“Sometimes you win,

sometimes you learn.”

How to motivate yourself during Covid-19

By Annette Paterakis
Category:

We all face a dip in motivation sometimes, but in these exceptional times, staying motivated to train can be extra challenging. Just like anything else, creating sustainable and intrinsic motivation is trainable. So here are five steps to get you back on track.

Success Story: Katie McNair – She Swapped Fear For Focus And Her Riding (And Parenting!) Thrived

By Annette Paterakis
Categories:

In this series, I unveil the mystery of mental coaching by sharing some of the challenges that my clients have faced and how, together, we turned things around to become a more confident rider. For this case study, I’m sharing Katie McNair’s story.

Katie reached out to me when she began to struggle with staying focused while in the saddle, and as a result, that lack of focus led to disappointing show results. As a mother, Katie balances her time, energy, and attention between her children and her horses but has often found herself distracted with both aspects of her life. Is it possible to balance work and family life, and on top of it all, thrive in the show ring? The answer is, “YES!”

Success Story: Sabrina Rodriguez – How I recovered from surgery to win again

By Annette Paterakis
Category:

Every day I get up with a single goal in mind: helping others. Helping others to build their confidence, to increase their focus, and to prepare for competition and, ultimately, to perform at their peak and to enjoy the ride. But sometimes, you end up helping someone in ways you could not have imagined.

Meet Sabrina. Sabrina is a showjumper and she reached out to me leading up to very serious surgery. Her situation was unique and very challenging. She needed to prepare herself mentally in order to get through this incredibly tough procedure and to work through her post-surgery recovery. I suggested to Sabrina that she should join my Master Your Mind Online Mental Training Program. She was one of the first students to graduate from the program. In just over three months, she made it through, she’s back in the saddle and she’s winning again! I cannot begin to express how proud I am of Sabrina. Here is her story…

Client Story: Zoé Conter – How to bounce back after a bad fall

By Annette Paterakis

Ever wondered what mental training is really all about? You are not alone… When thinking about what a mental coaching session is like, many riders might still picture someone lying down on a sofa and opening up about their issues to a dull therapist with a crazy imagination. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth! So, in this series, I unveil the mystery by sharing some of the challenges that clients of mine have faced and how, together, we turned things around. For this case study, I’m sharing Zoé Conter’s story with you.

Zoé needs little introduction. She is only 21 but has already established an impressive track record of success. From winning a team gold and individual bronze medal at the European Junior championships in 2016 to riding 5* shows, Zoé has been there and done that. However, in May 2018, whilst competing at an international show in Rome, she had a nasty fall with her horse and ended up breaking her neck. Falling off is one thing but getting severely injured is another. How do we bounce back after an accident like that?

Annette is a columnist for NFstyle, Noelle Floyd Magazine & Puissance USA

You might also be interested in:

10 things mentally strong riders don’t do

by Annette Paterakis

There are a few key characteristics that mentally strong riders have in common. Things they do, and things they don’t do to stay in control of their own mental game.

Top 10 books I read in 2017

by Annette Paterakis

So back in January 2016 I set a New Year resolution. It was to read more often and more consistently. As I know that no resolution sticks unless I make it a habit, I made a plan and started reading every evening before bed. This has resulted in me reading and listening to 23 books in 2016 and so far, 27 in 2017. In addition, I also released my very own book this year, “Keep calm & enjoy the ride”. Good enough reasons to share my top 10 reads to train your brain over the holidays.

Change your thoughts to change your ride

by Annette Paterakis

It is safe to say that the Equestrian sport is a challenging one, not only physically but also mentally. Making one error can result in a bad fall and injuries and might mean, you are out for the season. This obviously adds extra pressure to not make any mistakes. In addition, it is the only Olympic sport that involves working together with a living animal and that too adds an extra difficulty to the mix. Working together with a highly sensitive animal means that your mind not only impacts your body, but your horse will be influenced by it too.

 

Daniel Deusser: 9 Ways To Ride Like A Pro Even If You Aren’t One

by Annette Paterakis

As you probably already know by now, my next book Winning Habits is coming out very soon! I therefore want to share with you some key insights and invaluable lessons I learned from Daniel Deusser during our interview for the book.

Success Story: Katie McNair – She Swapped Fear For Focus And Her Riding (And Parenting!) Thrived

by Annette Paterakis

In this series, I unveil the mystery of mental coaching by sharing some of the challenges that my clients have faced and how, together, we turned things around to become a more confident rider. For this case study, I’m sharing Katie McNair’s story.

Katie reached out to me when she began to struggle with staying focused while in the saddle, and as a result, that lack of focus led to disappointing show results. As a mother, Katie balances her time, energy, and attention between her children and her horses but has often found herself distracted with both aspects of her life. Is it possible to balance work and family life, and on top of it all, thrive in the show ring? The answer is, “YES!”

Series: Riding to win vs. chasing perfection (Blog 2)

by Annette Paterakis

In the first installment of this series I opened Pandora’s Box (if you haven’t read it yet, click this link). How should we be thinking about our riding approach in the ring? Should we always be focused on training our horses and seeking to ride that elusive ‘perfect round’? Or are there circumstances when we should be seeking victory? Today I’m going to talk about riding to win. How can you ride, train and prepare to be (or become) more competitive? What are the upsides and what are the downsides of this approach? When is going for it a good idea and when should we be advised to give that fast ride or quick turn a pass? When you feel you and your horse are ready to really go for it but you’re not sure what to do, I’ve got you covered with a few ways to train quick thinking and turning.