The Happy Brain Co

07/09/2026

🐴 STICKY & TRICKY COACHING MOMENTS #3
Your rider completes the exercise.
It works.
You say:
“Yes! That was much better.”
They smile. You move on.

Successful lesson?
Maybe.

But here's an interesting question:
🧠 Does your rider know WHY it was better?
Could they recreate it without you?
Could they recognise the feeling again?
Could they work out what to change if it stopped working?

Because getting the right result isn't necessarily the same as learning.

One of the most powerful things we can do as coaches is help riders become curious about their own experience.

Instead of simply:
“Good! Do that again.”

We can ask:
✨ “What was different that time?”
✨ “What did you notice?”
✨ “What changed in your horse?”
✨ “What did that feel like?”
✨ “How could you recreate it?”

Now the rider isn't simply following an instruction.
They're learning how to learn.
And ultimately, isn't that what great coaching is about?

Not creating riders who always need us to tell them what to do...
…but developing confident, curious and increasingly independent learners.

What question do YOU use to get your riders thinking?

This shift from giving instruction to creating learning is at the heart of Foundations for Excellence in Equestrian Coaching (FEEC).
🐴 Practical coach development
🎓 5 BHS CPD points
💻 4 interactive online sessions
👥 Maximum 12 coaches

Understand the rider as well as the riding.
👉 Find out more and book your place:

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...

02/09/2026

🐴 STICKY & TRICKY COACHING MOMENTS #2 🥹

You've explained it.
You've demonstrated it.
You've said it a different way.
And still...
Your rider isn't getting it.

It's tempting to think:
"But I've literally just told you what to do!" 😩

So, we explain it again.
Perhaps louder.
Perhaps slower.
Perhaps with even MORE detail.

👉But what if the problem isn't that the rider isn't listening?!
👉What if the way we're communicating simply isn't the way their brain is making sense of it?

🙏One of the most useful shifts we can make as coaches is from:

"Why aren't they getting this?"
to:
"What could I do differently to help this person learn?"

Because riders don't all process information in the same way.
Some need to see it.
Some need to feel it.
Some need an image or analogy.
Some need to understand why.
Some need less information, not more.

And sometimes, one tiny change in our language can create the breakthrough we've been trying to achieve for the whole lesson.
Great coaching isn't having the perfect explanation.

It's having the flexibility to find the explanation that works for the rider in front of you.

✨ What's your favourite way of explaining something when your first approach just isn't landing?

This kind of communication flexibility is one of the areas we explore in Foundations for Excellence in Equestrian Coaching (FEEC).
🎓 5 BHS CPD points
💻 4 interactive online sessions
👥 Maximum 12 coaches
👉 Find out more and book your place:

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...

23/08/2026

🐴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'.

---

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:

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...

21/08/2026

🐴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:

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 ...

01/08/2026

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

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 ...

08/07/2026

Constantly repeating 'I believe in them, I love them' provides a foundational gift. This unconditional love, regardless of behavior, creates psychological safety and a thriving mind, not just a survival one. A powerful, often overlooked, aspect of raising children. Sinigoj

06/07/2026

Understanding where someone's attention lies is key. NLP filters distinguish between internal and external focus. While some may be lost in thought, others find it overwhelming. The ultimate goal? Cultivating the ability to be fully present with whatever is happening.

16/06/2026

Our bodies are designed to activate in emergencies, but what happens when we're stuck in that alert state 24/7? This constant stress can have significant long-term consequences.

13/06/2026

Diaphragmatic breathing, or belly breathing, is a vital tool for immediate calm. Visualizing a balloon expanding in your belly shifts your brain to the creative hemisphere, altering your body's chemistry. This deep breath signals safety to your nervous system, effectively biohacking stress.

25/05/2026

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

Are you focused on what's wrong? What could go wrong? Where the nex...