#Hack1000miles
Think 1,000 miles is out of your reach? These tips will ignite your enthusiam and keep you motivated all the way to the finish line
How to stay on track to hit your hacking target
Set mini goals Break it down
One thousand is a big number — intimidating, even, when you’re only riding a few miles at a time. So break that number down. To complete in a year, it’s 250 miles every three months. That’s just over 83 miles a month, less than 20 miles a week, or 2.74 a day. If you’re trying to do it in two years, those targets are 42 a month, 9.6 a week or 1.4 a day. Suddenly it seems achievable. Look at the total you achieved last year, too (if applicable). If that was 400 miles, why not push yourself to 500 this time? Set a goal that feels achievable but that also pushes you.
Keep a track
Sometimes, it’s only when you look back that you realise how far you’ve come. Our official #Hack1000miles tracker card is perfect for this. Record every hack, and keep it somewhere you can see it. This will put your focus on how far you’ve come — a positive mindset that will keep you motivated.
Take photos along the way
Take lots of photos as well as recording your miles. It might be of a particularly lovely view, a mid-hack selfie or your horse before you set off. These are lovely memories to revisit when you’re reviewing how far you’ve come — you’re essentially keeping a #Hack1000miles diary. Plus, if you keep snapping side-on photos of your horse, you’ll notice how much fitter they’ve become as the miles increase — possibly without you realising it. When you’ve hit your goal, you’ll have a log of your adventure.
Wear the right kit
As we write these words from a UK home office, we’re in the middle of a heatwave. But we all know it’s going to rain again eventually, probably for a while, and usually when we want it to least (the day of a 10-mile fun ride, for example). And it’s pretty cold and wet in winter.
There’s only one thing for it: invest in decent riding clothes. Waterproofs of all thicknesses and boots that neither leak nor make feet sweaty are two examples of kit that will keep you comfortable while hacking. Just remember to put your high-vis on top. Suddenly you have no good reason not to saddle up when the sun’s a no-show.
Reward yourself
Celebrate each milestone when you hit it. That might mean an evening on the sofa for you and an early turnout for your horse, or something tangible like a milestone rosette or little present to yourself. Remember to share your hacking stories and photos in the Hack 1000 Miles Facebook group and you’ll be in the running for one of our monthly prizes from sponsors Wintec and Equisafety. You might also appear in one of Your Horse’s challenger galleries or a newsletter Wall of Fame. We like to celebrate how far you’ve gone too.
Hold yourself accountable
Accountability is everything when it comes to setting personal goals, because ultimately the only person you have to answer to is yourself. That makes it easy to say, “Nah, not today” and stay at home instead. This is where a bit of forward planning comes in. When you’ve set your mini goals, write them on a board somewhere you’ll see it often.
Make the words large so that they’re easy to read from a distance. You’ll need to say how far you need to ride and specify the day. You could go as far as listing your planned route too.
Choose whether planning a week, fortnight or month ahead will work better for you. Of course you may need a degree of flexibility to allow for the unexpected — a lost shoe, working late or a sick child, for example. But if your planned ride is written down, you can reschedule, rather than not going and forgetting all about it. The point is, you’re holding yourself accountable. It’s an effective way to stay on track.
Go out with friends
Arranging to meet a friend to hack out together is good fun, and it becomes a date in your diary that you’re more likely to keep so that you don’t let them down. You may be able to show each other new routes and, if you or your horse need it, their company can be a confidence boost.
Have something to aim for
It could be a fun ride, your first go at Endurance GB in line with their new members’ offer (see News), or just boxing up and taking your horse for a ride somewhere new. The latter is a great way to motivate yourself to hack more. Whatever you choose, variety really is the spice of life: if you’re looking forward to doing something a bit special, you’re more likely to keep up with your hacking in the build up because you’ll need to make sure your horse (and you!) is fit enough.
Don’t give up
Setbacks happen — it’s life! So you’ve had to miss a ride, or your horse is out of action for a week or two, maybe longer. Look ahead to when you can get going again. A setback isn’t a reason to quit; make it a reason to be hungrier than ever to rethink your plans and get back
on track to hit your goal.