She's singing my song - Interview with Cynthia Horner

I don't listen to my podcasts after I record them. I prepare, record, add the bits to the ends and middle, and I send them off. But this week's episode (dropping Thursday) is a doozy - not only because it's an interview with Cynthia Horner (the 2024 Westminster winner++), but because of all the gems she drops about the mental game.

[Hey, non-agility friends: don't skip this one - the lessons are for all of us!]

Cynthia shares her passion for a strong mindset and how she has honed this strength over the years. She prioritizes process goals over outcome goals. She uses local trials as practice (regularly sacrificing Qs). She sticks to her rituals. She works diligently toward her goals with a keen focus on building the skills she will need for major events.

In short, Cynthia Horner does NOT cut corners.

I won't pretend - it was a lot of fun to talk to a fellow mindset "believer." Cynthia succinctly echoed much of what we regularly discuss, so I know it will resonate with you! If you are lucky enough to be one of her students, you've likely heard her mindset wisdom directly. But for the rest of us, I hope you have some ah-ha moments.

One thing that stands out whenever I talk to an elite handler (or sports person) is their focus on process goals and their absolute faith that if they execute their plan, the outcome will fall into place. I've said it a thousand times, but you won't know how powerful this approach is until you experience it for yourself and truly let go of the outcome. Cynthia puts her faith - and effort - into her preparation and gets to stand on a lot of boxes as a result.

As the cherry on top, she also shares two things she says to her dog before they run (one is more specific to big-pressure moments). I hope you pick up on them and adopt something similar for your own!