for Equestrian Sports?

Story and Photos By Lynn Palm

Palm Partnership Training™ Building a Partnership with your Horse

This is a great subject, and I totally agree that this is a must with any sport! Equestrian sports should be no different than any other sport with their need for coaching. However, equestrian sports and their need for coaching are the most important category because we have a live being (horse) included in the equation! No other sport, other than equestrian, has an animal they bond and harmonize with during training and competition.

As with any sport, an eye on the ground has a positive benefit. Coaching is beneficial for progressing as an equestrian and for succeeding with whatever competition and disciplines you’ve chosen.

The rider’s mental and physical skill levels also progress with the help of an experienced equine professional. Training should always develop a correct rider and/or how to become a more skilled competitor.

Even though a horse owner and their horse can benefit with a professional, on the flip side of the coin, you can also get very bad advice from someone who is not experienced. In the United States anyone can call themselves an equine professional because it takes no official licenses or education requirements to hang out a shingle and call themselves an “Equine Professional”. Beware of this person, especially if you are just getting into horses and have very little knowledge of who’s who in the world of coaching. In this circumstance, use your common sense, ask questions, and always keep the well-being of the horse paramount in your mind. Look for facilities that are spotless, organized, and the horses look well-taken care of. If not, just find another place. If a facility is a mess, stalls are dirty, the horses are not in good health, the office is a mess — just leave. This person will give you every excuse and will probably try to sell you a horse in the near future.

Also be aware that a coach can also be your worst enemy without you even knowing it. Example: The coach is at a competition and they are visiting more with friends than keeping their eye on their students. Or they’re on the phone more than they are coaching the rider!

But there’s good news. You can have a coach or professional equine trainer/instructor who has a clean and organized facility, has a great teaching program exemplified by students who are always happy and learning, and horses that are happy with a great shine to their coats. These coaches will have a plan for instruction at home and at the show for each rider/horse they are coaching. This plan will include timelines to get the horse confident in the performance arena. They will develop timelines to be “smartly ready” with horse/rider, a warm-up plan, a strategy about their competition, and have mental tips for the rider on how to be confident and positive in the show ring. This is a huge benefit. Anytime you have a focused rider who works well with the coach the horse will know too, and they will undoubtedly perform as well as they can.

An experienced coach will also recognize possible problems that a horse may have. This coach can help the rider recognize these situations before they happen. Coaches will also know how to improve what the challenge is and how the rider can continue to keep a positive attitude. A great coach will always discuss a rider’s performance. The discussion should cover what was very good in the performance and what could be better. That coach will always discuss challenges their rider and horse had in competition. It’s the coach’s job to improve the team for the next competition.

If you don’t have a coach, today’s technology allows us to work long distance and through video and the internet. Virtual training and competition has allowed people to connect long distance with instructors/coaches easier than ever. Coaching videos are so easy to use and access to the internet makes a perfect formula for learning. I just love giving a lesson to a rider in Switzerland while I’m at my kitchen counter in Ocala, Florida! It works! You can get coaching reviews with videos of competitions as well. Many riders send videos of their competitions and I critique the performance, describe what went well, and what did

See page 68