Support for whole team is key to success
Resilience, pressure and mental health for riders and their teams have been on the agenda
UNDERSTANDING and providing the support each person needs to feel and be their best is key to the success of a rider’s whole team.
The message came as part of the 2021 Aintree Grand Women’s Summit (9 April), with this year’s theme “Sport and Mental Health: a Powerful Relationship”.
Broadcaster Alice Fox-Pitt chaired the discussion, with tennis’s Judy Murray, top eventer Pippa Funnell, London 2012 taekwondo gold medallist Jade Jones and physio Kate Davies, whose clients include top riders.
Building resilience, support and why these are important for the health and success of the team, were among the major points.
“We all learn more from our mistakes, defeats and disappointments than we do from our successes,” said Judy.
“It’s really important, whether you are a player, coach or parent, that you learn how to handle frustration, defeat and failure, because you’re never going to win every match you play, or race you run. We only learn by failing – you’ve either won or you’ve learnt.”
She said as a parent, or the person who manages an athlete, you “don’t have to be an expert on everything”, but you have to know enough to find experts at the right time – and knowing when to take a step back is equally important.
“You need people who really want to make it happen and who go out of their way to do the best they can to learn about the competition [and] all the new things in sport science and medicine,” she said.
“To be world class, you have to have that mentality of ‘I want to get to the top, I will absorb everything and I want to keep learning’. The minute you have anybody kind of switched off and just happy to be there is the minute things can start to derail.”
Kate said she started working with and learning from top sports psychologists to better support the people she was treating.
“You are often working with people, as physios, in the lowest points of their career,” she said. “They’ve potentially been injured and you’re hand in hand on that journey to get them back. So I thought, ‘I’ve got to better equip myself to do this’.”
Kate recalled a conversation with a “fantastic” psychologist ahead of the Rio Olympics who made her realise support teams also need support.
“She said, ‘Who is on your team? You need a support team,’ and that was a real lightbulb moment for me,” she said.
She added that for riders dealing with uncertainties, it is about “being positive and controlling the controllables”.
“Where we can predict some speed bumps, let’s put planning in so we can lessen the blow,” she said. “In the short term, it’s just about having mini goals to stay focused. Tiny steps; it’s surprising how you build on that.”
Pippa revealed that horses have helped her through some hard times, in and out of sport.
“There have been many times when I think ‘why do I do it?’ but when I’ve had the thought of having it taken away, you realise, actually, this is what I live for,” she said. “I’ve had amazing good times, I’ve also had things thrown at me that a lot of other people would have, difficult situations.”
She said not being able to have children and a recent period of ill health, when she was told by doctors not to ride, were times horses helped her “enormously”.
“I’m so extraordinarily lucky my whole life has been involved with the one thing I am passionate about; the horses,” she said.
TEAMWORK
THE multiple CCI5* winner agreed about supporting the whole team, learning from mistakes and helping young people deal with pressures.
“So much about running a successful business or operation is about teamwork,” Pippa said.
“What I find affects me more than anything is when one of your team is down. That’s what helps you be successful, to recognise if people are down, get to the bottom of why, help pick them up. I know when I’ve been low, the horses have been an enormous pick-up, but also you rely on your network, team and close friends.”
She said she does a lot of work with young riders through the Windrush Equestrian Foundation and added it is “good for them to hear they are not alone” in dealing with nerves, and that mistakes are “valuable lessons”.
“I know my mind plays tricks at a three-day event when I only have one horse, because suddenly I’ve got all that time to think,” she said. “I think it’s good for the youngsters to hear, ‘Actually, that’s normal!’ You do sometimes have to nudge them, and I have to nudge myself, and put things into perspective.”
“So much of running a successful operation is teamwork”