Client: Susie Johns

Background: Susie has been riding and showing American Quarter Horses since she was very young. She has done western events, and her favorite event is Trail.

Most Memorable Showing Moment: Competing at the very first AQHA Youth World Championships.

Greatest Achievement: Becoming the World Champion in Amateur Trail- 2000

Strategies used: Susie and I worked together prior to the World Show in 2000. We focused on her precompetitive routine, and the scope of her focus. Trail is an event that requires a Narrow-External focus, and a rider's concentration needs to be a few steps ahead of the horse, in order to guide the horse through the pattern smoothly.

This is how Susie describes her winning ride. " I was a bit nervous going down the chute and waiting to go. I started to watch the horse on course, but I didn't even want to watch them go, I just wanted to focus on where I was going to put my horses feet, and how I was going to ride the course. As I was going through the course, I was so focused on where I was going to go that I didn't even really know how I was doing. At one point, towards the end of the pattern, I started to think, Wow, I am having a good go, but then I remembered that I needed to focus externally- on where I was going. It wasn't until after I finished the pattern that I realized that I had a good go."

What is so great about Susie's recount of her ride is that she was able recognize when her focus was shifting. Once she recognized that, she had the flexibility to shift it back to where she needed it.