The Difference a Good Coach Can Make
The Difference a Good Coach Can Make — For You and Your Horse
No matter how long you’ve been riding, a good coach can completely change the way you connect with your horse. It’s not just about straighter lines, better transitions, or neater circles. It’s about learning how to feel, communicate, and grow together.
Over the years, I’ve ridden with a range of coaches: some who brought out my best, and others who, in hindsight, still taught me valuable lessons about what "not" to do. What I’ve learned is that a good coach does far more than teach technique. They help you build understanding, confidence, and trust, both in yourself and in your horse.
Experience and Understanding
The best coaches bring experience: not just in the saddle, but in helping horses and riders progress at every level. They understand that every partnership is unique. Some days you’ll feel unstoppable; other days you’ll wonder if you’ve forgotten how to ride at all. A coach who recognises that ebb and flow will meet you where you are, helping you and your horse take the next right step.
They can tell when the horse is confused or when the rider is unsure, and they guide you both with patience. It’s a kind of quiet wisdom that comes only from time, observation, and a genuine love of the process.
And the best coaches know that it is not a formula that takes a set amount of time. Each horse and rider combination should progress at the rate that is right for them. It's not a race!
Calm Brings Confidence
A calm coach is worth their weight in gold. When things go wrong: and with horses, they sometimes do, a coach who stays steady helps keep you grounded. Their calm tone, their patience, their ability to find the positive even in a tricky moment not only helps you, as a rider, but brings confidence and calm to your horse.
Knowing when to abandon an exercise and try something else, to help take the tension out of a situation is another key element of the calm that a good coach can bring to your training. Teaching skills to diffuse a tense situation, can bring huge benefits in their future training, when a word, a gesture or an action can bring a sense of calm to your horse.
Connection with Both Horse and Rider
The best coaches don’t just see the rider they also see the horse, and the combination. They watch how your horse moves, how they respond, where they hold tension, and where they’re trying their heart out. They help you notice the subtle signs: the flick of an ear; the shift of balance; the softness in the eye; the relaxation over the back or through the jaw, that signal understanding or confusion.
When a coach can connect with both of you, they help bridge the communication gap. They make the work meaningful, and that’s when real progress happens.
Developing Feel
One of the greatest gifts a coach can offer is helping you develop feel. Feel isn’t something you can memorise. It’s learned through awareness, timing, and sensitivity.
A good coach helps you tune in to the small details: the moment your horse steps through and connects, the lightness in your hand, the rhythm that finally feels balanced. Developing feel takes time, but once you find it, everything about your riding changes.
Feel allows you to ride with empathy. It helps you notice your horse’s effort, reward their try, and communicate with subtlety and grace.
Lessons from Every Coach
Not every coach will be the perfect fit - and that’s okay. Some may not bring out your best, but that doesn’t mean the experience was wasted. You might learn what kind of teaching style motivates you, or what type of communication shuts you down. You might even learn more about what your horse needs from you.
Every lesson, even the uncomfortable ones, shape your growth as a rider. Some coaches refine your technique. Some teach you patience. Some remind you that calm and kindness are powerful tools.
Some coaches can obtain excellent results with their horse and rider combinations. But if it isn’t a good fit for you, it doesn’t mean they’re not a good coach, it just means they’re not right for you and it’s time to find one that is aligned with your way of learning, riding and empathising with your horse. Someone that can bring out the best in you and your horse, regardless of your aspirations.
Growing Together
A good coach helps you grow as both a rider and as a partner to your horse. They don’t just teach you what to do; they help you understand why it matters. They encourage you to think, to feel, and to celebrate the small wins along the way.
When you find that kind of coach – the one who teaches with experience, calm, connection, and empathy - your riding becomes more than a sport. It becomes a shared journey built on trust, understanding, and joy, no matter what discipline or level of riding you aspire to.
