“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

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What I’ve learned from coaching riders

by Annette Paterakis

I started of as a rider myself and then continued in the showjumping sport as a mental coach. I made that shift about five years ago and I have since learned so much from all the different clients I have had the pleasure of coaching over the years. So I thought I’d share with you the things I have learned from working with equestrian athletes so far.

5 distractions and how to beat them

by Annette Paterakis

Have you ever let distractions get the better of you and rule your thoughts and, with that, your results? You are not alone! We all have specific distractors that can drive us mad. The good news is we can train ourselves to keep a laser-sharp focus and to stay in control of every situation. Here are 5 ways to do just that.

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

by Annette Paterakis

It is time to draw some conclusions. So far in this series I have looked at the benefits as well as the downsides of riding to win versus chasing perfection (if you haven’t read the previous blogs, read them here). Now it’s time to bring all our learnings together and to come up with a strategy you can apply and follow all on your own. I’ll start with a quick recap of what we have learned so far, just to warm up your memory. Then I’ll explain how to prepare for those perfect, winning rounds.

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.

 

5 mental skills you can work on right now

by Annette Paterakis

As an athlete we’d like to always be in control and have everything work out exactly as we planned. However, the reality is that there are many things that can go wrong, throw us off guard or at least, turn out differently. Often – even when we know better – we spend a lot of energy trying to change the things we can not change and neglect the things we actually do have power over. Here are 5 skills you can always work on, no matter the circumstances.

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

by Annette Paterakis

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…