Dahlgren Dressage, 4200 Old Frankfort Pike, Lexington, KY (2026)

04/26/2026

To some extent most riders are working through this.

Fear has a reputation in riding. It’s something riders try to push through, ride past, or eliminate altogether. It’s often framed as a weakness—something that gets in the way of confidence, progress, and performance. But fear itself is not the problem. More often, it’s a response to something that is still affecting how a rider responds in the saddle.

Paul Haefner, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist who works extensively with equestrians, expected to focus primarily on mental skills like focus and confidence when he began integrating his work into the sport. Instead, he found something else. “Pretty much everybody that called me or walked through the door was dealing with some sort of trauma,” he explains.

In many cases, that trauma wasn’t a single dramatic event, but more a series of smaller moments that accumulated over time. What riders were experiencing in the present, hesitation, tension, loss of confidence, was often tied to past experiences that were still affecting how they responded.

Fear doesn’t appear randomly. It is shaped by experience, and over time, those experiences influence how a rider responds in the saddle. A stop at the base of a jump, a moment where things felt out of control, or even repeated rides that felt uncertain can begin to shift how a rider anticipates situations.

Haefner’s clinical background allows him to recognize that what looks like “nerves” is often something deeper. Riders aren’t just reacting to what’s in front of them. They’re responding to a history that continues to influence how they respond, even if they’re not consciously thinking about it.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2026/04/24/why-fear-persists-even-when-you-try-to-push-through-it/
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