Welcome to my first blog this year!! Its perhaps a couple of weeks late, but I have been busy getting back to what I know and love!
I started coaching again at the beginning of January, and I was pretty apprehensive as only 3 weeks prior to this I had to go to bed after teaching 1 half hour session! However I have worked gradually to increase the amount I can do, but I am now back doing clinics and nearly normal hours.
This last month has been a massive learning curve! I have come to the conclusion that for most of my working life I have got by, by fitting as much as I can in and totally winging being prepared with my Nutrition, rest and in fact most of my self care! I have in fact become what can only be described as a professional 'winger' -no joke! I had it down, and I really knew no other way. However now my body, especially as it is still recovering, will not let me 'wing' my way through!! I have learnt to prep the night before a clinic, plan my sleep, schedule time for the gym, and most importantly plan in rest days. If I'm honest I have done the full scale of achieving this - I've failed, I've learnt, I've partially got it right and I have even nailed it some days!!
In my last blog I said that I had just started riding again, and that really makes me appreciate how far I have come in the last month, as I made it back out to a competition!!! I genuinely thought it would be months before I would be anywhere near it, but Borris has been going brilliantly at home and I decided I would test the waters! We survived!! I managed to tow the trailer, remember my test and not be totally shattered by the whole process, all of which are major achievements!!
The real goal behind going out so soon was to test if I would be ready to take Dotty to regionals, however although I might have been, she wont be, and sometimes that is ok!! There will be more regionals, and if we look at the bigger picture it's just one show.
I have set myself plenty of goals for the next few months, on the horses and off, and I cant wait to see what I can do! I still have a fair bit of strengthening and fitness work to do, so as a result I am not riding clients horses untill I feel fit enough to do so. February is all about confirming and building my new habits and routines, I'm taking this little set back as an opportunity. It's an opportunity to redesign my lifestyle so it remains sustainable and I can continue to deliver the best of me to my horses, clients and of course everyone who supports me.
I love this time of year for all the training that is available, so far I have attended the BD Young Horse Forum and the International Eventing Forum, which were both brilliant! I'm really looking forward to the next 2 coaching conferences in the next month. I love to learn and have started to embrace the world of podcasts which has satisfied my need for knowledge!! It's so important to stay up to date and to keep learning, even if it's just one thing a day! I had my first call with Jenni from Flying Changes Coaching, last week and we have added a few things to my morning routine to help maximise my performance every day.
I am loving being back out there riding, improving and helping people on their journeys. The next couple of months will be exciting as I get to put into practice everything I have learnt over the winter!
