Training For Transition
The transition from junior equestrian to intercollegiate or adult competitor isn't always easy. Equestrian mental health coach Annette Paterakis explains how juniors, parents, and trainers can help young riders take the next step.
By Glenye Cain Oakford
The transition from junior competitor to intercollegiate or adult athlete can be challenging for some young equestrians, as equestrian mental coach Annette Paterakis knows first-hand.
Paterakis, a sports psychologist and author who participated as a mental coach at the 2023 USEF Horsemastership Training Series, was a successful young rider competing internationally in her early teens. But when she aged into open
competition, she struggled — and the more her tension and confusion grew, the more her competition results suffered.
“Before, I was basically placed in the top three almost every weekend, and how wonderful that is for the ego. What came next was therefore more of a shock,” she explained. “Suddenly, I was surrounded by better horses and better riders, and sometimes also riders who were more experienced at that level. Suddenly, I was getting very different results than I used to, to the point that there were quite a lot of eliminations, because I wasn't really ready to ride at that level yet. It was very challenging for me at that age, and I didn't really accept that I wasn't getting the results I wanted.
"I wanted to prove myself, and I got very upset when I made mistakes," she continued. "I’m sure a lot of young riders relate to that. I got more and more in my head. I got more and more focused on proving myself and getting the results, and less and less focus on what actually made the difference.”
Part of the solution, Paterakis said, was to shift her focus to the process of learning and developing, and to see competition results as only a part of that process.
“I saw failure in a very, very negative way and became afraid of making mistakes,” she explained. “The moment that happens, it means you’re very attached to certain outcomes. When we’re attached to an outcome, nine out of 10 times, that means that we don't get that outcome. It doesn't work that way. We have to learn to let go of the results, so that we can focus on the process. But I didn't know any of that at the time.”
"Don't compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to who you were last week."
We sat down with Paterakis to discuss strategies that young equestrians, their parents or guardians, and their trainers can employ to help juniors transition to intercollegiate or adult competition.
What are some of the common challenges junior equestrians face in making the change to intercollegiate or adult competition?
First of all, it’s important to understand that they’re also developing from a teenager into an adult. This transition does come with a few challenges, but it’s important to embrace them and see it as a beautiful growth process. This can be a challenging time for both athletes and trainers. For a junior rider, their role has been a child role, and the trainer is in a kind of parent role, telling them what to do: "This is how you want to approach the course, this is how many strides you want to do between these fences."
It can be tricky when a child starts to have their own identity and their own ideas; it’s new and comes with different behaviors and communications that can be challenging for both sides. The important thing to realize is that becoming an adult also comes with responsibility. Thinking for yourself is a helpful skill; you should embrace it. It also comes with making mistakes. For some people, when they make a mistake, they return to the child role and say, “My trainer will just have to tell me what to do next,” or become upset without really doing anything about it.
As a parent or coach, invite the child to rise into that adult position. Have an adult conversation. Ask questions. Encourage them. Instead of telling them how it went in the ring, ask them how they think it went. What did they think happened? How is their development going? What did they learn?
Another way is to encourage them to think for themselves. When they are about to walk a jumping course, maybe say, “Hey, why don’t you look at it yourself first and come up with a plan. Then you walk me through it, and I can give you feedback. What do you think?”
In the ring, even if you have a solid plan, there are always moments when we need to make a decision for ourselves.
What mental strategies should juniors consider during this transition phase?
Know that when you bring yourself down because your results are not where you think they should be, thinking in that way can result in you being more focused on the results and less on what you actually have control over: the process. This is where taking responsibility comes in. If you wanted do better, you have to train better.
Don’t compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to who you were last week. Think, “What can I do better? What’s one thing that if I work on it, I would increase my statistics, my chance of going clear?” Then work on that with your trainer.
Just being critical or negative about yourself is unhelpful. What often does tend to work is analyzing and reflecting after a show — not every single day and not during your competition, because you need to be focused. But afterwards, reflect and look at whether there is a pattern that suggests an issue you can correct with training.
Comparing yourself to others can also play a role when you transition onto a college team. You can get distracted by the other students, the rest of the team, fitting in, and worrying that you’re going to let other people down. We can worry about all sorts of things when we transition into the very different dynamic of being a team rider. It’s important for these riders to refocus on what they can control. You can’t control your teammates. Instead, notice that you’re distracted and bring the focus back onto yourself and tuning in to your horse. Go back in your mind to your best ride ever and that feeling of being connected to your horse and present in the moment.
If you shrink because you’re worried, you’re not going to perform at your best. You want to step into that powerful you, that adult, that professional. You can’t be critical with yourself and drag yourself down internally. You have to manage your internal dialogue.
As a young rider, I was very critical of myself, and I wasn’t enjoying riding because I put too much pressure on myself. I see that in a lot of young people. A much better, productive, and even fun way to transition through that is to keep trusting yourself instead of constantly doubting yourself. If you look at any top rider going into the ring and performing at their best, they have this deep trust that even if they don’t know exactly what is coming at them, they trust that they’ll figure it out in that moment. We can do a lot of training at home. At the show, it’s about stepping into trusting that you’ve trained enough, you know enough, and you are enough.
For riders going on to ride with a team, how can they also add value as a teammate?
If you aren’t picked for the team for a show, think about how you will deal with that. Are you going to sit in a corner or show up to support the team? When you are riding on a team, get to know your teammates. You can ask them what they like, if they want feedback or information from your ride, or would they rather just focus on their own class or ride. Ask them, “Hey, what do you need from me?”
" Step into trusting that you've trained enough, you know enough, and you are enough."
We are competitive beings — we do get angry or frustrated, and that’s totally fine. We want to learn as adults to deal with that. It’s something you have to train: to refocus and put disappointment aside, because it’s distracting. Being an adult doesn’t mean you don’t feel emotions. On the contrary, you’re aware of those emotions and then we take the next step and say, “Right now, my team needs me” or “Right now, I have a class to ride in” or whatever it is. That is something we can all train ourselves to do at home so it’s easier when we get to a show.
How does that contribute to improving performance?
You need to focus on what actually gets you there, which is being deliberate about your training. There are so many elements that play a role when it comes to becoming better as a rider. It’s not just about riding better horses, riding more horses, or working with the best trainer. It is a lot more about what you can actually control yourself, which is extremely exciting. There are no limits. The only limit we find is the limit in our own mind. If you keep taking the next step and you believe that it’s possible to improve, then you will keep improving. Personally, I think that’s incredibly exciting. When I was a teenager, this would have changed my world. But at the time I was fixated on being good enough, on proving that I was a good rider, and that became my focus instead of what actually made a difference. When we’re trying to feel validated or good enough, when we are comparing ourselves to others, it’s very distracting.
This kind of mental training takes place over time, doesn’t it?
I think it’s important that mental training should be a normal aspect of your development, not something you only do when you have a problem. It’s something that can help you avoid problems as part of your overall training as an equestrian. Just as you want to train yourself to avoid injury, you want to mentally train yourself to avoid being inconsistent. You can see mental training as a journey rather than as fixing a problem and then you’re done. If you go to a gym and work out for six months and then you stop going, you lose that fitness. It’s the same with your brain. You really need to use it or you lose it.
Investing in yourself this way has a lot of elements to it and is about more than just what you’re doing in the saddle in the show ring. That gives a lot of opportunity. So start somewhere, by reading a book or asking questions or by researching online or working with a mental coach to better yourself mentally, to learn about yourself and how your brain works. You’ll be training that muscle, too, to be prepared for the important moments.
Photos: US Equestrian