Prepping for your BIG day

Back in "my" day we didn't get patterns weeks before to practice...as luck would have it, we had them the night before...and well, we practiced, but we didn't practice our horses into the ground. We didn't drill the pattern over and over again, we ran the pattern once and figured out our weak spots. Then we practiced that part of the pattern until it became 2nd nature...then we'd put the pattern back together again to see if we "really" had it, and usually there was another part that needed some polishing, so we'd practice JUST THAT part. And after we had it "perfected" and ran a perfect pattern, we'd mix up the pattern a little bit so our horses didn't anticipate that pattern. This way they were fresh for the next day.

Then we went and TRIED to get a good night's sleep...nerves always seemed to get the better of me the night before. Counting sheep never worked, so I put my insomnia to work. I thought about my perfect pattern, over and over and over and over again. I visualized myself walking into the arena, totally dressed, everything perfect and I ran that perfect pattern step by step in my mind, over and over and over again.

Ya know it worked...I've got the buckles to prove it (wink!)