Confidence, I have realised, is like a bottle of wine or gin. Whichever you prefer. To really excel and be full of confidence, you need a full bottle. (Definitely a metaphor, please drink responsibly!)

My confidence has been pretty rock bottom in recent years but, this week, I had a bit of a realisation. My one step at a time approach has worked wonders, and I highly recommend it to anyone fighting their own confidence battle: it has taken me from being unable to even get on and walk down the road to jumping 1m courses.

Step two, as I stated in a previous blog, is looking how far you have come. Looking at all the single steps as a whole. It may surprise you. It did me.

Now, I am going to add step three. The bottle!

Jack has just moved to a Brackenhill Stud. The first week was messy. He was very anxious in his new surroundings, didn’t like his new stable and didn’t settle at all. I felt totally overwhelmed with “you can’t do this”.

However, a week later, a new stable and the old Jack back, I am riding with a smile on my face again. This is when I thought about filling my bottle. My bottle was empty and “sober” me was full of doubts and lack of confidence. Then, over the last week, each day of riding has slowly filled my bottle. Positive experiences making a little top up each day so the end of the week found me rather merry on my full bottle.

I even text the mother after Sunday’s ride “That felt good today.” to which she responded “Looked good too. Well done.” We are women of few words via text. But, it put a cap on my full bottle of positivity and that bottle now sits on the wall of Jack’s stable.

HOYS is 8 weeks away. Maybe with a bottle a week, I may just be able to trot down the famous tunnel into that arena……

Oooopps. Even thinking that may have made me drop my bottle! Back to one step at a time I think. Showjumping on Saturday and pushing up to 1m5…..