There has been a running joke in our house about the hours
spent watching horse shows online for the last 5 weeks. I think about how long trainers and
horses have been on the road, knowing about the stress of competition, the
long hours and odd schedules that they keep.
All that has me wondering…
It is too much?
If you are one of the road warriors who feel like you are burning
the candle at both ends and running out of wick, here are a few things to
consider as you are recovering from this year, and planning out 2012.
Olympic Athletes Peak once every four years. Not every month.
When we are talking about peaking, most athletes would say
that they pick one event a year that they really have their eye on. Everything they do during the year
leads up to one main event where they want to be their absolute best in terms
of mental and physical fitness. I
think the same rules apply for Equestrian Athletes as well. Maintaining focus, concentration and physical
fitness levels can be difficult when on the road, and trying to peak for every
show, or shows that are back to back is not an easy task. A better idea is to pick one show
during the year, and make that be YOUR SHOW. That doesn’t mean that you won’t go to other shows, but you
need to cut yourself some slack if you suffer a moment of brain dis-engagement
and have a few pilot errors. You
can learn from those experiences, and keep fine- tuning your plan until you
have something that works for you.
Sleep.
Sleep. Sleep.
The more I understand about the brain, mind, body
connection, the more I understand that sleep is the golden ticket to performing
at a high level when doing basically anything. I know, I know, I can hear you saying, “But I don’t have
time for sleep. I have to get up
at odd hours to ride my horse in the arena, and the middle of the night is when
I need to do that. Trust me
Einstein, if I could get more sleep I would.”
I completely understand why you would say that, since I have
been known to say that very thing.
However, if you know you are going to be missing out of some zzz’s, you
can plan ahead to minimize the damage.
When we sleep we go through sleep cycles that last around 90
minutes each. Each cycle consists of 4 stages, and each stage has it’s own
restorative benefit. Without
getting into all of the biological functions, just know that if you have a 2am
wake up call and you go to bed at midnight, you are going to have a very hard
time waking up because you will be in the middle of a deep sleep cycle. What you should do is shoot for hitting
the pillow at 11pm. That way, you
can get two sleep cycles in before the alarm goes off.
You are only as good as your last full nights sleep
If you are getting up at odd hours, try not to do it two
days in a row, or before the day you show. Look at the schedule and plan ahead. This will ensure you will be bright
eyed and bushy brained when it really matters.
Practice at the same time you will be showing
Some of us pop out of bed and hit the ground running and
some of us need an IV with caffeine running through it to open our eyes. If you are more of a night owl and less
of a lark, early morning classes may bring a whole new set of challenges. An easy solution is to get used riding
and performing close to the time that your class will run. Likewise, if you normally ride in the
morning, and your class is going late at night, learning how to stay sharp at
that time of day will go a long way to help you have the ride of your life. If it takes you a month to recover when
the time changes due to daylight savings time, and find yourself having to show
in a different time zone, you will want to take that into consideration as
well, and adjust to the new time zone gradually, while you are still at home.
Eliminate Distractions
Being on the road for long periods of time has its
challenges. Most of us have kids,
dogs, jobs and spouses that require our attention, and trying to handle these
things from afar can create a lot of stress and tension, and the distraction
can take our head out of the game. This is one of those “The best defense is a
good offense” situations. It might
be a good time for a family meeting to discuss how things will get done while
you are on the road, as well as come up with a game plan for how you will
handle the unexpected things that may pop up while you are away. If you have a job, make arrangements
with your boss, clients, or co-workers so they understand that you will be
away, and discuss how things should be handled in your absence. This may seem like a very simple
thing, but handling things in advance will give you the space you need to focus
on being present at the show.
Eat your vegetables
We all know we should eat healthy, nutritious foods, and
this is even more important during stressful times. (If you need some tips on how to do that, you can check out
an article I did awhile back about how eat healthy at horse shows.) If you are under stress, your cortisol
levels will be high which will cause your immune system to plummet faster than
the condo market in Florida. By
providing your body with quality nutrients, you will be supplying your body
what it needs to repair itself and get back in balance.
Just Say No!
We all tend to be creatures of habit. We go to the same shows each year, and
sitting one out has probably never been an option. If you have a busy schedule, and lots of things going on in
your life other than showing horses, you may opt to stay home. If you do decide to go, make sure you
aren’t biting off more than you can chew.
Realistically, with the help that you have, how many horses can you take
to a show? Do you know how many
hours of labor each horse requires?
You may want to add up how much time it takes to clean stalls, fill
water buckets, lunge, and don’t forget to add in standing in line time at
bigger shows, groom, warm-up, show, bathe, blanket, feed and any other
maintenance things that have to be done.
You may be surprised at how much time it really takes, but then you will
understand why you are so tired by the end of the day. Then figure out how many people will it
take to get the job done, and plan accordingly. You might also consider what type of people you will need to
help you. If you need three people
to handle the workload, but only one of those three is able to lunge and warm
up horses, then you really don’t have three people, do you?
Now is the time to sit back and really look at what is
important to you, and make your plans based on your values. Life is short, and no horse show is
worth risking your health or piece of mind.
Kirsten Farris is a regular contributor to GoHorseShow.com and a Certified Sport Consultant, Certified Equestrian
Fitness Trainer, and the Author of The Workbook for the Equestrian
Athlete – A Guide to Showring Success. For more information contact her
at: kirsten@equestrianathlete.com
© 2011
