104 SIDELINES JANUARY 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
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Help Your Clients Set Goals
Whether you are instructing children or adults, helping
your clients dial into their personal set of goals is important
for a number of reasons. How often have you heard a
fellow instructor say, “I don’t know what happened; Bob
rode with me for years and never indicated that he wanted
to buy a horse and after he started riding with Jane, he
bought a horse and is competing!” This type of scenario
and many others can be avoided by having your students
participate in a simple goal setting exercise that you can
review together twice a year.
Recognize Motivations
Each person who decides to pursue an equestrian
discipline has certain goals in mind. We egotistically
assume, “Of course you want to learn to ride and improve!”
However, that may not be the case. People are generally
motivated by two factors. Either intrinsically, which comes
from a personal level of drive or extrinsically, which may
come from outside motivations such as peer, social or
parental approval. As instructors, we have experienced
both types and know that there are different needs to help
each individual succeed and be content with their progress.
Goals for Your Students
Goal settingshouldbedoneshortlyafter youbegin training
a new student. USPA Regional Polo Center Director,
Erik Wright in Los Angeles provides a questionnaire that
he asks his clients to fll out and review shortly after they
have taken their frst package of lessons. He asks them
to set 10 long and short term goals that they would like
to achieve in polo and then he takes time to review these
goals on a one on one basis to make sure that he is clear
on what they are saying. “I began asking for written goals
from my clients in order to better understand their needs”,
says Erik. “In the past I found myself pushing someone
with talent toward tournaments only to fnd out later that
they were viewing polo solely as a hobby, and conversely,
there were others that I never suspected were interested
in competing whom I overlooked. Writing and reviewing
goals with my clients helps keep us on the same track and
makes us both happier in the process!”. Erik suggests
setting an ambitious 10 goals in order to include some
smaller more obtainable achievements that will keep the
student’s confdence up. “If your client overfaces himself
with goals that are too ambitious, you will set him up for failure,”
he says. “Anyone can come up with three or fve goals that they
want to achieve, but if you task them with 10, they tend to narrow
down the focus and come up with specifc attainable short term
goals that can provide quicker gratifcation.”
Ten Goals? Maybe Yes… Maybe No
“A client may say that he would like to achieve a 10 goal
handicap ,which may be unrealistic or long term, however further
down in his list, he may say that he wishes to learn to post at
the canter or learn to take penalty shots at the canter which are
completely obtainable”, says Erik.
Goal setting is rewarding for everyone. Goals should be
specifc, trackable and achievable. The list should be reviewed
and reinforced by email reminders or even written on index cards
to be kept in gear bags for easy access. Once goal setting is
in place, the instructor will have a better understanding of their
client’s needs. With this improved communication, they will have
a much better idea of where they can help their student succeed
and the client will see measurable results of achievement that are
personal which should help reinforce their improvement on a scale
that is important to them, not compared to the success of others.
Kris’ Corner
Kris Bowman is USPA National Club Development Director and
Director of Team USPA Programs.
She can be reached at (703) 362-7656.
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3103 Fortune Way, Wellington, FL
561.790.4433
fax: 790.6366
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