The Happy Brain Co

🐴STICKY & TRICKY COACHING MOMENTS #1

Your rider can do it.

You know they can do it.

In fact, they did it perfectly well last week.

But today something changes. They tense up. Their horse responds. They make a mistake.

And then comes: “I can’t do it.”

So what do you say? “Of course you can. You did it last week.”

“Just relax. Don’t overthink it.”

All perfectly well-intentioned.

But here's the interesting question:

🧠 What is your rider's brain doing in this moment?

Because when emotion takes over, simply giving more instruction — or reassurance — doesn't help the brain to listen to you.

Sometimes the most useful thing we can change isn't the exercise. Instead, we must change the emotional state in which the rider is trying to do it.

That's one of the differences between 'instructing a rider' and 'coaching the rider'.

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If you'd like more tools for understanding what happens in these sticky and tricky coaching moments, that's exactly what we explore in Foundations for Excellence in Equestrian Coaching (FEEC).

🎓 5 BHS CPD points
💻 4 interactive online sessions
👥 Maximum 12 coaches

👉 Find out more:

Buy Tickets – Foundations for Excellence in Equestrian Coaching (FEEC) – Zoom Foundations for Excellence in Equestrian Coaching (FEEC) – Zoom, Wed 4 Nov 2026 - Wed 25 Nov 2026 - Become the coach who can unlock the rider in front of you. 5 BHS CPD Points | 4 interactive online sessions | Limited to just 12 coaches You already know how to teach riding. But what happens when t...

🐴You know how to teach riding. But what do you do when the rider in front of you just isn't responding?

They know what to do — but can't seem to do it.

Their nerves take over.

One mistake destroys their confidence.

You've explained it three different ways... and it's still not landing.

These are the **sticky and tricky moments** when great coaching goes beyond instruction.

**Foundations for Excellence in Equestrian Coaching (FEEC)** is a highly interactive online programme designed to give riding coaches more ways to understand what's happening beneath the behaviour — and more choices about what to do next.

We'll explore how to:

✨ communicate with greater clarity and flexibility
✨ work more effectively with confidence, nerves and emotional states
✨ adapt your coaching to different riders
✨ create more independent, resourceful learners
✨ manage your own state and presence as a coach
✨ turn difficult coaching moments into opportunities for breakthrough learning

Because great coaching isn't only about understanding the riding.

It's about understanding the rider, too!

🐴 4 x 90-minute live online sessions
🎓 5 BHS CPD points
👥 Maximum 12 coaches
💻 Live and interactive via Zoom

Want more tools for those moments when your usual coaching approach isn't working?

👉 Find out more and book your place:

Buy Tickets – Foundations for Excellence in Equestrian Coaching (FEEC) – Zoom Foundations for Excellence in Equestrian Coaching (FEEC) – Zoom, Wed 4 Nov 2026 - Wed 25 Nov 2026 - 5 CPD Points for BHS Accredited Professional Coaches (APC) This 6-hour (4 x 90 mins) interactive online program will immerse you in The Happy Brain Accelerated Coaching approach. You will learn new ...

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT ENDS NEXT WEEK!

Are you a riding instructor looking to infuse your new lessons with enhanced:

o Clarity: in organising lessons that leave your riders excited for more?

o Communication: that encourages lifelong learning both consciously and un-consciously?

o Confidence: to manage the emotional needs of your rider, their horse and yourself?

What people say about our course: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
"I could not recommend these sessions enough! The sessions were so eye opening and they have completely transformed my way of teaching; I’m thinking more coherently, i’m speaking with clarity and i'm feeling much more confident with how i approach any adversities which riding horses can do." Meridith

"Everyone should do this it really opened your mind in self reflection and development of clients" Jasmine

"The online delivery was perfect. Thank you for a fabulous course." Caroline.

"I now feel much more confident managing my emotions and helping my riders to do the same." Eve

Buy Tickets – Foundations for Excellence in Equestrian Coaching (FEEC) – Zoom Foundations for Excellence in Equestrian Coaching (FEEC) – Zoom, Wed 4 Nov 2026 - Wed 25 Nov 2026 - 5 CPD Points for BHS Accredited Professional Coaches (APC) This 6-hour (4 x 90 mins) interactive online program will immerse you in The Happy Brain Accelerated Coaching approach. You will learn new ...

Happy Families - PLAY together!

Playfulness is our basic nature, until we learn to take life too seriously. Happy Brain training brings you back to your creative, playful nature which brings massive rewards to the next HAPPY BRAIN for next-generation thinking

Focused on what could go wrong? What could go wrong with that! #parenting #children #parents Are you focused on what's wrong? What could go wrong? Where the nex...

https://youtube.com/shorts/-h1hmUblVI0?si=uHPjU2e6Zv_sM_jZ

What is Happy Brain training? Why people choose to train with us :)

Summary of last night's Practice Group :)

Thanks to those who came to our NLP Growth Zone Practice Night 02.04.26

Here's the summary of our evening.

Overview.
We learn in two ways – repetition and big emotion.

🧠That is repetition to hard wire into neurology through Reptilian Brain.

⚡️Big emotion to glue chemical signals of what to move towards or away from.

🤓All curated by the prefrontal cortex deciding where, when, what to direct attention.

🌞Group Warm Up
>Hand clasp (reframing comfort)
>Finger patterns (cross hemisphere alignment)

👍Pre-group brief:
Bring to the group your focus on a present issue in life that currently presents as an obstacle (we don’t need details) and your desired outcome (content and context specific timeline goal).

Process:
1. Watch and listen as that obstacle is articulated to the group and offer your 1st response.

2. Reflect on your auto-state 1st response. e.g. offer guidance, solutions and which part of the story you caught up in.

3. Future pace a better RECEIVING state of calm, presence, curiosity and how to distil key details you may have missed, such as:
SPECIFIC STATES: unwanted and desired (or the counter pole of unwanted state) e.g. stuck/still > forward movement
METAPHOR: that may be offered e.g. sails in the wind and storms.
LANGUAGE predicates VAK preferences.
CLARITY of desired outcome.

4. Having identified two specific polarity states – work in pairs to elicit the sub-modalities of each state by taking longhand inventory (from NLP manuals).

5. Compare and contrast the lists and identify the ‘kicker’ i.e. biggest difference.

6. Explore the ‘kickers’ as if present in the desired outcome (dissociated timeline) using Milton Language.

7. Once congruent agreement is established, have the other person fully associate and ‘lock in’ (personal anchor) and integrate this NEW STATE into timeline.

8. Dissociate and build desire for that locked-in state, connect by elastic band.

Next class (online - zoom) May 7th 7:30-9pm BST.