Competition nerves are when you feel worried, stressed or uneasy during competitive situations. You can experience nerves before, during or after being in the ring. If you feel too nervous, try:
Breathing slowly
Slow down, don’t rush yourself
Look at your friends and family for support
Don’t dwell on previous mistakes and don’t be too hard on yourself, they happen to everyone – move on to the next jump, showing class, or dressage movement.
Grounding techniques - these are little rituals that can take your mind off nerves, e.g. have a drink, eat a banana. Anything that makes you feel in the present.
Riders Minds provide advice on dealing with nerves and stress.
You should never feel under pressure from anyone to compete or train if you’re not enjoying it. Try explaining to them the reasons you wish to stop or take a break. If they continue to push you, speak to someone you trust.
For more information see Advice for children and young people – British Equestrian
For further support see NSPCC MY MAGIC SPORTS KIT – ‘IT’S OUR GAME, NOT YOURS’
These tips cover how to deal with the demands of competition as well as other important issues which may arise when taking part.
If the stress of competing is getting too much, tell someone. This could be your parent, coach, teacher or Safeguarding Officer - don’t deal with it alone. This is especially important if someone is putting pressure on you – let them know how they are making you feel.
Everyone has days when they’re not on top form. If you have a bad competition day or practice, try not to dwell on it and try again another day.
A great way to deal with both bad days and good days is to treat them both as a learning opportunity. Ask yourself what you learnt.
Talk through your experiences with someone you trust, whether that’s a family member, friend or coach; it’s always good to open up about how you feel and how you can learn. From there, you can create goals to continue improving.
Give yourself and your horse time to improve. In all sports there is a pattern of quick development at first, and as you get better and more experienced, it’s harder to keep seeing the same level of progression.
Competing and training can give you fantastic opportunities to travel across the country to different venues, but this also means time away from home and family which is sometimes not easy. If you find it tough being away, try to keep in touch with those back home as much as you can by text, phone or video call. Also, let the coach and the rest of your group/ team know that you’re not finding it easy, they'll understand. Try not to be alone too much.
You might think about giving up equestrian sport at times, especially if you’re struggling with exams, injuries or underperforming. If you are not enjoying competing, remember you can always take a break or try something different, whether that is a new discipline, hacking out to explore the countryside, or simply enjoying spending time with your horse.
You should never feel under pressure from anyone to compete or train if you’re not enjoying it. Try explaining to them the reasons you wish to stop or take a break. If they continue to push you, speak to someone you trust.
For more information see Advice for children and young people - British Equestrian
If you find someone is being abusive to you or overly friendly, report it immediately to an adult you trust. Abuse is never ok. It’s not your fault.
These are the types of abuse and some examples that could occur:
Verbal abuse: e.g. someone calling you names when you don’t ride well
Emotional: e.g. someone giving you the silent treatment when you don’t win
Physical: e.g. someone hitting you.
Neglect: e.g. being left alone at the stables all day without any food or the money to buy anything
Sexual abuse: e.g. someone touching you in an inappropriate manner
Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behaviour that can be in several forms:
Verbal bullying: saying negative or mean things e.g. name calling
Social bullying: hurting someone’s reputation or relationships with other people e.g. spreading rumours about someone
Physical bullying: hurting a person’s body or their possessions e.g. breaking someone’s phone or kicking someone
Bullying is wrong in any area of life. If you find someone is bullying you, do not deal with it alone and please tell someone you trust.
Discrimination in any sport is not okay. British Equestrian and our Member Bodies work hard to ensure that no individual receives more or less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, sex, gender, disability, race, parental or marital status, pregnancy, religion or belief, sexual orientation and gender reassignment.
This includes all those involved in different capacities across the industry whether participants, employees, coaches, consultants, owners, officials, volunteers and spectators.
If you have a concern around discrimination contact the your venue or Member Body Safeguarding Officer or email the British Equestrian Safeguarding Team on safeguarding@bef.co.uk
If you have a concern about the welfare of a child, young person or adult at risk, or the behaviour of an adult towards a child, young person or adult at risk, you must report it as soon as possible.
Use the Report a concern form, or speak to the Safeguarding Officer at your venue, Member Body, or the BEF directly via safeguarding@bef.co.uk
For more information please see: Reporting a problem - British Equestrian
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