United States Eventing Association

Pressure Proof with Daniel Stewart: Riding in a FISHBOWL

One of my favorite sayings is, “You don’t win ribbons at horse shows, you only pick them up there.” The idea behind this message is that our ability to succeed is really created in our schooling sessions where we learn and practice the many skills required to ride successfully.

If we read between the lines there are two other equally important messages: (1) Work hard when you train and then (2) Trust that training when you show. Unfortunately, it’s not always as easy as it sounds because sometimes the work can turn into worry and wonder (what could go wrong) and the trust can turn into tension and trepidation. This month’s Pressure Proof tip is about performance anxiety, or what I like to call the FISHBOWL.

The FISHBOWL is another term for show jitters and most of us have experienced it at one time or another. Riding in front of a large crowd or letting a lead slip away in front of friends or family members are two examples of how being watched and/or judged can make even the best of us feel a little tense, tight, and troubled. I call it the fishbowl because it feels like we're in a fishbowl with glass sides that allow everyone to watch, judge, and/or criticize us; which often creates a kind of emotional pressure that presses down on the lid making it impossible for us to escape.

Luckily there’s a way for us to leave the FISHBOWL (to remove the pressure holding a lid on our potential) and that's to simply become aware of the many different fears that put us in the bowl in the first place. There are eight fears in total and they create the acronym FISHBOWL:

FAILURE: A fear of doing your best and giving 100%, but it not being good enough.

IMPERFECTIONS: A fear of making mistakes or riding imperfectly.

SPECTATORS: A fear of being watched by spectators, trainers, family members, etc.

HUMILIATION: A fear of doing something that will leave you feeling embarrassed.

BEING JUDGED: A fear of riding in front of a judge who's tasked with being critical.

OPPONENTS: A fear of being less than a competitor or finishing behind him or her.

WINNING / LOSING: A fear of losing or not winning because of things like letting a lead slip away.

LETTING DOWN: A fear of letting someone down or not living up to their expectations

While this acronym is designed to help you remember the eight FISHBOWL fears, there are actually two other equally important things about this list. The first is that, on average, most of us experience two or three different FISHBOWL fears. Some of us experience more and some less, but all of us tend to feel some.

The second is that all eight FISHBOWL fears are caused by two things: (1) Focusing on outcomes (failure, imperfections, humiliation, and winning or losing) and (2) Focusing on other people (spectators, judges, opponents, and letting someone down). This means that if we can simply stop focusing on outcomes and other people, we can stop the jitters and anxiety that they create!

So, this month let’s all identify which FISHBOWL fears impact us the most and identify whether they’re caused by focusing on outcomes or other people. Once we do this we can begin to leave the FISHBOWL by removing the pressure they’ve been putting on us. You can do that by simply reminding yourself to focus only on the two things that you can control: (1) You instead of others (like spectators, judges, and trainers) and (2) Your efforts instead of outcomes (like your ability to stay focused, recover quickly after mistakes, and finish strong after a slow start).

I hope you enjoyed this month’s Pressure Proof tip and are looking forward to more in the future. If you’re a trainer or upper-level rider and would like to take my equestrian sport psychology instructor certification course please let me know. The course is online and self-paced so you can binge it in a month or take your time. For more information visit https://pressureproofacademy.com/certifications/