Mindful performance

I was a pretty good performance shower when I started this blog in 2008.

Flicker of Sunshine, Overall Performance Champion at Wild, Wild West live, 2007

I am a lot better now.

Olivia, Overall Performance Champion at Rocky Mountain Spring Fling, 2018

Some of this is resource related. I've spent the last ten years adding to and upgrading my performance collection. I now have more - and better - horses, dolls, tack and props.

Mostly, however, I've learned to be a better shower. 

I spend a lot more time planning my entries than I used to.

I ran out of time so neither of these entries happened... Next year, I promise!

This is something I learned from my friend, Erin Corbett.

At the show hall, I take pictures of every single one of my set-ups.

This is partly for blogging purposes, but it also gives me a good, visual reminder of what worked...

and what did not. 

LOL. I would say, "I tried" but I really didn't

After the show, I take a good, hard, critical look at those photos. I decide what should be changed and what could be improved. I take notes and make to-do lists.

One thing I don't spend a lot of time thinking about is past placings. My goal is to make each entry as good as it can be. If I do that, the ribbons will usually follow.

Third in her class, still the best hunter entry I've ever fielded

This probably sounds like too much work to some people, and maybe it is. However, I've found that - more than anything else - the key to performance success is being mindful. Prepare, execute, evaluate, then prepare again. Never settle for just clean and correct. Go for awesome.