This word has been floating around in my head the last few days.
Planning – It is the key to success and although you can do things ‘on a whim’, planning will add to your successes.

Plan your ride  – Each time you step your foot into the stirrup, you should have a plan for that ride, exercises and goal or outcome for your ride. Having a plan gives you a systematic progression towards a specific goal. Not having a goal makes you a reactive rider and reacting to your horse rather than planning how to achieve a goal or outcome.

This does not mean however, once you are on you have to ridgidly stick to that goal. Your horse may not have had the same plan as you that day and you may have to juggle your plan to accomodate the horse you are sitting on today.

For example, today you may have planned to, based on your previous ride, work on your lateral suppleness and have a circle, serpentine routine developed. Once you get on your horse you realize he has not read the plan book and is not moving off the leg as he should. This means you may have to scrap your plan and move onto Plan ‘B’, getting the horse off your leg.

All this to say once you have a plan do not be afraid to morph it into something which is going to work with you on the day.

Planning keeps you on track

If you are going on vacation you usually have some kind of itenerary. How do you know when you ‘get there’ if you don’t have a plan.
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“Begin with the end in mind”
Steven Covey

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When you are setting out to achieve something make sure you have a clear ending of where you want to be. From here you can formulate your plan of action.

If you would like to get to L.A., that is the end point – your arrival in LA. You begin with the end in mind. Then you can fit all the other details into place.

How does this relate to riding?

[jbox color=”white”] It’s easy. If you know where you want to be, then you can fill in the blanks of how you can get there. Right now get a piece of paper and a pencil.

1. Take your pencil and divide your paper into three columns.
2. Number the columns 1., 2., 3.
3. Label column 1. Where I Am Now
4. Label column 3. Where I Would Like to Be
5. Label column 2. – Stuff I have to get done to get from column 1. to column 3.

Column number 2. is where all the action happens. Here is a sample of how to fill it out. Download your planning table with a sample filled in for you already.

If you plan now and understand which direction you would like to go in, then you will be able to achieve your goals faster and have precise actions which should be taken to make those goals obtainable.
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When in doubt – Plan!

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