4 Keys to Keeping Your Cool

FOR 10 YEARS I spent most of my time riding young horses and preparing them for futurities.

- Jordon Briggs, Bonnie Wheatley

While I enjoyed my time doing this, the cycle of starting a horse, getting them ready to the point someone else can compete on them, and then selling them became mentally exhausting for me.

That's when I decided to keep one of my finished horses and compete on him for a while. It was nice to have a little consistency when it came time to run, and having a finished horse around helped my mentality and gave me the confidence I needed to be at the top of my game. But most importantly, competing on a seasoned mount gave me the opportunity to reflect as a rider and remind me how I can keep my cool when it comes time to compete and perform to the best of my ability.

1. Get in Sync

When working with young barrel horses, you don't normally make multiple runs in a month, which makes the training process a little longer. And if you do run too many times, it can become overwhelming and cause more problems in the long run.

When I had a chance to compete on a more finished horse, I was able to run barrels multiple times in a short amount of time. It helped me get in sync with my horse and quickly connect. This helped set us up for success at some of the country's biggest events.