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Chapter Titles
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Sometimes it seems the more we try the worse we ride. Developing
mental skills along with the physical ones allows riders to ride more
effectively without the tensions we set up by "trying".
Chartered psychologist April Clay has written a practical how-to
manual that leads riders step-by-step through the process of becoming
"thinking riders".
She helps horse riders learn to use goal-setting, self-talk,
visualization and focus to improve their riding whether for pleasure or
competition. She discusses how to manage butterflies and deal with fears
of various kinds.
Available in both paperback and e-book formats, Training from the
Neck Up includes clear explanations as well as exercises for you
to complete. Drawing from her own experience riding hunter/jumpers, Clay
also gives lots of real-life examples.
The e-book version has several advantages. The most important is that
you can get it immediately. You can download your copy right away, print
it out and put it in a binder (or read it on screen and just print the
exercise pages). To repeat exercises, for example if you want to
re-assess your goals, you just print out a clean page.
Chapter Titles
Introduction
Part One: Learning the Basics
1. Where Are You Going?
Discovering your motivation
Tips and suggestions
Some reasons why people fail to meet their goals
2. Talking the Talk
How you talk to yourself=what you believe about yourself
Awareness
A word about perception
Identifying the problem
Changing the content of your thoughts
Stop the pattern of negative thinking
Challenge the evidence
Reframe your thoughts
Uses for self-talk
3. The Movies You Play
What is visualization or imagery?
The skills you need
Visualizing in real time, slow motion and fast motion
What visualization can do for your performance
How to get started
Using visualization to help you learn
Using visualization to help you cope
Peak performance imagery
4. Concentration and Focus
Distractions
What to focus on
What is flow
Different types of attention
Strategies for improving your concentration
5. Managing Your Butterflies
What does it mean to have butterflies?
The components of anxiety
The costs of anxiety
Managing the physical aspects
Managing the psychological aspects
Teaching yourself to cope
6. Dealing with Different Fears
Assessing your fears
Common responses to fear
Physical fear
Mental fear
The general worrier
Fear of something specific
Performance fears
7. Managing Your Energy
What is intensity?
Finding your optimal intensity level
Regulation of your intensity level
Part Two: Training and Competition
8. Making the Most of Your Training Time
Learning efficiently
Becoming a "thinking rider"
Tracking your progress
Putting it together
Developing confidence
9. Skills of the Successful Competitor
Pressures specific to competition
Pre-competition plans
After the competition
Attributes of successful competitive riders
APPENDIX: Mental Skills Assessment
Bibliography
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Horse Books Reviewed
