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The Gritty Rider Blog

 Get Gritty Mental Skills, Confidence Building, Motivation and more for Gritty Riders.
​Also some entertaining stories.
Photo by Lynn Raguse

Got Confidence?

10/22/2020

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Horsewomen I work with list lack of confidence as the biggest barrier to achieving their dreams.

Whether your lack of confidence is caused by an accident, a change in life circumstances (like becoming a mother!), or simply the realization that you are not immortal and don't bounce like you used to, the result is the same.

Horse activities that were once your dream, your passion, are no longer fun. Instead you might experience sweaty palms, upset stomach, shortness of breath, intense fear and anxiety. For some horsewomen it becomes so terrible that they no longer want to ride.

You may have been told to just get over it, and get back on the horse. Or that all fear is caused by a lack of knowledge, so to fix it you just need to take more lessons. You may have even tried many different things to get your confidence back, but nothing seems to help.

If this is you, don't despair. It doesn't have to be this way!

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Too cold to ride? Visualize!

10/22/2020

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It’s cold. The snow is falling, the wind is blowing, and the tractor won’t start. After you have finally finished thawing out frozen water tanks and struggling to feed hay, let’s be honest-you are too exhausted to even consider riding.

You start to feel guilty. That inner critic voice starts chiming in-how are you supposed to be ready for competitions this spring if you don’t practice consistently? Your horse will get fat and out of shape if you don’t ride. How are you supposed to achieve your goals and improve your horsemanship if you don’t put in the effort and ride?

Let’s put an end to that nagging voice, and show yourself some self-compassion.

The reality is that some days you simply can’t ride. Whether the weather makes it unsafe to ride, you are simply too tired from other obligations, or maybe you or your horse are even experiencing a lay off to recover from injury-whatever the reason, it is ok.

There are still things that you can do on days when you can’t ride to keep moving forward towards your horsemanship goals. One of the simplest and easiest is to practice the mental skill of visualization.

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Married with Horses

10/22/2020

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“Oh Chevy, you don’t understand. Your husband is a horseman. He gets the horse thing, and supports your riding.”

This comment from a client recently had my head spinning.

Mostly because she was right. I do have trouble relating to partners that don’t “get” the horse thing.

My husband rides, and he is pretty punchy. He likes his horses hot, and he likes to ride fast. Confidence is not an issue for him! He understands the amount of time, blood, sweat, tears, and $$ it takes to make a good, safe horse. While he doesn’t show, he understands it and gets that it is important to me.

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Chevy and #RanchHorseBreezy's Great Buffalo Adventure, Part 5: YOLO

10/22/2020

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French Creek Horse Camp-the view from my campsite.
​I awoke on Saturday morning feeling sad. Today was the day that I would need to pack up my little camp, load Breezy, and head back home.

The past three days had been wonderful. I had met some really cool people, ridden along the beautiful French Creek Trail, felt the rumble and heard the thunder as I galloped alongside a herd of buffalo, and ridden in the dark on a rescue mission.

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Chevy and #RanchHorseBreezy's Great Buffalo Adventure, Part 4: Maps Should Have Scales

10/22/2020

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The Roundup was amazing. (Read Part 3 for the Roundup story if you haven’t already.) Breezy and I made our way back to the French Creek Horse Camp after the Roundup and relaxed for awhile.

At about 2:30, my camp neighbors (the Sherriff’s Posse members from Colorado) asked if I wanted to join them for a short trail ride along French Creek. They had pulled out a trail map, and guessed that we could take a relaxing ride on the French Creek Trail Loop. Scott, the cowboy poet and amazing campfire cook, was staying back at camp and making pork chops and biscuits, and told us to be back by 7 for supper.

So Allan, John, Andrea and I saddled up and off we went.

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Chevy and #RanchHorseBreezy's Great Buffalo Adventure, Part 3: The Buffalo Roundup!

10/22/2020

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​I woke up every hour that night, checking the time in a panic, worried that I had overslept and missed the Roundup. At 4:51 am, I got out of my sleeping bag, too excited to sleep. I made coffee, fed Breezy his morning hay and grain, and headed to the camp shower house for a quick shower. I got dressed in a new shirt and my favorite wrangler jeans. Even though my stomach was full of butterflies, I made myself eat some reheated pancakes.

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Chevy & #RanchHorseBreezy’s Great Buffalo Adventure, Part 2: Orientation Day

10/22/2020

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I woke up Thursday morning feeling excited. Today was the Buffalo Roundup Riders Orientation Day!

As I sat drinking my coffee, watching a mama bighorn sheep and her baby run around, I thought about how blessed I was to be here today. I also thought about all of the work that Breezy and I have done over the past few years to make this possible.

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Chevy & #RanchHorseBreezy’s Great Buffalo Adventure, Part 1: The Journey to Custer State Park

10/22/2020

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Loaded up and ready to go!
The trailer was hooked up and packed with everything I could possibly need for a 5 day adventure. The truck was fueled. Extra spare tires were strapped to the flat bed.

#RanchHorseBreezy was a little reluctant to load (seriously Breezy!?!), but a quick wave of the flag reminded him of proper trailer loading procedures.

And then we were headed west!

This adventure is the furthest I have ever hauled by myself. Planned for this adventure was many activities that were most definitely outside of my comfort zone. Honestly, my biggest worry was whether I would be able to back my rig into my camping spot when I finally made it to Custer State Park!

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Does your horse have a PHD?

9/17/2020

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When a horse has a PHD, it almost isn't noticeable. 

When a horse doesn't have a PHD, it is very noticeable.

​What do I mean by PHD?

Post Holding Degree.

​Does your horse have a PHD?


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Ask Chevy: Why Are There Horse Toys On Your Shelf? (The Power of Visual Reminders of Your Goals)

9/10/2020

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    About Chevy

    Hi, I'm Chevy. I'm a Mama to two adorable cowboys, a Farm Wife helping manage our herd of Hereford cattle, I prefer to be horseback whenever possible, I have a passion for horsemanship and helping riders learn the mental skills they need to get gritty and go after their big horse dreams.

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