December 2018 12 MAUREEN SERRANO Saddle Up Realty and Property Management WICKENBURG Arizona Ranch style home with amazing views on top of a hill in Wickenburg Country Club! There is a pool, spa, small horse set up with turn out and barn. The home boosts 2 master suites, one with it’s own private entrance! Almost 5 acres. $439,000 LAND FOR SALE 8 ACRES HORSE PROPERTY flat and usable; private well + 4 shares in a shared well. $175,000 (agent/owner) 8 PRISTINE ACRES OF HORSE PROPERTY in the heart of Wickenburg. Great Views! Can be split into two - 4 acre lots (survey available). Build on one and sell the other! $189,500 DOWNTOWN ROPERS Make your sweetheart happy and buy her a townhome near the downtown arenas! Beautiful 2 bedroom 2 bath Northridge Villa. $233,500 623-521-2355 mserranosellsre@gmail.com Psychology has been yoked to relaxation techniques for longer than I can stand to think about. Some people think teaching relaxation is all a sports psychologist does. But I can’t even remember the last time I did anything remotely like that with a client. Why? Because, as I explained to a client and her parents, there are so many better things to do – such as helping you: Appreciate that maybe you’re not supposed to be all that relaxed for a competitive event. Competitions do involve riding in front of a lot of people, with only two or so minutes to do it right, with no “do-overs”, and with a judge watching. I know being nervous doesn’t feel good, but I’ve always found it easier to accept performance nerves as a part of the predictable event experience. A cop-out? No way. Know why? Pretty soon being nervous becomes like background “white noise.” You know it’s there, but don’t let it get to you. Direct your attention to learning to ride well in spite of your performance nerves. If being nervous makes you tight, try practicing staying loose in one critical part of your body (e.g. shoulders, elbows). Don’t try to “relax” your whole body; that’s too much. If being nervous makes you timid and tentative, make a point to keep reminding yourself to ride more aggressively “Keep your leg on yourself!” I told one rider who rode too quietly whenever her nerves got the best of her. Make changes in how you manage your competition day, or in how you think about winning and losing. In one client’s case, problem-solving meant approaching the trainer and coming up with a better plan and letting “good” be good enough because that meant that she learned to measure her worth as a rider — not just by her last class, but by everything she’s ever put into her riding. Daydreaming Doesn’t Work Many riders think visualization techniques will help with nerves and prevent anxiety in the performance ring. I don’t ever recommend visualization techniques to riders, for a number of reasons I’ll explain below. That’s not to say riders who benefit from visualization techniques shouldn’t keep using them (“if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”) but most people who try them experience disappointment and frustration. There are a few reasons why some people struggle with visualization techniques: First of all, any mental exercise that idealizes the notion of “perfect” is a deal-breaker in my book. Being perfect belongs in romance novels and beauty contests; it has nothing to do with riding horses, whose energies are far too dynamic to be bound up in such a term as “perfect.” “Perfect” is not a living term. Table settings are perfect. People and animals are not. People who try to make Buddy Uldrikson Buddy Uldrikson Training at Rancho Rio Bonita: buddyuldriksonhorsemanship.com themselves perfect drive themselves (and those around them, including their horses) crazy. Trying to recapture in real life the “perfect” visualization you imagined the evening before is a perfect (ha!) setup for frustration. You’re chasing a dream. Inspiration is one thing, but to me, this dream is more like a tantalizing nightmare. Meanwhile, you’re forgetting to ride the horse you have under you at that moment! Want a great formula for non-spontaneous, non-free riding? Tell yourself to replicate a previous ride; any ride will do, real or imagined. Ride it exactly the same way. I mean exactly. Having a little trouble? Are you getting so wrapped up in trying to copy yourself that you’re distracted from your better, freer, more spontaneous riding ability? Of course! Compensate for Your Anxiety If performing causes you anxiety in the arena, consider trying to compensate for the ways in which the anxiety/freezing up affects your riding rather than trying to ride more perfectly (too abstract a goal). You probably wind up “under-riding” — unsure of your decisions, inactive and unclear in your aids, you “go along for the ride” and your horse makes up his own test. If you were to aim instead toward maintaining a more active stance, even if it meant you “over-rode” in your first few events, I believe you would be able to break through. Doing something different in your riding – even one thing – during those moments of anxiety can be the trick to triggering a different response to your performance nerves. For many riders, it beats dreaming! And learning to accept your performance nerves as something natural and normal can leave you in a better place to focus on your riding, and just have fun! Judy Mental Exercises