Débutant

I am certain that each of us is capable of fulfilling his or her objectives.
I have seen so many average riders reach the highest possible levels thanks to the power of their passion and their conviction. There are however many opportunities for allowing oneself to become discouraged.

I have at times heard certain trainers say: «It’s not worth it, he or she will never make it ... « and then, only a few years later, to find the same rider in the medals at the World Championships or the Olympic Games.

All those who succeed share a common point: they believe in themselves. Like everyone else, however, they too at times are depressed, and their will to succeed and to believe in what they do remains hidden deep within their inner selves. Some riders come to see me and say: «I’ll never make it, I’m too old, too weak, too nervous, not sufficiently concentrated.»
On each occasion, I persuade them that every single rider, without exception, can progress. To do this it is necessary to “have faith”. Rather than comparing oneself to others, compare with one’s own the level of a year or a month ago. Being aware of one’s progress is encouraging for finding the strength to continue.

Look for those who encourage you and don’t listen to the others.

The same applies to your inner thoughts, by the way.

As far as horses are concerned, you should also trust your deepest feelings. Right at the beginning of my career as an eventer, I owned two young horses I greatly believed in. I had the opportunity to ask the French team’s coach what he thought of them.

After watching me ride in the dressage test and in the cross country phase his opinion was rather negative: too heavy, not enough of this, not enough of that… in short he didn’t leave me much hope as far as one day making them into high level horses was concerned. The following year
I became French Champion with one of them, Ut Majeur, and three years later, the best French rider at the Munich Olympic Games with the other. Of the four team horses present in Munich, two were mine!

Unfortunately, sincere encouragement from others is extremely rare. Personally I have to thank Marc, Gilles Bertran de Balanda’s father, a great deal. He really did encourage me with all his heart.

Most of our handicaps, weaknesses and complexes are above all in our heads. These are the mental barriers that hinder progress.

They are also the reason for which progress is faster or slower, depending on the rider. The body reflects the mind and vice-versa:  a rider receptive to advice and flexibly minded makes faster progress. On the other hand, those presenting mental resistance also resist with their bodies and progress is necessarily slower. I myself notice everyday that my manner of seeing and learning things, and events, influences my body and the way I ride.

It’s easy to feel calm and serene in our life if we stay in the comfort zone of our daily activities. The repetition of the same actions in the same situation is a reassuring way to chase away the concerns and questions about life. While riding a horse during a flat work session, doing the same movements with no specific goal or with no challenge, can make you feel serene and relaxed.

 However when you are getting out of the beaten paths of your habits, your emotions will rise up which will disturb the serene state. Approaching a fence, entering the show ring, going for a jump-off, taking an exam…or sometime, just getting upset with something….all these events will trigger some mental and physical nervousness.

Riders are taught all the jumping technics and movements to approach a fence correctly, however, very few riders work on their mind set. Nonetheless, the key of success is there: the control of our thoughts and emotions when dealing with a risky situation.

The basic principles of mental preparation when jumping, especially when approaching a fence, can be practised anytime without being on a horse. When comfortably seated on your sofa, are you able to control your mind to stay focus and not think about the past, the future, or even a noise in the house, a bird outside, or even a fly on your skin? If so, try to be as focused when approaching a fence as you are when seated on your sofa.

Be your own mentor: be aware of each thought, image or opinion crossing your mind and notice their consequences on your general attitude and especially your position.

For my own practice, I base the control of my mind on oriental methodology such as yoga and meditation which are essential to me. It is a daily practice. When walking in the street, or driving, I practise staying serene in any circumstances: I don’t let an advertisement or a nervous driver disturb my mind.  The goal is to keep the mind neutral and quiet whatever the circumstances. When riding, it is an essential element if you want to to stay connected with your horse. As we already talked about it in the past, it is important to stay focus on what is happening at the moment. The rider who lets his thoughts take over his mind, becomes an outsider to the current event and “loses” the focus of his horse.
 

One would say:”Yes, but if I don’t think about the future, I can’t anticipate therefore I lose my goal!” To live at the present time is perfectly possible. While on course, it takes only 1/10th of a second to see if the next fence is an oxer, and that will not prevent you to stay in touch with your feelings and the signals sent by your horse. There are many opportunities to be distracted by some comparisons, some dreams or some endless projections. They are like drugs, alcohol or TV… either you are a spectator of your own life, or you are an actor. Your choice.

When approaching a fence, when going over and when landing, it is necessary for one’s horse to be straight so it can use all its strength and muscular power. Many faults are the result of a jump drifting to the left or the right of the fence. Propulsion then only occurs with one hind leg. The horse twists in flight and usually lands on the same front leg. In the end the horse is physically affected and the quality of its jumps degraded.
Actually, discussing straightness brings us back to ‘bending’. To be straight, a horse must first be prepared with flat work, with suppling and muscle building on a circle. Working on a circle allows the horse to increase its strength and suppleness. Building up muscles, as well as improving the way joints work, is obtained by greater demand on the near hind leg and by stretching the horse’s off leg. You should get used to keeping the horse on the circle with your inside and outside aids. Later, you will be able to use the same aids to keep your horse straight.
When the tracks of the hind legs cover those made by the front feet, one can say that the horse is straight, whether it is moving in a circle or on a straight line.
However, a straight horse calls necessarily for a straight rider. The first image that comes to my mind is that of a tightrope walker. He keeps his balance thanks to the correct distribution of the weight of his body in relation to the tightrope he is walking. Every move he makes takes place in a perfect balance. Guided by his wide-angle vision, he is able to master each gesture, while maintaining a clear vision of the overall situation. He never looks down.
Just like the tightrope walker, the rider must be placed in a centred position on his horse: his pelvis bones in line with the horse’s median axis, the spine straight supporting the head and with wide-angle vision.

The best teacher is the mirror in the covered school. It never cheats.
Jumping a fence facing the mirror is an excellent exercise. One can also place a corridor of poles before and after the fence. After jumping the fence a few times, the rider will become aware of his attitude and position. If he is capable of controlling his horse’s shoulders and haunches in relation to the median axis of the fence and of the corridor of poles, he has succeeded.
One must always attempt to ride the approach, the fence and the landing following a straight line.
The slightest drift to the left or the right must immediately be rectified. The more one waits before reacting, the more difficult it will be to return to the axis. The mirror allows one to quickly determine the primary cause of any eventual defects in the straightness. A defect that may come from to the rider’s position, but also from a horse one has allowed to drift for too long.

If a horse ‘drifts’ to the right or to the left when it jumps, rule n° 1: verify in which direction the rider is looking. Whatever the problem’s primary cause may be, looking in the right direction is a crucial parameter

In order to understand the importance of a correctly positioned back, we need to learn about our muscle system and about the difference between the postural muscles and phasic or movement muscles.

he phasic or movement muscles like biceps, quadriceps, adductors, etc. are the ones used for walking, running, raising an arm or a leg, carrying some weights, using our spurs, etc... These large muscles that are located under our skin are really strong but not resistant as they’re supposed to work only in a discontinued manner.

The postural muscles are on the other way, not very strong but very resistant. They are located deeper in our body, mainly around our joints and along the spine. They are called postural muscles because they support the frame of our body. As previously said, these muscles are useful in sustaining our verticality and supporting our body against gravity.

Our way of life and our natural tendency to do as little effort as possible, push us to under-use our postural muscles. That’s the worse we can do to ourselves.

To convince ourselves, we just need to watch the position of people sitting at the terrace of a café. They slouch on their chairs, the back rounded, seated sideways, legs crossed, head in their hands…All these bad postures are tensing the motion muscles, and shortening the ones of the back.

 While riding and especially when approaching fences, we are functioning the same way. The lack of back support and our bad habits push us to use our superficial muscles first: to hold onto the reins, to apply too much pressure with our legs, to pinch the knees into the saddle, to contract our shoulders…meaning to act with strength where we should act with relaxation and looseness. This over-use of movement muscles is done to the detriment to the postural muscles. The rider lets go of his back which make it impossible for him to stay steady and to use his aids correctly to maintain his horse in good conditions on the approach.
That’s different with an advanced rider who is able to maintain the correct muscle tone to control his horse almost exclusively with his back muscles.

On the contrary of the movement or phasic muscles which we instinctively contract, our deep muscles require a voluntary and conscious process. To stay upright requires one’s willing to do it. This is the mind aspect of balance.

Extract of the book "Les secrets de l'abord parfait"