Kirstie Dobbs, Ph.D.

10/19/2025

When a round goes poorly, it’s tempting for riders to shrug and say, “I’m just not talented enough.” The idea that natural ability separates the great riders from everyone else has been around forever. But Geoff Teall argues that this belief is not only false—it’s dangerous.

Most riders have fallen back on the excuse of lacking talent at one point or another. It’s an easy way to relieve pressure when things aren’t going well. As Teall puts it, “Lack of talent is a great stress reliever. It allows you to say things like, ‘I didn’t do that right. It’s not because I’m not trying hard, it’s because I’m not talented.’”

The problem with this mindset is that it creates a false barrier to improvement. If talent is all that matters, then there’s no point in trying harder or practicing longer. You either have it, or you don’t. Teall dismisses this as a “ridiculous excuse.”

In Teall’s philosophy, “talent is so unimportant when compared to interest, when compared to desire, and when compared to hard work.” A disciplined rider with modest natural ability will almost always surpass a gifted rider who lacks focus and consistency.

This is because riding, at its core, is about repetition, discipline, and refinement. Correct position, independent hands, balance, and feel aren’t bestowed at birth. They are developed through hours of practice. Riders who commit themselves to mastering the basics methodically are the ones who end up achieving the most.

Discipline, in Teall’s view, is the great equalizer. It’s not glamorous, and it doesn’t make for dramatic breakthroughs overnight. But it’s what keeps riders drilling the fundamentals, fixing bad habits, and returning to the saddle day after day, even when progress feels slow.

Discipline also shows up in the rider’s mindset. A disciplined rider doesn’t let frustration boil over in the schooling ring. They don’t look for shortcuts or gimmicks. They know that equitation isn’t about doing flashy things, but about doing the simple things, like keeping a steady pace or following softly with the hands, better than anyone else.

Teall emphasizes that “drive and determination are enormously leveling factors.” This is particularly encouraging for the average rider who may not fit the ideal body type, have limitless financial backing, or possess the innate “feel” that others seem to show.

A rider who truly wants to improve—is willing to put in the work—will often outpace a peer who relies only on raw ability. The sport rewards persistence. Every hour spent practicing correct position, every lesson spent refining basics, builds toward the rider’s long-term success.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/10/15/talent-vs-hard-work-what-really-creates-great-riders/
📸 © Heather N. Photography

10/17/2025

Do you ever find yourself in a dark place? Yeah, me too. But we often don’t talk about the “dark spaces” we encounter during your equestrian journeys.

This article is a great example of the downsides of perfectionism and how resiliency and a reset and lead us back to finding joy again the sport.

10/16/2025

Perfectionism is lying to you! Joy does not come from being perfect. It comes from being present with your horse 🐴

10/14/2025

I do love a fall day in Boston. Especially when I get to work at a coffee shop on one of my exciting projects that is just about finished!!

Ever wish there was a “manual” to help you navigate your path towards confidence as a bad a$$ horse girl?

Girl, I got you. 😉

10/12/2025

There are some things that just need to change.

What do you see happening in the barn or at horse shows that decrease young people’s confidence?

Share with me in the comments so we can raise awareness and work together on promoting positive transformative spaces for young people!

10/10/2025

It’s common to see a horse lick, chew, or yawn in a training session and hear that it means they’ve “processed” what just happened. The belief comes from a real observation: these behaviours often appear when a horse shifts from a heightened state back toward calm.

The link here is the nervous system. Licking, chewing, and yawning are behaviours connected to the parasympathetic nervous system. Sometimes they appear after the sympathetic nervous system has been activated and then deactivated, as the body returns to recovery and calm. Other times they show up when the horse is already relaxed, as part of maintaining parasympathetic activity. In both cases these behaviours are not proof of learning. They are indicators of state.

When horses are in a calmer, parasympathetic state, learning and memory formation are more likely. That is the connection people noticed. The behaviour is not the learning. The behaviour is a window into the horse’s physiology that supports learning.

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A common scenario in traditional training might look like this:

1. Pressure is applied.

2. The horse tries different options to find relief.

3. The horse finds the behaviour that makes the pressure stop.

4. The moment pressure stops, the horse experiences relief.

5. As the sympathetic response deactivates, parasympathetic activity re-engages and the body returns toward calm.

This is often the moment we see licking, chewing, yawning, or blowing out.

What is really happening in that moment is a combination of two things:

1. “If I do this, the pressure stops.”

2. “Thank goodness the pressure finally stopped.”

Quick summary: In this example, the horse licks and chews at the same time it discovers the behaviour that turns pressure off, so it is easy to misread that as understanding the lesson. The licking and chewing is not about the content of the lesson. It reflects the horse’s learning state. It tells us the nervous system is down-regulating after arousal and that what preceded the release was aversive or stressful enough to require regulation.

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Licking, chewing, and yawning don’t only appear after stress. They can also show up when a horse is already relaxed, quietly resting, dozing, or digesting. In those moments the behaviours are part of maintaining parasympathetic activity, not recovering from stress.

And this is why I always pause and ask: what came before the lick, chew, blow out, shake, or yawn? Was there a stressor the horse is coming down from, or are they already calm and connected? Because that context tells you whether you’re seeing regulation or maintenance, and that difference changes everything about how you interpret what’s happening.

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Why does this matter?

It might seem like splitting hairs. After all, if the horse looks calmer and shows licking and chewing, isn’t that what counts? But the nuance matters because how we interpret behaviour shapes how we train.

When we mistake these behaviours for signs of understanding, we stop looking for what caused them. We might unintentionally celebrate the moment a horse finally found relief instead of asking why they needed relief in the first place.

If we reward ourselves for creating just enough stress to trigger a lick and chew, we risk normalizing a cycle of tension and release. Over time this can make stress an expected part of learning, something the horse must endure to find comfort.

But learning doesn’t require distress. A horse in a regulated, safe, parasympathetic state is not only capable of learning, they’re primed for it. When we see licking and chewing for what it really is, a reflection of the nervous system, we can shift our focus toward the conditions that keep the horse regulated from the start.

When we start viewing behaviour through the lens of physiology, our priorities shift. Because when calm becomes the baseline, learning becomes effortless.

10/06/2025

Anxiety can surface in many forms for riders: the nerves before walking into the ring, the fear of a particular jump, or the weight of expectations from parents, trainers, and peers. To psychologist and longtime hunter/jumper trainer Dr. Stefanie Mazer, PsyD, anxiety isn’t just something to overcome. It’s an opportunity to grow.

With a private practice in Wellington, Florida, and authorization to provide telepsychology services in 42 states, Dr. Mazer works with equestrians across the country. Her philosophy is simple but powerful: anxiety can be either a barrier or a channel. The key is learning how to transform it into growth.

Dr. Mazer’s path to psychology grew directly out of her equestrian career. A lifelong rider and trainer, she completed a dissertation on equine-facilitated psychotherapy and has always been drawn to the intersection of horses and human well-being.

“We’re all doing psychology all day, every day with horses,” she explained. “Formally studying psychology just gave me another lens to understand it better.”

That combination of training and therapy experience allows her to speak riders’ language and to apply evidence-based tools in ways that make sense both in and out of the ring.

Dr. Mazer describes her practice as collaborative, supportive, and non-judgmental. “The most important thing is that clients feel belonging and acceptance,” she said. “I’m not coming in to fix a problem. I’m here to join somebody in their process and help scaffold them to the next level.”

It’s an approach rooted in respect for the individual—just as a good horseman works with the horse in front of them, not the one they wish they had. “You’re not going to bring out the best in a horse by forcing it to be something it’s not,” she explained. “It’s the same with people.”

Central to her philosophy is reframing anxiety. “Anxiety is either a barrier or it’s a channel to growth,” she said. Whether a rider is struggling with performance jitters, self-doubt, or fear of failure, the first step is recognizing how the body responds: faster heartbeat, shallow breathing, tense muscles.

“Even as I talk about it, my own heart rate goes up,” she noted. “The question is: can you acknowledge what’s happening in your body and still focus on the task at hand?”

This skill, learning to notice, name, and channel anxiety, translates well beyond the show ring. “These growth opportunities are not just to result in a blue ribbon next week,” she emphasized. “They help us in any context: relationships, work, school, anywhere anxiety shows up.”

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/10/01/how-dr-stefanie-mazer-turns-anxiety-into-growth/
📸 © Heather N. Photography

09/23/2025

So very true!

An inside look at how equestrian professionals can guide their students toward success By Mary Pardee, Director of Riding at Lake Erie College & Assistant Professor of Equine Studies I spend a lot of time developing curriculum and teaching courses for Lake Erie College’s School of Equine Studies.....

09/05/2025

Really proud of this moment. It’s been a journey to get to this point where I found my “niche” and can now confidently step out into the horse show community as the Horse Girl to support equestrians in need of a little help with their confidence and self-esteem.

07/20/2025

I’ve been working with my young horse Nelson for two years. Working with young horses is a beautiful journey, but requires patience and resiliency. Today, we showed both, and were rewarded with a win in the classic. ❤️

07/18/2025

Are you or your equestrian teen anxious about showing this weekend?

Schedule a FREE life coaching session with me to help you or your teen ride with confidence this weekend !

DM me directly for availability!

06/30/2025

Love this!!

Young equestrian Kendall Deeney from Fairport, NY, took a stance to change the sport for junior members across the nation when she got wind of a horse show rule that she didn’t think was fair. Deeney found out that her pony, Gayfields Encanto, was not eligible to have an adult school him and blue/...