals because as I achieve them I keep increasing them. In essence, my riding ambition is to keep challenging myself and my horses and to keep improving.  This is why I compete. It's not to compete against others, it's to compete against myself.  To strive to keep improving.

 At the moment, because I only have Fred on the go, my goal is to get him jumping again, and jumping at my level. We both lost our confidence jumping because I have moments of 'oh shit I can't do this' and usually it's right as we're coming up to the jumps, so he starts thinking, 'oh crap, can I do this??' and we knock them or come in wrong, he never refuses really, or if he does it's because I've taken my leg off and it's a very slow refusal.
 I regained my confidence with Cu Chulainn because he just wants to take them on & is a real natural jumper.  I am hoping that with my new found confidence I'll have Fred flying around too. So far we're going well and he's enjoying it again. We're only jumping small as he's not fit enough really yet and I'm only getting to ride 2/3 times a week.
This is a small goal that will lead to another goal if it's successful. Ideally I would like to be able to jump 1m next year. I know that I can, but knowing and doing are too completely different things - especially in the horse world where you need to oooze confidence to really get the result you want.  I used to always tell my students to 'fake it till you make it'as even pretending you're confident will help you & your horse.

I actually had serious nerves before going in to the arena here. We had a few down, but he was great. I was nervous all the way through......

My other goal is to improve in our flatwork. We've upgraded now, so the challenge is on. When Cu Chulainn comes back off holidays the challenge will be to get him working correctly on the flat. He can do it, he just doesn't always agree on whether or not he will do it........

The look that says, nope, not today Ms

I think goals are important for a rider of any level. It lets you get more out of an already great hobby. Breaking your goals down is also helpful, as it's frustrating when you aren't achieving something. Be it getting a 20m circle the correct size in trot or canter, just make it small and achievable and work from there.
Achieving your goals gives you a renewed sense of accomplishment and filters down through all the sections of your life, and you'll be beaming sitting at your desk/table etc.

What are your riding ambitions?