How to Ease Anxiety Before, During, and After Riding Competitions

Anyone who has competed in an athletic event has experienced nerves or jitters beforehand. Anxiety is a natural human response to a potential threat, and it occurs when the body enters the fight-or-flight response. The mind perceives an immediate physical danger and reacts accordingly by breathing in more oxygen and flooding the body with cortisol.

This fight-or-flight response works beautifully to keep you safe from physical danger. However, the brain cannot distinguish between a real and perceived threat, so your body might react the same way in an athletic competition. Instead of facing a physical threat like a bear, you are facing a threat to your self-esteem and identity. To perform well, you must find a way to tame the physiological stress response in your body and tap into a calm, clear headspace.

Why are you competing?

To face pre-competition anxiety, consider why you are participating in the first place. What is your essential motivation for riding? Do you love connecting with your horse? Do you enjoy seeing progress in your riding? Are you pursuing a specific level of competition? There is no wrong reason for competing, but clarifying your own will help you gain perspective and hone your expectations.

If you pinpoint connection with your horse as your key motivation, you might not be as upset if you do not perform as well as you hoped. Likewise, you can develop strategies and preparation techniques that can best support your goals, and you can view your competitive experience through that particular lens.

Focus on the process, not results

It might seem like the obvious goal of an equestrian competition is a first-place finish. If you fixate exclusively on the results of your competition, you will inevitably end up disappointed when you fall short. Shifting your focus to the process instead of the outcome can broaden your perspective, enrich your experience, and often, improve your performance.

Process-focused riding begins with your training. Develop a set of routines that emphasize the elements of competition you can control and ignore those out of your control. For example, you cannot know how your competitors will perform in the event. Likewise, you have no influence on the weather, the venue, or the spectators. The more you put these factors out of your mind and instead tune into your own body, you will feel calmer and more focused.

Come prepared

Most equestrians feel more confident and relaxed on competition days when they have trained sufficiently. This means that easing competition anxiety begins weeks or even months before the big day. Once you are clear on your competition “why,” focus on the competition “how.”

Where are you currently in your training? How will you close the gap between your current status and your end goal? If your goal is to have fun, what elements do you need to work on to ensure you are not stressed out and anxious during the competition? Finally, how will you measure your attainment of this goal?

As your competition approaches, tend to the practical details for you and your horse. A daily plan and diary can help you organize logistics and free up mental space. Whenever you start to feel anxious about the upcoming competition, consider what you would say to a friend who is stressing out. Remind yourself of times you have done well in the past, maybe even writing out some positive affirmations you can read when you begin to doubt yourself.

On the day of the event, remind yourself that nerves and anxiety are a normal part of competition. Come prepared with a toolkit of strategies to keep yourself calm and steady. First, be mindful while practicing each step of getting yourself and your horse ready, paying attention to the temperature, the sounds around you, or the smells in the air. Anchoring yourself to your senses can provide a powerful sense of calm and focus.

Next, take the time to mentally picture yourself riding calmly and with self-assurance. Take yourself through each step of the competition, imagining yourself completing each task successfully. As doubtful thoughts creep in, observe them and let them pass without allowing them to derail your focus.

Practical tips

Anxiety exists in the body as well as the mind, so a physiological approach can be highly effective in managing it. Begin with your breathing. In flight-or-flight mode, your heart rate accelerates and breathing becomes faster and shallower, which increases anxious feelings. To interrupt this feedback loop, try breathing in through your nose to a count of four, holding your breath for a count of four, exhaling for a count of four, then pausing for a count of four before repeating the cycle. This “box breathing” effectively calms the nervous system and helps everyone from Navy SEALs to police officers manage stress in high-pressure situations.

After the event

Don’t miss out on the valuable chance to reflect on your progress and performance after the event. In the days following the competition, think about what went well, what felt good, and where you might focus your efforts more before the next competition. Deliberately reflecting on the experience not only helps identify areas for improvement but can build confidence and self-awareness. Even if you do not perform as well as you wish, reframing failure as an opportunity for feedback will keep you motivated to continue riding.