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​Mental Skills, Confidence Building, Motivation, Horse Life Tips, Chevy's Adventure Stories and more for Gritty Cowgirls (and Cowboys!).
Photo by Lynn Raguse

Pressure is a Privilege: Reframing Jitters before a big show

10/17/2022

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Rocky and I with a Top 10 Finish in Senior Ranch Rail Pleasure at Appaloosa Nationals in July. I'm looking forward to showing this great horse in Fort Worth at the Appaloosa World Show!
Next week, I'll be headed to Texas for the Appaloosa World Show. And let me tell you, I am not immune to the pre-show jitters! 

​For me, I am a very achievement oriented person. I have high expectations for myself, and along with that I tend to be highly self-critical. As such, when I start to feel pressure before a show, my internal critical gremlin starts chattering and nerves start to kick in.

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The Warm Up Pen

4/2/2022

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​Oh, the pressure of the warm up pen!
It is so easy to get off track when we see what our competition is doing with their horses.
Are they spinning faster? Loping more collected? Stopping harder? Oh look, they are flexing and bending their horse, maybe I should do that!
If we do not have a set warm up plan of our own, if we do not stay focused on our plan, it is easy to caught up in trying the “win in the warm up pen.” And doing things different or asking for more in the warm up is not going to help you and your horse perform at your best!
So if you feel pressure in the warm up pen, pause.
Take a deep breath.
Stick to what you do on a normal day to warm up your horse.
You can’t win in the warm up pen, but you certainly can lose there!
Get Gritty,
Chevy
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Procrastination

3/27/2022

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​Procrastination is defined as "delaying or postponing something."

We generally procrastinate and delay doing something that we know we need to do.

When it comes to our horsemanship, the root cause of the procrastination often comes down to fear.

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Want to have a good ride? Do this BEFORE you catch your horse

11/4/2020

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Has a close call shaken your confidence with your horse?

10/25/2020

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Click here to sign up for my Free Training Video Series: What To Do After a Close Call to Boost Your Confidence (Instead of Wreck It)



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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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