21/10/2026
Most riders have been told some version of the same advice: be careful. Don’t make a mistake. Don’t mess up your horse. Don’t miss. Don’t get it wrong.
But there is a point where caution stops helping. Trainer, coach, and author Andrea Waldo has seen perfectionism turn thoughtful riders into hesitant ones. Instead of riding toward what they want, they start riding primarily to avoid doing something wrong.
Waldo has experienced that in her own riding. While preparing at the upper levels of eventing, she was struggling with long approaches to large oxers. She was so focused on making the correct decision that she was having trouble making a decision at all.
Finally, her coach had enough. “For the love of God, woman, just make a decision even if it’s the wrong one,” he told her.
Afterward, he explained why.
“You need to be decisive. All of this being careful is actually making you less good and less safe.”
There is nothing wrong with thoughtful riding. Good riders should assess the question in front of them, make adjustments, and care about giving their horses a safe and effective ride. But thoughtful riding also requires action.Perfectionism can replace that action with hesitation.
Waldo describes realizing that the more she tried not to make a mistake, the worse she rode. Instead of committing to a plan, she became preoccupied with choosing the perfect plan. At some point, the search for the perfect decision gets in the way of making the good decision available right now.
That matters in any discipline, but riding makes the consequences particularly obvious. Horses need clear information. When the rider is constantly second-guessing, the horse is left waiting for an answer that may never fully arrive.
đź“Ž Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2026/10/17/why-trying-not-to-make-a-mistake-can-make-you-ride-worse/
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