Overcoming the Fear of Riding: Featuring Interviews with 12 Top Riders

by Theresa J. Jordan and Peter E. De Michele

Veteran and novice riders alike fear the sport they love. Fear takes many forms -- fear of injury; fear of failure; fear of performance. The authors, Dr. Jordan and Mr. De Michele, address all these... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0914327542
• ISBN13: 9780914327547
• Release Date: February 1997
• Publisher: Breakthrough Publications
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

I'm not alone with my fears!

This was a great book. If you ride buy it now because you either have had a fall or may eventually have one and you will need to know how to get back on your horse and continue to enjoy the experience of riding. This books discusses the fear that I've experienced while the horse I was riding was enjoying itself by just being a horse. It gives very useful techniques on how to deal with the natural fears and concerns of being on top of an animal that at times has its own mind. The interviews with professional riders were very helpful and inspiring. The lessons learned can be applied to life in general. This book is not for those who pretend they don't get nervous at a full gallop but is definitely for those whose adreline surges during the excitement.

Finally, a book for a much-ignored riding population!

Topics include: understanding and using nervous energy, risk management, defeating irrational thinking, the importance of goal-setting, cultivating trust and minimizing fear, riding safety tips, ending with 18 personal case studies of different level riders with different types of fears as well as mental exercises to defeat those fears. The author's goal seems to be for anxious riders to trade their fear in for excitement and meet their riding goals with confidence. This book also features interviews with 12 top riders and how they positively use nervous energy as well as tips you can use. Whether you fear injury, embarrassment, and/or failure while riding, this book will give you the tools you need to conquer your fears and make your riding dreams come true!

A Book For Riders of All Levels

I orignially saw this book & planned to buy it for a friend who has the fear of physical injury when she rides. As I glanced through the book I began to recognize that I had performance fears & that my fears were normal for competitive riders. The authors discuss the "mental" issues that all riders face & encourage riders to embrace their nervousness, focus it & use it to enhance performance. I plan to read this book at least 2 more times!!!

Ideal for a rider who has lost faith in their abilities.

This book is great for those who tend to be overly hard on themselves or have developed unrealistic expectations which cause them to doubt if riding is something they can do any more. Some great names in riding, people with a world of experience, share these experiences and the wisdom they've gleaned from them, reassuring the reader that it's okay to have doubts, that difficult horses do exist (which is not always the rider's fault), and that the main point of riding is to enjoy the ride! A great aid for those who have high expectations but face difficult horses, or long layoffs from the saddle, or for those who are just starting out and are frustrated with the fact that they aren't perfect yet.

A lucid, realistic, and helpful book.

Life is full of risks, isn't it? Sports can be part of life, if you want them to be. Therefore, sports involve risk.Many five-year olds know that one can fall off a bike and take a blow to the head. In learning to ski, one can lurch uncontrollably downhill and into a thorn bush. In learning to fly, one can be 90 degrees or even 180 degrees off course. In parachuting, one can forget to put on one's parachute. Even in learning to play pool, one can be struck in the head by a wayward cue ball. Therefore, learning how to ride horses has risks.What are we to do with the risks? Here are three strategies: 1) pretend they do not exist, 2) pay attention to them but do not bother about changing one's behavior, 3) pay attention to them and change one's behavior by learning to do the sport more safely.To those who choose the first strategy - pretense - not much can be said except "See you around." Or will we? To those who choose the second strategy, all we can say is "See you on the trail!" and "Let us know how it works out."For those who choose the path of clear-headed encounter with this sport, a number of things will come up: the skills needed to do the sport, the exhilaration of a sport well done and, yes, one's fears.What are we to do with the fear? For horseback riders, Jordan and De Michele have provided a very useful book for dealing with the thoughts and emotions surrounding a sport. Proceeding in some detail, they explore most aspects of these issues, including fostering your own dream of riding, knowing your current skill level, gaining experience, anticipating unexpected events, managing one's thoughts and emotions, and ultimately achieving that exhilaration of a sport well done.As a not very experienced rider, with fears of my own, I highly recommend this lucid, realistic, and helpful book.