If you’ve ridden horses for any length of time, you know that falling is part of the process. Some riders have the tendency to land on their feet like a cat and make it look like an effortless, involuntary dismount.
I land like a turtle—on my back. While I am clumsy by nature, I strongly feel it is my lack of physical fitness that results in my lack of finesse and potential for injury. When we have control of our bodies and are more physically fit, we have more confidence in both our riding and in handling a situation gone sideways— sometimes literally.
We can say the same of our mental fitness. We must build our mental muscles because not every ride will be good, and we need to learn to build our confidence.