Maddi Burchell Dressage - Equestrian Performance Coaching

5 signs you've found the right coach…
Finding the right coach isn't just about finding someone who can improve your riding.
The best coaching relationships are built on trust, curiosity, honesty and a genuine desire to help you become the best version of yourself.
So, what should that feel like?
1. They care about the person, not just the rider.
Your goals should matter because they're your goals — not because they're the goals your coach thinks you should have. A great coach wants to see you improve in the saddle, but they also care about your confidence, your enjoyment and your growth as a person along the way.
2. You're happy to get it wrong in front of them.
This one is huge. Learning involves mistakes. Trying something new involves getting things wrong . You should never be riding trying not to make a mistake because you're worried about your coach's reaction. Great coaching creates a safe environment to experiment, be curious, make mistakes, learn from them and try again.
3. You can ask “why?”
You should always feel comfortable asking your coach why you're doing something.
And they should be happy to explain. Coaching shouldn't simply create riders who can follow instructions. It should develop riders who can think, feel, question and eventually make great decisions for themselves.
4. They've got your back — especially when it hasn't gone to plan.
Anyone can celebrate with you when you've just ridden a PB.
The coaching relationship really matters on the days when you've had a bad test, lost your confidence, taken a step backwards or things simply haven't worked.
No judgement. No blame.
5. They're happy to be part of your team. No coach knows everything. Vets, farriers, physios, saddlers, specialist coaches and other experts can all bring something valuable to the performance and wellbeing of horse and rider. The goal shouldn't be to prove who knows best. The goal is to bring the right people together to get the best possible outcome.
The right coach isn't the person who makes you feel like you couldn't possibly manage without them. They're the person who gives you the knowledge, confidence and support to increasingly believe that you can. ❤️

We spend an awful lot of time thinking about our horses' fitness… but what about ours?

We want our horses fit enough for the job we're asking them to do.

We develop their strength. Their core. Their suppleness. Their stamina.

But how many of us expect our horses to be considerably fitter and stronger than the person sitting on their back? 😬

Riders are athletes too.

And rider fitness isn't just about improving performance — it's part of doing our bit for the welfare of the horse underneath us.

A stronger, more controlled core can help us stay balanced and use our aids more subtly.

Strong glutes and legs can help us maintain a more stable, effective position without gripping or constantly interfering.

Better cardiovascular fitness means we're less likely to become tired and lose the quality of our riding as a session goes on.

And being strong and physically capable matters away from the saddle too — particularly as we get older, and especially for women's long-term health.

Yes, mucking out counts. So does poo picking, carrying water, grooming, sweeping and everything else that mysteriously makes owning horses feel like a gym membership you can't cancel. 😂

But yard work isn't necessarily balanced fitness. In fact, doing the same physical jobs every day can reinforce some of the imbalances we already have.

And while Pilates can be a fantastic part of the picture, rider fitness needs more than one type of exercise.

Strength. Cardiovascular fitness. Mobility. Stability. Coordination.

We ask all of these things from our horses.

Perhaps we should expect a little more of ourselves too.

Not because every rider needs to look like an elite athlete.

Not because you need to spend six days a week in the gym.

This is about what your body can do.

Whatever your discipline and whatever your level, being fitter and stronger can help us ride more effectively, reduce our own risk of injury, recover better when injuries happen and be a more balanced, capable partner for our horses.

We work hard to make our horses fit for the job.

Maybe we should ask ourselves occasionally…

Are we fit for the job too?

It’s Bank Holiday Monday!

An extra day off! What are you doing with yours??

What do you think success in the saddle actually look like?

A red rosette? 🥇
A personal best?
Moving up a level?
Finally getting that score you've been chasing?

Absolutely. Winning feels great. Better scores feel great. Seeing all the hard work pay off feels really great.

But success in the saddle is so much more than the result at the end of the day.

It's the thing that finally clicked after weeks of trying.

It's riding through the thing that would once have knocked your confidence.

It's understanding your horse a little better than you did yesterday.

It's learning to solve problems, make decisions and trust what you're feeling.

Sometimes it's having the confidence to push yourself.

Sometimes it's having the confidence not to.

And somewhere amongst all those lessons, we don't just become better riders. We grow as people too.

More resilient. More patient. More reflective. More confident in our own decisions.

As a coach, of course I want to help riders improve their performance. I want the better scores, the breakthroughs and the celebrations too!

But I also want to help develop confident, thoughtful riders who enjoy the journey, understand their horses and recognise just how much progress they're making — even when there isn't a rosette attached to it.

Because success isn't just about how far up the levels you climb.

Sometimes it's looking back and realising just how far you've come. ❤️

Really looking forward to two days of coaching at The Dressage Coach Camp!

I’ll be coaching at the Unicorn Trust on 26th & 27th September, and I’m genuinely excited for this one.

Two days at a fantastic venue, with lots of opportunities for learning both on and off the horse, and the chance to work with riders from different disciplines, backgrounds and levels.

That variety is one of the things I love most about coaching — every horse and rider combination brings something different, and there’s always plenty for us all to learn.

There are still spaces available if you’d like to join us for what should be a brilliant couple of days.

Come along, bring your horse and be part of it!

Click the link below for more details and to book:

https://shop.thedressagecoach.com/collections/events

Recently I’ve been doing some CPD and the more coaches I talk to at these events, the more it becomes clear that the best coaches never stop being students.

Coaching experience matters. Knowledge matters. Qualifications matter.

But none of them mean we've finished learning.

The more we coach, the more we realise there is still to understand — about horses, riders, performance, communication and, perhaps most importantly, ourselves.

That’s why Continuing Professional Development matters.

Not because we need another certificate.

Not because someone tells us we should.

But because every new idea we explore, every conversation we have with another professional, every piece of research we read and every time we reflect honestly on our own coaching gives us an opportunity to become better at what we do.

Sometimes CPD confirms what we already believe.

Sometimes it gives us another tool to use.

And occasionally, the most valuable learning makes us question something we've been doing for years.

As a coach, I think that's a good thing.

Our riders are constantly learning and developing, as coaches we should be willing to do the same.

Because being an experienced coach doesn't mean having all the answers, far from it!

It means being curious enough to keep looking for better ones.

As a coach, I owe it to myself to keep growing and improving .

As coaches we owe it to the riders and horses who place their trust in us to keep becoming the best coaches we can be.

Studying for my Masters has really made me reflect a lot on coaching and what effective coaching really looks like. After a lot of thought, I honestly believe that quite often, the best coaching is silence.

It can be tempting to think that good coaching means constantly giving feedback. Another correction. Another instruction. Another answer.

But sometimes the most valuable thing a coach can do is… wait.

Give the rider time to feel what is happening.

Time to try something.

Time to get it wrong, make an adjustment and discover what works.

Because if we provide every answer, we can create riders who are very good at following instructions.

By giving riders the tools, confidence and space to find some of those answers for themselves, we create riders who can think, feel and adapt independently.

That matters when the coach isn't standing in the arena.

It matters when something doesn't quite go to plan in a test.

And it matters when a rider needs to make a decision in the moment for the horse underneath them.

Great coaching isn't measured by how much the coach says.

Sometimes it's knowing exactly when not to say anything at all.

The goal isn't to make the rider dependent on the coach. It's to make the rider increasingly capable without them.

Happy International Dog Day ❤️🐾