“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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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.

5 reasons why you need grit more than talent

by Annette Paterakis

Strength of character, perseverance, toughness, or in other words, grit is what creates excellence, peak performance and mastery. It is grit that determines whether you will get up again and again after falling down. It is grit that will get you through the long hours of training and then let’s you train some more.

10 habits of mentally tough riders

by Annette Paterakis

Ever wonder what mentally strong riders focus on, work on and do differently? These riders will work on the small yet significant habits that enable constant improvement and make the ride so much more enjoyable. Here are 10 habits that separate the mentally strong from the rest:

5 ways to treat yourself like a pro

by Annette Paterakis

We are taught to always put our horses first, and for good reason. At all times we have to ensure they get the best possible care. So when we come home from a show, late at night, our priority is that they are looked after, fed, and happy in their clean stalls. We do all this before WE get to eat, shower, and hopefully sleep. We spend every spare dime on their special needs, from supplements to fluffy toys – but we must not forget ourselves! Yes, we will always look after our furry teammates, but it’s time we invest a little more in ourselves too. Here are five ways to invest in your most important asset: YOU!

Peder Fredricson’s mental skills and how you can apply them too

by Annette Paterakis

As you probably know by now, I love learning from the best, and Peder Fredricson is definitely one of the best equestrians active today. So, eager to talk to the well-rounded, ever charming, eventer-turned-showjumper, I asked Peder about his journey in the sport, his learnings and, of course, his mental skills. As it turns out, he has a whole lot of insights to share with us in this area! I have summarized these into 5 steps you can also take right away to sharpen your mental skills.

The 7 habits of highly effective riders

by Annette Paterakis

These are, what I believe some basic but fundamental principles for becoming and staying a truly successful rider.