32 / Sport and Trail Magazine
Disrupt Yourself
By Lauren Woodard
Amanda McGentry and her horse Arizona during a Mounted Archery clinic
Photo by Aponi
This is the second article and a continuation of last month’s mounted archery training “Your Exceptional Path.”
We left you with the word BAREBACK to ponder. And if resistance to the prospect of even trying it once has your hackles all up, smile because you’re a prime candidate to be amazed at your results.
Doing things the way you’ve always done will lead you to be disrupted by someone or something who changes with the environment. That would be your horse and the situations. If you’re operating out of habit, you’ve stopped thinking and are mindlessly drifting through your riding and archery. This means you’re not really in control.
If you seek to master a skill and then ignore proper training you will, by default, be relying on ignorance. This will leave you open to a lack of discipline and exposes your rides to chance. Hope, as in, Gee I hope my run goes well. Or, Gee, I hope my horse doesn’t bolt off. Or Gee I hope my horse isn’t too fractious at the start line (a future article) – Hope is NOT a good strategy.
How to change.
It’s really simple, but it’s a mindset and that isn’t particularly easy.
SEEK OUT OBSTACLES.
Most people try to avoid obstacles. This is counter-productive and I’m all about being productive. Obstacles provide us with challenges we probably won’t like, but that will help us immensely. Obstacles are what we learn from. No one learns anything when everything goes their way including the horse. Yes, horses need disruption, too.
MANAGING THE PROCESS
Most people stick with the status quo even when big gains can be made from a change that involves just a small cost. We are sadly attached to loss aversion. A nudge, such as trying this bareback thing ONE time can be so effective. The trade-offs – fear, resistance to change and such, are worth making. The situational knowledge and insights that you will gain are huge!
How to execute.
Balance - Exceptional riding isn't holding on with your legs. It's balancing on the horse, with the horse. Use your legs for touch/feel, steadying your balance occasionally and signaling.
Everyone's given piggyback rides. What do you say to the kid that's breaking your ribs squeezing his legs and choking you with his death grip on your neck????? Yep. You say "Relax. I've got ya!" So does the horse for the most part. It's not like you're going to fall into his intestines. Just sit there. No squeezing with your knees.
Learn to relax and just sit there. Walk around and don't steer or grip. Make sure you let your toes hang down and let loose in your thighs. If your toes are up... you're not relaxed. It's impossible to have your toes up without the muscles in your legs pulling them up. So, ergo, you're not completely relaxed. After you’re comfortable with that, start asking for a lot of turns. Anyone can stay on when the horse is going straight. It’s the turns that challenge your balance and let you know what to work on. Do some really sharp ones as you level up. 180’s and such at a crisp walk.
Eventually, you can move up to trotting and cantering/loping without picking up your reins or changing the energy in your seat or gripping with your legs. Now this upper level will take some time, so don’t get attached to a ‘when’. And you may decide that you don’t want to canter. That’s all right, but make a conscious thought about why you don’t want to when the sport you’re studying to improve in requires cantering and better skills involved in your horsemanship journey. You'll be so glad you can learn and feel where you will want to make adjustments when you have a saddle on as you’ll be able to notice imbalances, tipping and gripping. And your horse will be delighted with the changes, too.
Many people claim they want to learn new things or to do something better. But, secretly they think they know enough and don’t change. There is never an end to the personal development journey
Something to keep in mind is the beginning of this article. If you don’t disrupt yourself, your horse is going to. You’re going to have something disruptive happen because you won’t stay the same with your skills. You get worse if you don’t get better. If you’re tipping for any reason, you’ll start tipping farther, or more often. Until you realize it or even think about the possibility from reading this article, you will start ingraining some nasty habits. Then, you’ll hit your tipping point, things will go amiss because your balance is off and you haven’t checked yourself. Your horse will veer or spook or something and you’ll not be on top, let alone letting an arrow loose to hit a target.
When you’re bareback, you just can’t get away with the saddle saving you or finding out that you’ve reached too far. These inclinations need to be challenged in order for you to advance your skills. Saddles, for some reason, seem to give us the POWER. We’re want to think we’re invincible with a tool instead of being invincible with our skills.
If you really want to be an exceptional mounted archer, you will need an achiever mindset. Of course you’re going to keep shooting arrows at targets – the fun part. Nothing is going to infringe on that. But, shooting the arrow is a much smaller part as far as your actual success, than your horsemanship skills and the training of your marvelous mount. You’re going to be able to accomplish so much with your great new skills. Even if you only consider your horse and saddle tools, as I know many folks do (even though that gets me in a bunch), to get you where you want to get with your mounted archery you need to add this knowledge, change of mindset and skills to your toolbox.
If you say you want to learn or get better and then hide from what it takes, maybe re-evaluate. Those who do not give this a shot (pun intended) and continue on without these targeted skills, that’s fine. All the rest of us who have decided, yes decided to get one hundred times better with this one change will not only be just fine with that, but delighted to have all the success that a higher level of skill always brings to the competition.
Carpe Diem!
These are some of the first questions you’ll then ask yourself and after them, we can move on to more precision in your abilities to analyze and adjust for better results and better questions.
As in:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
I’m going to give you some concepts and situations for your consideration relative to these initial questions so that you can apply it to your answers for you and your horse.
Many people are taught to lean into the bow while shooting and of course there are reasons to approach it with these words, but we must, must, must (not a typo) place a high value on the degree to which we lean. Check yourself. How far would you lean if you were standing on the ground? And a lean can be anything from a slight shift of weight in the upper body while dropped into your balanced core, to looking like you’re tilted up on your front foot and… completely out of balance. Would you think it would be a good idea to be out of balance on your horse? And if you didn’t have stirrups, a saddle and pinchy knees, would you be able to maintain that position? If not, could it be correct?
Also for your consideration, if you’re leaning way forward over the horse’s neck when shooting, just where are you going? There’s a good chance that you’re making the horse feel like you’re ahead of her and that she needs to speed up to get up under you. Do you want your horse to speed up? If she thinks this and you don’t say otherwise, you are indeed causing your horse to run faster. If you’re close to flossing your teeth on your horse’s mane, I’d say you’d better straighten up. Don’t get ahead of the horse’s driveline.
If you lean forward and toward the targets i.e. your weight is heavy in that stirrup and your seat bones are also up, out of the saddle and shifted into the lean… shouldn’t your horse, who you’ve hopefully trained to give to pressure, shift or track toward the outside? Might that cause your foot to catch in the track barrier rope or your horse to go off course just doing what your body is telling him to do?
Hmmmmmmm… Aren’t these pretty darned important questions?
And because every great hmmmmmm… deserves a great how (my line) I’ll just start you off with some action steps to get your baseline. To help you challenge assumptions and get yourself straightened out, start on the ground with a shooting stance and see what you tend to do.
1)
2)
3)
If you’ve seen the recent Bridgestone Tire commercials with the Olympic archery shooters – there isn’t even a hint of leaning. I’ve included this for your consideration.
Now, THINK about sitting on your horse – preferably bareback. But, if you must use a saddle at least drop your stirrups. After all we’re just in your mind here.
1) What CAN you do differently to challenge where you currently are in your position?
Please keep in mind that these are discovery experiments. Don’t get stuck on how you think you were taught or how you’ve “always done it”. Our job is to get you better from here. And what got you here isn’t going to get you to the next level. You need to up your skills, preparation and MINDSET.
Try #1 > something DIFFERENT > get an unexpected reality > get more curious.
Try #2 > something DIFFERENT > get a NEW unexpected reality > get more curious.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
These might be way big different things or it could be as small as a tad less leaning into your bow or cocking your head just bit down the arrow.
Now, go get on your horse and apply what you challenged yourself with while mounted. Don’t get all chompie to shoot and let yourself get off track. Ha! Little mounted archery joke there, particularly if you’re pushing your horse off with that weight imbalance and a heavy leg pushing into his side while your heel kind of digs in as you attempt to keep yourself upright.
Have you come this far to only come this far? I think NOT!
There is nothing to lose. You’re experimenting. You’re on an adventure. Lets go for Exceptional!
Lauren has been teaching and training for over 40 years and is the author of two books that are pure magic for horsemanship – “Curbside Service” and “Balky, Balky, I Ain’t Goin’”. Find out how to be strategic in your best next steps to Exceptional Horsemanship for Mounted Archery by grabbing her “Wouldn’t It Be Great If ____?” Quiz to check your perspective and propel your horsemanship on her exceptionalhorsemanship.com site.
trying this bareback thing ONE time can be so effective. The trade-offs – fear, resistance to change and such, are worth making. The situational knowledge and insights that you will gain are huge!
HOW TO EXECUTE
Balance - Exceptional riding isn't holding on with your legs. It's balancing on the horse, with the horse. Use your legs for touch/feel, steadying your balance occasionally and signaling.
Everyone's given piggyback rides. What do you say to the kid that's breaking your ribs squeezing his legs and choking you with his death grip on your neck? Yep. You say "Relax. I've got ya!" So does the horse for the most part. It's not like you're going to fall into his intestines. Just sit there. No squeezing with your knees.
Learn to relax and just sit there. Walk around and don't steer or grip. Make sure you let your toes hang down and let loose in your thighs. If your toes are up... you're not relaxed. It's impossible to have your toes up without the muscles in your legs pulling them up. So, ergo, you're not completely relaxed. After you’re comfortable with that, start asking for a lot of turns. Anyone can stay on when the horse is going straight. It’s the turns that challenge your balance and let you know what to work on. Do some really sharp ones as you level up. 180’s and such at a crisp walk.
Eventually, you can move up to trotting and cantering/loping without picking up your reins or changing the energy in your seat or gripping with your legs. Now this upper level will take some time, so don’t get attached to a ‘when’. And you may decide that you don’t want to canter. That’s all right, but make a conscious thought about why you don’t want to when the sport you’re studying to improve in requires cantering and better skills involved in your horsemanship journey. You'll be so glad you can learn and feel where you will want to make adjustments when you have a saddle on as you’ll be able to notice imbalances, tipping and gripping. And your horse will be delighted with the changes, too.
Many people claim they want to learn new things or to do something better. But, secretly they think they know enough and don’t change. There is never an end to the personal development journey
Something to keep in mind is the beginning of this article. If you don’t disrupt yourself, your horse is going to. You’re going to have something disruptive happen because you won’t stay the same with your skills. You get worse if you don’t get better. If you’re tipping for any reason, you’ll start tipping farther, or more often. Until you realize it or even think about the possibility from reading this article, you will start ingraining some nasty habits. Then, you’ll hit your tipping point, things will go amiss because your balance is off and you haven’t checked yourself. Your horse will veer or spook or something and you’ll not be on top, let alone letting an arrow loose to hit a target.
When you’re bareback, you just can’t get away with the saddle saving you or finding out that you’ve reached too far. These inclinations need to be challenged in order for you to advance your skills. Saddles, for some reason, seem to give us the POWER. We’re want to think we’re invincible with a tool instead of being invincible with our skills.
If you really want to be an exceptional mounted archer, you will need an achiever mindset. Of course you’re going to keep shooting arrows at targets – the fun part. Nothing is going to infringe on that. But, shooting the arrow is a much smaller part as far as your actual success, than your horsemanship skills and the training of your marvelous mount. You’re going to be able to accomplish so much with your great new skills. Even if you only consider your horse and saddle tools, as I know many folks do (even though that gets me in a bunch), to get you where you want to get with your mounted archery you need to add this knowledge, change of mindset and skills to your toolbox.
If you say you want to learn or get better and then hide from what it takes, maybe re-evaluate. Those who do not give this a shot (pun intended) and continue on without these targeted skills, that’s fine. All the rest of us who have decided, yes decided to get one hundred times better with this one change will not only be just fine with that, but delighted to have all the success that a higher level of skill always brings to the competition.
Carpe Diem!
These are some of the first questions you’ll then ask yourself and after them, we can move on to more precision in your abilities to analyze and adjust for better results and better questions.
As in:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
I’m going to give you some concepts and situations for your consideration relative to these initial questions so that you can apply it to your answers for you and your horse.
Many people are taught to lean into the bow while shooting and of course there are reasons to approach it with these words, but we must, must, must (not a typo) place a high value on the degree to which we lean. Check yourself. How far would you lean if you were standing on the ground? And a lean can be anything from a slight shift of weight in the upper body while dropped into your balanced core, to looking like you’re tilted up on your front foot and… completely out of balance. Would you think it would be a good idea to be out of balance on your horse? And if you didn’t have stirrups, a saddle and pinchy knees, would you be able to maintain that position? If not, could it be correct?
Also for your consideration, if you’re leaning way forward over the horse’s neck when shooting, just where are you going? There’s a good chance that you’re making the horse feel like you’re ahead of her and that she needs to speed up to get up under you. Do you want your horse to speed up? If she thinks this and you don’t say otherwise, you are indeed causing your horse to run faster. If you’re close to flossing your teeth on your horse’s mane, I’d say you’d better straighten up. Don’t get ahead of the horse’s driveline.
If you lean forward and toward the targets i.e. your weight is heavy in that stirrup and your seat bones are also up, out of the saddle and shifted into the lean… shouldn’t your horse, who you’ve hopefully trained to give to pressure, shift or track toward the outside? Might that cause your foot to catch in the track barrier rope or your horse to go off course just doing what your body is telling him to do?
Hmmmmmmm… Aren’t these pretty darned important questions?
And because every great hmmmmmm… deserves a great how (my line) I’ll just start you off with some action steps to get your baseline. To help you challenge assumptions and get yourself straightened out, start on the ground with a shooting stance and see what you tend to do.
1)
2)
3)
If you’ve seen the recent Bridgestone Tire commercials with the Olympic archery shooters – there isn’t even a hint of leaning. I’ve included this for your consideration.
Now, THINK about sitting on your horse – preferably bareback. But, if you must use a saddle at least drop your stirrups. After all we’re just in your mind here.
1) What CAN you do differently to challenge where you currently are in your position?
Please keep in mind that these are discovery experiments. Don’t get stuck on how you think you were taught or how you’ve “always done it”. Our job is to get you better from here. And what got you here isn’t going to get you to the next level. You need to up your skills, preparation and MINDSET.
Try #1 > something DIFFERENT > get an unexpected reality > get more curious.
Try #2 > something DIFFERENT > get a NEW unexpected reality > get more curious.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
These might be way big different things or it could be as small as a tad less leaning into your bow or cocking your head just bit down the arrow.
Now, go get on your horse and apply what you challenged yourself with while mounted. Don’t get all chompie to shoot and let yourself get off track. Ha! Little mounted archery joke there, particularly if you’re pushing your horse off with that weight imbalance and a heavy leg pushing into his side while your heel kind of digs in as you attempt to keep yourself upright.
Have you come this far to only come this far? I think NOT!
There is nothing to lose. You’re experimenting. You’re on an adventure. Lets go for Exceptional!
Lauren has been teaching and training for over 40 years and is the author of two books that are pure magic for horsemanship – “Curbside Service” and “Balky, Balky, I Ain’t Goin’”. Find out how to be strategic in your best next steps to Exceptional Horsemanship for Mounted Archery by grabbing her “Wouldn’t It Be Great If ____?” Quiz to check your perspective and propel your horsemanship on her exceptionalhorsemanship.com site.