During the class, however, they are going to relax and focus their attention on the horse.

Dumping your problems in a corner of the arena is guaranteed to make your riding better. Every rider has had the experience of a ride that started out badly and ended the same way because they were already in a bad mood the moment they got on the horse. So you have to learn to control that. Who wants to waste their hour of riding because they are mad at someone who just said something nasty to them or because they are allowing whatever else is going on in their life to intrude on their riding time?

When you start practicing this visualization, you will find that it not only helps you relax mentally, it also makes your riding a wonderful escape from life's problems. However, getting on your horse and forgetting about everything else takes practice. Just keep riding.

Faith Meredith coaches riders in dressage, reining, and eventing and has successfiully trained and competed horses through FEI levels of dressage.
She is the Director of