How to Handle Anxiety Before Jumping a Course - #242

Lorna, that said, anxiety before jumping a course, that fear of messing up.

What would you say?

What would I say? I actually had an interesting experience yesterday in the warm-up, and I was just...

As I was...

I actually had warmed myself up because the lady said there was four to go and then there was a break, and then the next time I went 'round, uh, she'd squished in six, and then there was a break.

So I found myself, A, a little bit frustrated because I'm like, "I'm ready to go," [laughs] and then...

So I was moseying around.

I was actually watching other people warm up, and it's interesting how, like, when you watch people in a warm-up, the, the adrenaline that's actually-

Mm

...

in that warm-up or a bit of activation or a bit of anxiety or whatever you wanna call it, like, people actually become so hung up on finding that distance.

Like, everybody has to find that distance before they, you know, go in and jump that track.

Whereas actually, you know, most people are taught to ride their canter.

You need that big canter.

You know, if you create the canter, then you create options and all that kind of thing.

But yeah, find it really interesting to see how many people actually just forget about their process in a warm-up because suddenly, you know, that upright and the oxer in there, like, people are just charging at them and people are missing distances and, like, there's trainers shouting and-

Yeah

... like, it, it feels like c- chaos when you're in there.

And normally you're so, or I'm so busy, hooked in my own pre- process of warming myself up and not really paying attention to what anybody else is doing.

But yeah, I just thought, what an interesting experience, huh? Because it's not like these guys haven't practiced at home, it's not like they've not jumped that height before, but it's like suddenly their process [laughs] just leaves them.

And then from that, actually, I'd wandered around a bit, and then they had the course walk and it's my turn to go and all the rest of it, and then I s- I started cantering around to the fence again.

Hadn't really got him in front of my leg.

He was switched off.

I was switched off a bit.

And then I was like cantering around, and then I found myself starting to search for a distance again, and I'm like, "Hang on a minute here." But obviously with the awareness that we talk about, it's like, get him in front of your leg, get cantering, get going.