So, I\u2019m restarting the blog. I apologise for neglecting it,\nand I promise I won\u2019t anymore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve been thinking about writing this for a while now.\nLately a lot of social media posts have been about confidence. It\u2019s a topic\nI\u2019ve written about before, because I\u2019ve struggled with it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t think personally I\u2019ve ever had as much confidence in\nmy ability as a rider as perhaps I should have. But I\u2019ve noticed it\u2019s not just\nme who does this. I watch my mum ride and think how she rode well today or did\nsomething good, and then she gets off and moans about how bad her riding was.\nDo you do this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another thing, that I really believe doesn\u2019t help us improve\nour confidence, is we are all a bit worried about sharing what we find so\nscary, or what we are lacking confidence in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve been so lacking in confidence that I have felt as\nthough my right leg is sooooo heavy it is physically stuck to the mounting\nblock and nothing is moving it. It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re that person who is\nstruggling to get on, or the person who is perhaps learning to ride slower than\nothers because you are a bit scared, or if you\u2019re worried about riding in the\nschool, or hacking, cantering, jumping etc etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What matters is we all support each other with those fears.\nI wouldn\u2019t be improving without my mum there to help me; we need that support.\nYour cheerleader or hand holder may be a fab friend, or an amazing instructor. But\nI think it is better to address it, to get it out in the open. Don\u2019t sit there\nfeeling sick to your stomach because you don\u2019t want to go out for that canter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes I feel so worried, that I might not ride, come up\nwith some reason not to. And I often think, do I even want to ride anymore? Am\nI that bothered? But when I do, I love it. When I have that brill ride, I smile\nfrom ear to ear all day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t ride because you must, because your friends want you\nto, because you\u2019ve paid for that lesson, because you\u2019ve got a horse in the\nfield. Go and ride that horse because you love horses and you love horse\nriding. You might be sitting there feeling worried and dread overtakes you, but\nwe all know that when we are on, and when we see those big beautiful eyes \u2013\nthat we started riding because it was fun. Have fun riding! That is the main\nthing, enjoy your horses and your time in the saddle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, I\u2019m setting you (and myself) some goals:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Billie x<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"