Joe Stockdale talks about mental toughness and how he has developed his mindset in this exclusive article for H&H subscribers
Winning a six-bar or a puissance requires an ice-cool temperament. The pressure ramps up as the field whittles down to the final contenders for the prize. When British showjumper Joe Stockdale cleared 2.13m on Its Confidential (Rolo) at Spruce Meadows, he not only won, but set a new six-bar record (joint with Czech rider Vaclav Stanek).
But the mark of a great rider is how they respond to that pressure, and in Joe’s case it was very much “bring it on”. He had meant to jump only a couple of rounds, but as Its Confidential was jumping so well, he decided to go for the win.
“I got a bit excited, he kept jumping better and better, and I ended up going all the way,” says Joe. “I wasn’t going to pull out once it was a two-horse race.
“When I went in and showed Rolo the fence, that made me nervous. It doesn’t even look like a jump when it’s that big. But Rolo is so brave; he didn’t blink an eye.”
But Joe recognises that thriving under pressure is a symptom of being on form.
“That’s when you know you’re confident, because you’re not thinking of what could go wrong,” he says. “Pressure is a nice thing to be a part of. If you’re under pressure, it comes down to being the last person to jump and having to go clear. That’s what you dream of – and pulling it off.”
“Pressure is a nice thing to be a part of,” says Joe – it shows you’ve put yourself in a winning position. Credit: Alamy
Joe explains that this kind of good pressure is a result of the hard work that’s delivered you to a winning position – and that readiness is something you can lean into.
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H&H features editor
Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
