Disclaimer: our thoughts:

 Possibly unwanted and unwarranted - feel free to stop reading now...

The Confidence Cup for Riders - the theory is that confidence is built through repeated positive experiences.

Every good ride, successful outing and moment of trust fills the cup.

So when the occasional “bad thing” happens — a spook, stop, poor round or confidence wobble — it doesn’t completely drain confidence… because the cup is still 95% full.

But when riders or horses only experience negative moments? The cup empties quickly — and confidence can hit rock bottom.

This is why some partnerships look invincible.

Take Amelia and Spicy Nina (yes… she has a red chilli bridle charm ).

Nina can be dramatic — kick out, jack up, bite and often reminds us that she has opinions.

But Amelia’s confidence in Nina isn’t shaken by the behaviour.

Why?

Because their confidence in each other is rock solid. They’ve had enough positive experiences together that the occasional theatrics don’t empty the cup.

That may not be the case in a new partnership.

A new rider may see the experience the same behaviour and completely lose confidence.

And that’s exactly why horse matching matters.

This is why we have to ask the difficult questions and our clients need to answer honestly.

We need to assess whether confidence is built on a lifetime of varied experiences AND is truly resilient — regardless of the horse and occasional setbacks — or whether it’s heavily tied to one partnership and years of positive experiences.

Because they’re very different things.

And understanding that difference can prevent very expensive and stressful mismatches.

And, if you are looking to increase your confidence - contact Marcia Williamson at @amwequine She may - in fact - have been the inventor this concept !

Marcia is the rock star of rider mindset, goal setting and confidence building. She has been in our corner for over ten years and we wouldn’t be here without her.