I AM US EQUESTRIAN
as much as you
LOVE YOUR HORSE by Mia Rodier-Dawallo
“ At the end of the day, what’s the point of coming down the centerline if you don’t have a smile on your face?” writes Mia Rodier-Dawallo (center), shown after her victory earlier this year in the FEI Para Dressage Grade II Individual Test with Cato in the Perrigo CPEDI3* at Desert Dressage.
40 SUMMER ISSUE 2022
Para dressage athlete and coach Mia Rodier-Dawallo reminds equestrians to recognize and counter the dangers of negative self-talk. One Monday morning as I was doing what I love doing—sending aggressively encouraging messages to my students about how I love them and I think they are superstars and I hate to see them put themselves down—I had a very memorable interaction with one particular student. I have the honor and pleasure of teaching her at Bailiwick House, which is owned and operated by Patty Mayer in Santa Rosa Valley, Calif. This student is an absolutely exceptional rider and human being who has been riding since childhood but took a break from riding for 40 years and has been getting back into it during the last several months. She is such a naturally gifted rider, but like all naturally gifted riders, she has perfectionist tendencies. In her last lesson with me, we had been working together specifically on her connection—which, if we’re being honest, is difficult for riders of all levels, even Grand Prix riders. She had done a really great job in this lesson, and I was commending her for her hard work. She rebutted my praise by saying, “Yes, I had him nicely on the bit, but what about my position? I’m tilted too far forward.” And this negative self-talk inspired me to send her this text message:“Our sport does not exist in 20 meters by 60 meters. It exists in six inches: the six inches between your ears and the six inches between your dance partner’s ears. Take the win, because if you start to relegate special moments like these, you will never be able to find joy in what you do. If you’re on a lifeboat and you start to poke holes in it, you will drown in the waters of self-sabotaging perfectionist tendencies that, in the long run, will become almost impossible to unlearn. … For every thing you do right, allow yourself to feel worthy. Because, at the end of the day, what’s the point of coming down the centerline if you don’t have a smile on your face?”
PHOTO: TERRIMILLER.COM
LOVE YOURSELF
