Why do competitions make our hearts hammer, mouths go dry, and hands tremble? We may never get nervous riding at home, but as soon as we step into that show ring (or clinic, or in front of peers, or riding a difficult horse), it can feel like something primal just takes over.

As it turns out, that is exactly what’s happening. Competition (whether you’re actually at a show or not) is deeply rooted into our biology and the presence of it can cause our bodies to fight, flight, or freeze. Certainly not the modes we want to be in when we’re trying to remember a course, or relax our tense horses. Thanks, evolution.

The good news is that our nervous system doesn’t have to hinder us, in fact, it can help us. But it takes some work, and some information.

Natalie Hummel is a high performance coach specializing in nervous system regulation. In this episode, she and Caroline discuss how we can improve our results by creating our own sense of safety and expanding our capacities for stress and pressure. They also cover:

• The three different nervous system states and why some of them make learning new things biologically impossible.

• How to process uncomfortable emotions like fear, shame, or anger, so you can get back to a performance state.

• Why shame and feelings of “not enoughness” may be holding you back, even if you’re not aware of them.

• Why overworking, perfectionism, and knowledge-seeking, are actually avoidance strategies.

• How to recognize ineffective coaching.

Thank you to our sponsors, Equestrian Masterclass and Nikovian.