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Thursday, November 07 2019 / Published in Weekly Feature

The Power of Thoughts

Margie Sugarman

By Margie Sugarman

I found some not-so-nice comments about me and my horse on a message board. I know who wrote them — there’s a particular group of women in my region I avoid as much as possible, but now my confidence is shattered. How do I ignore their cruel words and ride my best, knowing they’re making public comments?

Mental toughness, just like physical strength, is something that has to be fostered; it isn’t something we automatically have. We aren’t born with developed, strong muscles and we’re not born with a confident, strong mind. To develop a strong body takes repeated work strengthening various muscle groups. Determination and perseverance are also part of the equation in developing a strong body.

Mental toughness is being able to take the negative thoughts that flood our minds and impact our performance and turn them into thoughts that positively impact our performance. It takes repeated effort as well as perseverance and determination. The more we “reimprint” the positive thoughts over the negative thoughts, the sooner we have improved performance.

While you can’t control the negative and demeaning things these women are saying, you can control how you react to them. By controlling your thoughts and, consequently, your reaction to their words, you can positively impact your riding.

It’s important for you, as a rider, to address the thoughts that negatively impact your riding. Focus on constructive thoughts that will help you as you study the course chart, walk the course or watch other riders on course.

There are usually similar negative, destructive thoughts that come to mind at each show. Perhaps you don’t like water jumps or you’re not too good with bending lines. How about those long gallops to the final oxer when you’re either pulling on the reins or running to find the distance? We all have our issues and accompanying thoughts. We all sabotage ourselves with negative self-talk statements that become more and more deeply imprinted each time we think them. With each thought, we reinforce the unconscious mind with the reminders like, “I don’t like the water jump. I always mess up bending lines. I pull or run to the oxers.”

It all becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. And it doesn’t help when others make negative comments that parallel our worst self-talk statements. But recognizing that these are only thoughts and they are negative is only the beginning.

Let’s try a little experiment.

Whatever you do, don’t think about a clown with a big red nose and black floppy shoes. Don’t let the thoughts of that clown with the big red nose and the black floppy shoes cross your mind. Don’t picture that clown with the big red nose and the black floppy shoes.

What happened? What did you think about? Was it a clown with the big red nose and the black floppy shoes?

Of course it was.

We know that the mind can only think of one thing at a time. So, if you were thinking about the new, adorable, floppy-eared, wet-nosed puppy you were getting tomorrow, you wouldn’t have been thinking about the clown with the big red nose and the floppy black shoes. In other words, if you focus on the negative things that are challenging you, you can’t think about what it takes to meet those challenges and succeed.

Whatever those women are saying about you and your horse only matters if you give the statements credibility. You need to take their negative statements and change them into positive statements of performance, or positive affirmations. Replace your mental clutter with positive thoughts, similar to what Wayne Dyer says:

You create your thoughts,

Your thoughts create your intentions,

Your intentions create your actions,

And your actions determine your reality.

In other words, what you think impacts what happens. You can make the outcome positive or negative: It all depends on your thought process.

“Reimprinting” takes time. It took time to imprint the negativity on your unconscious mind and it takes time to change it. There are specific techniques that help to change one’s thoughts, but you have to be ready to do so.

I’m sure you’d rather be thinking about that cute, cuddly, floppy-eared puppy. I sure would!

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Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! W Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.
 
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Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.

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❗️George Williams column❗️ The FEI World ❗️George Williams column❗️
The FEI World Cup Final in Omaha is coming up quickly. That means that it’s starting to heat 
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North American League (NAL) nears. I started to write this column before the Amsterdam CDI- W, and I was using the FEI Ranking List from January 15 as a reference. As I sit down to finish 
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Looking at the top 12 athletes from the WEL as they were ranked on January 15, there are five 
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Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Gre Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Great American $300,000 Grand Prix at HITS Ocala!! 🏆🥇

Crowds filled the stands at the HITS Ocala Grand Prix Ring on Sunday afternoon to watch the world’s top athletes compete in the Great American $300,000 Grand Prix. The day concluded with a thrilling five-horse jump-off featuring athletes 
representing four countries. In the end, it was Lisa Goldman-Smolen (USA) and Ivaro N who produced the only double clear effort of the day, claiming one of the biggest wins of her career. Scott Keach (AUS) and Noble De La Chapelle earned the second-place prize with the fastest 4-fault jump-off, while Aaron Vale (USA) and Obi Wan placed third as the day’s pathfinders.

“I'm still on cloud nine, I still can't believe it – I’ve used up all my luck for the year,” smiled Goldman-Smolen after her win. “I've been knocking on the door a long time in these bigger classes. I am so proud of my horse – he gave every ounce of effort.”

Sunday’s Great American $300,000 Grand Prix marked the conclusion of the 2023 HITS Ocala circuit. HITS CCO Joe Norick concluded, “We are so excited about the new HITS, with 2023 as the launch. New footing, many new arenas here, and a lot of our facilities across America are getting a lot of love and new footing. Our partnerships with Worldly Martin and others across America including our footing leader Bart Poles overseeing our operations – it really makes a big difference for us. Today is about Ocala and these three riders sitting next to me who supported us this entire winter. We want to be a proud destination for our exhibitors and our friends. We know we have to provide them a beautiful showplace to work from that's horseman friendly, and that's our go goal. 

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It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is. It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is...

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