#5
Can we all just take a little time and be more SMART?
Nope, I’m not being sassy, I’m talking about SMART goals - the acronym may be familiar to you;
This has recently come to my attention when I asked one of my riders what she would like to achieve in her lesson that day. After some ‘umming’ and ‘ahhing’ she said ‘I’d like to work on my position to make him go better’. A perfectly legitimate answer - right?
Let’s say we went ahead and worked on her position - every tiny little detail of how our biomechanics affect the horse and his way of going, then tweaking minor elements, and testing each one out, THEN having to determine whether it had improved the horse’s power, self carriage, straightness, suppleness… It’s quite a lot to cram into one session.
So I demanded she was more specific. I asked her what did she want to improve with the horse. She wanted ‘better’ transitions. So I then asked what else could the horse be doing to produce a better transition. She said he could be more forward and responsive to her leg. I then asked her to be more specific with WHICH transitions she wanted to focus on during that session. she decided on trot - walk, walk - trot and trot - canter. Ah! Now we were getting somewhere.
There’s a reason I was so particular about what she wanted to achieve. It is my job to assist my riders reach their goals, whether long or short term. Achieving something in one session is very short term, and so needs to be achievable within the time frame we have. So let’s go over the SMART acronym;
SPECIFIC
Without being specific you will be setting yourself up for failure. Decide on one small thing to work on that will, in time, improve the bigger picture. Examples may include improving a transition, keep a rhythm over a line of ten poles, jump a course of 90cm, ride a 15m in canter on the right rein - the aims are endless, and your aim needs to be just that - YOUR aim. Try not to be distracted by other people’s aims, and when you are working on your aim, stay focused!
MEASUREABLE
You need to ensure you can know you have achieved your goal. with my rider used in the example above, she knew she had improved her horses transitions because she wasn’t having to kick him relentlessly to ask him to step into a transition, and she said he felt more willing, active and therefore easier. If you are unsure whether or not you have achieved something, ask experienced eyes on the ground to assist you!
ACHIEVABLE
There is no point in choosing an aim that is beyond your and your horses current capabilities. For example, if the rider of a 4yo ex racehorse told me their aim was to jump a 3* three day event by the end of the following year, I would think they were misinformed and delusional. If they told me they would like to complete an 80cm unaffiliated one day event by the end of the following year, I would be much more inclined to support their goal. Be realistic!
RELEVANT
Stay on track. You want to step up to Newcomers? Ask your trainer to help you and your horse gain confidence over a larger course. Want to be able to have efficient breaks when out hacking? Switch your horse onto your aids in all ridden environments. Break your ultimate goal down into smaller segments, and work each segment into the weeks and months of your training.
TIME
Your goals need to be time bound. In my previous example, I asked my rider what she wanted to achieve in her session that day, so we were immediately looking at a very short stamp of time. I later asked her what were her aims for the year, and next year. Once you have an ultimate goal in mind, set a plan A time frame and a plan B time frame, and work backwards to see what you need to have achieved by the end of each week or month in order to reach your ultimate goal.
So there you have it. It’s simple, really, but without the idea of SMART goals, we can sometimes get lost in space & float around without really achieving or striving for anything in particular.
So if you have an ultimate goal for you & your horse, be SMART. It will feel much more realistic & within reach!