Highs and lows - positive mental attitude

Well this week has been one of real highs and lows. I got back from my travels last Sunday and went straight to the stables to ride Sam. When I got there the three grooms who had been riding Sam immediately started telling me how wonderful he was, how easy to ride and how much fun they had taking him for a spin round the gallops. With all this ringing in my ears I went out on to the gallops and it was a complete nightmare. Sam got wound up which set me off, so with me getting more edgy our attempts at a quiet canter turned into a full on fight. So I came back into the yard feeling rather sorry for myself and convinced that I did not deserve to have lovely Sam as I was such a rubbish rider. Being me I then mulled over the whole thing all night and by the Monday morning was thoroughly miserable about my (lack of) riding ability and how Sam would be better off without me. Thankfully though salvation came in the form of a book I ordered ages ago from Amazon - Sport Psychology A Riders Handbook - that arrived on my desk that morning and helped turn my thinking round completely by the end of the week.

To be continued ...