Posts by Stacy Westfall
Episode 273: “From ‘I Don’t See It’ to ‘I See It!’: Breaking Down the Barrier Between Seeing and Understanding”
Stacy shares valuable insights into how riders unintentionally slow their learning. She explains why many less experienced riders skip what she calls ‘step two’ and try to go straight for step three. She also contrasts this by explaining how pros do the opposite. With a blend of humor, expertise, and relatable anecdotes, this episode encourages…
Read MoreEpisode 272: Stuck at the Start: the 5 steps riders use to improve and why many get stuck on step one
In this episode, Stacy explains the five essential steps riders undertake to enhance their horseback riding skills and their training techniques. She emphasizes how each cycle of this process contributes to the continual improvement of a rider’s abilities. The focus is on the pivotal first step, where many riders often encounter obstacles. Stacy explains how…
Read MoreEpisode 271: The Unseen Connection: Counting Strides vs. Navigating Emotional States
In this episode, you’ll hear a conversation that perfectly illustrates the connection between what is going on in our mind, and how it is often reflected in our experience with our horse. In this conversation, Kristen is struggling with riding transitions, specifically, ‘letting the horse go’ or riding bigger, and then transitioning back to collection.…
Read MoreEpisode 270: The Art of Being: Embracing a Way of Being Approach
In this episode, we will explore how to pursue a feeling state as a goal. Listen in as Stacy coaches Lauren on how to pursue her theme of ‘having fun builds confidence.’ A way of being goal is an exploration of your experience of life. The direct goal becomes the exploration of your experience,…
Read MoreEpisode 269: Catalyst for Change: 3 Steps to Shift Your Way of Being
In this episode, you’ll learn a simple 3-step process for turning your ‘way of being’ into something actionable. Examples of “Way of being goals.” include: do what is best for my horse have a closer relationship with my horse ride confidently without anxiety understand my horse’s behavior better to enjoy showing again The problem or…
Read MoreEpisode 268: Seeing your horse dream on a daily basis
In this episode, Stacy discusses the importance of seeing the connection between your dreams and your goals. Developing the skill of seeing your dream daily inside your goals is important for continued progress. identifying if you are overly focused on the goal how to tell if you are mostly focused on the dream examples of…
Read MoreEpisode 267- Dream bigger, measure backward, and let things count.
An important part of setting future goals is reviewing and learning from the past. This episode includes an 8-step process for reviewing and learning from your past year, as well as in interview. Diana and Riece join me, and we discuss the lessons that can be learned from reviewing, which can be carried forward into…
Read MoreChild like wonder is available at any age.
Three photos from over the years, all showing the same thing: child-like wonder. In the photo with my pony, I’m 11 years old and she was 21. 🎄The Christmas present I wanted so desperately, and was the most unsure I would receive, was that English saddle. I had seen two horse events on TV, the…
Read MoreEpisode 266: Red zone, yellow zone, green zone
If you notice that you find yourself thinking or saying, ‘look, I messed up there’ or ‘my timing could have been better there’ and you have an underlying feeling of disappointment, this episode is for you. In this week’s episode, we discuss a simple tool that can help reduce the fear of mistakes and the…
Read MoreEpisode 265: Raw reactions vs. rewarded responses
In this episode, Stacy Westfall delves into the intricacies of raw reactions versus rewarded responses, using her new yearling horse, Ember, as an example. She emphasizes the importance of understanding and influencing a horse’s mental state alongside their physical actions. Stacy shares her approach to teaching Ember to stand quietly when tied, highlighting the challenge…
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