What to do When You've Met Your Goals

inevitably comes when you will need to remember and rehearse what you recently achieved. A tough moment will come where you need to call on the positive end of the depth of your experience as a rider and now is your chance to sharpen this tool so it will be ready.
Develop a maintenance plan
Once you have recovered physically and cleared your mind youre ready to consider your options. One question often pondered is should I just develop a maintenance plan? When building muscle athletes get to a stage where much of the development aspect has been accomplished and they are just looking to stay at that level of strength.
After scoring consistently in her dressage tests rider Monique saw a need to construct a plan that would maintain her results in the ring. I was very proud of having come to a place where my scores were consistent and within the range I wanted. I believe consistency is a very crucial skill for a rider to develop. I didnt want to lose any aspect of what I had accomplished so I broke it down into what I thought was involved in those scores and I made sure that I checked on those skills in my training regularly.
Maintenance goals can be extremely valuable tools to keep you on track. Its not unusual for athletes to get a little cocky and a little sloppy after performing well. Unconsciously they may feel they dont need to pay attention to their skill level in certain areas. This can lead to taking for granted competencies that require upkeep to remain solid. It may lead the rider to either stop rehearsing that skill or making sure that skill is sharp under a variety of conditions. So you may have cornered the market on that half pass but can you do it in inclement weather with unexpected distractions or with a tired and sullen horse on your hands? 
What about new goals?
Creating new goals is a must both for your physical development as a rider and for your motivational needs. Desire and willingness to put in training hours is born from the knowledge that you are going to get something from the experience. Youre after a certain feeling about yourself a new level of confidence and the knowledge that progress is happening. You are still ultimately working towards the win but the win as you define it.
Imagine if you