Louise Hamilton Hypnotherapy

Louise Hamilton Hypnotherapy Helping horse riders overcome anxiety, boost confidence & rediscover joy — in and out of the saddle. Calm minds, confident rides, and genuine self-belief.
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Helping horse riders overcome anxiety, boost confidence & rediscover joy - in and out of the saddle. I’m a friendly, down-to-earth hypnotherapist who helps riders (and non-riders too!) conquer nerves, build self-belief, and feel calm, focused & in control - whether it’s for competitions, everyday riding, or life in general. If you’re ready to quiet the self-doubt and ride with confidence again, I’

m here to help. Specialising in:
• Rider confidence & mindset
• Overcoming anxiety & fear
• Building self-esteem & inner calm

Let’s get you back to feeling like you again — calm, capable, and confident.

18/06/2026

After Blair, I genuinely felt as though the world was our oyster. For the first time in years, we seemed to have a healthy horse, a happy horse and a horse that was going from strength to strength. The injuries that had dominated so much of our journey together finally felt as though they were behind us. Looking back now, perhaps that's one of the reasons what happened next was so hard.
We started the 2023 season full of optimism. I did briefly consider dropping back down to BE90 for our first event of the year, purely because we hadn't seen a cross-country fence for months, but in the end I decided we may as well stick with BE100.
After all, MJ had more than proved she belonged there. As usual, she didn't let me down. We started with an 8th place at Kirriemuir and then followed it up with a 5th place at Forgandenny. Just like that, we'd qualified for Blair again. It sounds ridiculous now, but qualifying for Blair had gone from something I never imagined achieving to something we'd done two years in a row.
What I remember most about that period wasn't actually the eventing though. It was how much fun we were having. MJ felt fantastic (tears falling again as I write this). I felt confident. And for the first time in my riding life, heights really weren't bothering me.
Anyone who knows me well will appreciate how significant that was!
Alongside the eventing, we were also doing a bit of British Showjumping and gradually moving up the levels. We were jumping 1.05m tracks, picking up placings and double clears, and I was starting to feel that wonderful sense of trust that only comes from years of partnership. MJ wasn't always the easiest horse to jump. She was incredibly enthusiastic and usually convinced that going faster was the answer to absolutely everything.
But I had learned that the less I used my hands and the more I rode from my body, the better she jumped. By this point we'd worked each other out pretty well. Then came the day we entered our first 1.10m.
I should have been excited. Instead, I remember feeling confused. In the warm-up, MJ came round to a fence and suddenly napped sideways away from it. It wasn't like her at all. I put it down to a misunderstanding. Then it happened again.
In the 1.05m class (video of said class) she did it once more. When it happened again in the warm-up for the 1.10m, I withdrew. Something wasn't right. At the time, I couldn't explain it. She wasn't obviously lame. She wasn't stopping. She wasn't behaving badly. She just wasn't herself.
Looking back now, knowing what we eventually discovered, I wish I'd listened even sooner (again crying writing this...I SO wish I'd listened sooner). But at that point, all I knew was that the horse who had always tried her heart out over a fence suddenly seemed to be telling me something.
And I needed to figure out what it was. The next instalment is probably one of the hardest chapters in our story because it began a seven-month search for answers that eventually changed everything.

Link to blog below⬇️

13/06/2026

PART 14 - MY JOURNEY WITH MJ

I think one of the reasons Blair will always be such a special memory for me is that I went there with absolutely no expectations. After finding out we'd qualified, getting our entry accepted after entries had closed and somehow managing to organise everything in about five days, I made a conscious decision that I was simply going to enjoy it.
I wasn't going to worry about results. I wasn't going to worry about placings. I wasn't even really going to worry about how we performed. After everything MJ and I had been through together, just being there felt like an achievement in itself.
The day before my competition, Mum and I were jump judging as planned and every so often one of us would look at the other and say something along the lines of, "I can't quite believe we're actually competing here tomorrow." For years we'd stood on the sidelines watching. Now somehow we were part of it.
By the time we got MJ settled into her off-site stabling, collected everything we needed and got back into Blair it was almost dark. All the parking was full, we seemed to spend half the evening carrying equipment from one end of the venue to the other and I remember laughing that it all felt a bit chaotic. But I loved every minute of it.
The next morning I had a championship dressage test I'd barely had time to learn, in a 20x60 arena that I wasn't particularly used to riding in. Luckily my dressage coach Caroline happened to be at Blair and helped warm me up.
I honestly wasn't expecting much, so when MJ went in and produced a lovely test, scoring 33.9, I was delighted. I think we ended up sitting somewhere around the middle of the leaderboard, which felt far better than I could have hoped for.
Then came the showjumping. I wasn't worried about the fences, but I was curious to see what MJ would make of the atmosphere because we'd never jumped anywhere quite like it before. There were people everywhere, trade stands, noise and distractions in every direction.
As it turned out, she couldn't have cared less. She marched in as though she'd been doing it all her life. We had two fences down, which I firmly blame on the jockey rather than the horse, but I came out absolutely thrilled with her.
Then came cross country. My favourite phase. And definitely hers.
I had walked the course with my coach Olivia the day before and thank goodness I did because there were several combinations that looked pretty intimidating on first inspection. Olivia just kept marching on, telling me MJ would be absolutely fine and that I needed to stop overthinking everything.
As usual, she was right.
Once we left the start box, MJ just got on with her job. There were some really technical questions out there but she seemed to read every one of them. Every time I told her she was a good girl, I could feel her puff herself up underneath me and try even harder. Cross country always felt like a conversation between us. I trusted her completely and she never once gave me a reason not to. When we crossed the finish line, I cried….I felt so unbelievably proud of her. Not because I thought we'd won anything. Not because I thought we'd be placed. Simply because she had tried her heart out for me yet again.
Finding out later that we'd finished 11th and would be going into the main arena for the prizegiving was just the icing on the cake. Even now, when I think about Blair, what I remember most isn't the placing. It's the feeling. The feeling of being there with a horse I adored, after everything we'd been through together, and watching her take it all in her stride.
I don't think I've ever stopped being grateful for that weekend. ❤️

Link to blog in comments below

11/06/2026

Well, to tell you how much Louise has helped me, I have to start by explaining some of my problems.
I have had mental health problems for the better part of 30 years. They have caused all sorts of problems in my life, affecting my health, relationships, lifestyle, sleep patterns, and have generally made life pretty difficult at times. Add age related hormonal changes to the mix and for years now I've dragged myself through the day, collapsed into bed each night, and woken each morning feeling as wretched as I did the day before.
Over the years I have worked my way through every treatment and therapy offered by the NHS, and just about every kind of alternative/complementary therapy as well. I've read dozens of self help books, changed aspects of my lifestyle, ended unhelpful relationships, decluttered my home, and generally followed every bit of advice I could find. I've tried shamanic healing, chanting, sound baths, forest bathing, there really is very little I haven't done in an attempt to make myself well. Lots of things have helped, but nothing really seemed to get to the nub of whatever was causing all of this, and I really had got to the point where I'd given up hope of ever getting better.
I contacted Louise in the hope that hypnotherapy might help me sleep better. I thought that just feeling less tired all the time would help. I think I've had 5 sessions in total and I cannot put into words the change that has taken place. It's not just the sessions that have been helpful. Louise has taught me techniques I can use at home to manage anxiety and lack of confidence, as well as giving me meditations to use, which I'm doing twice a day. The sessions have been incredibly relaxing, and have dealt with issues that I wasn't even aware were causing a problem. I feel a lot more confident that I can manage situations as they come up, and the horrible self doubt and self sabotage that has been present for so much of my life has melted away. I'm sleeping better, I have more energy, I'm recovering quicker from difficult experiences and life, in general, is not just easier, but is enjoyable again. For a long time I thought I would have to just endure life going forward, but now I feel that I have options in front of me and the ability to deal with things if they go wrong. We've just got back from a lovely holiday which, 3 months ago I was wishing I hadn't booked because I felt so anxious about it. But I did a session with Louise and carried on practising the things she had taught me at home, and the holiday was so good I didn't want to come home.
I cannot recommend Louise highly enough. She's very insightful, very easy to talk to and has a range of techniques to suit different situations. She's also very kind and has gone to the trouble of checking in with me after a couple of quite intense sessions, to check I was okay.
I would say to anyone thinking about hypnotherapy to go for it.
Thanks, Louise!

10/06/2026

Edit : now Taken
I have a rare cancellation available!
4.30pm 22nd June

10/06/2026

Part 12 - My Journey With MJ

After Glamis, life carried on pretty much as normal.
In fact, it got even better.
Our next event was Hopetoun and somehow MJ went one better than she'd done at Glamis and finished 2nd in the BE100, which is still our best British Eventing result to date.
I was absolutely delighted.
The funny thing is that a few months earlier at the very same event, I'd been ready to give up eventing altogether because of a disappointing dressage score. Now here we were, getting placed at BE100 and genuinely holding our own. After Hopetoun we competed at a local Derby competition in the 100 class and won that….MJ was totally on fire!!!!
The plan after that was simple.
MJ was due a bit of a break, my husband and I were heading away for a few days to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and then Mum and I would head off to Blair for our usual five-day holiday.
Just like we did every year.
While I was away, I got a message from a friend asking if I'd realised I'd qualified for Blair.
I remember reading it and thinking she'd got it wrong.
I hadn't been keeping track of qualification criteria and certainly hadn't been sitting thinking I might qualify. As far as I was concerned, Blair was where Mum and I went every year as spectators, not competitors.
The more I checked though, the more it seemed she was right.
MJ and I had actually qualified.
The only slight problem was that entries had already closed 😳
Thankfully, after a few phone calls and a very helpful secretary, we managed to get an entry accepted and then the mad scramble began.
Because Mum and I had already volunteered to jump judge on the Thursday, MJ needed to travel up early and we had to find somewhere off-site for her to stay with turnout while we were sitting out on cross country.
Then I realised I had about five days to learn a championship dressage test in a 20x60 arena, which is not something I regularly ride at home!
Looking back, it sounds as though I should have been stressed.
But honestly, I wasn't.
For the first time in a long time, I genuinely didn't care about the result.
The season had already exceeded every expectation I'd ever had.
I just wanted to enjoy every second of it.
Soak up the atmosphere.
Enjoy being there.
And appreciate the fact that somehow, after all the injuries, rehab, setbacks and detours, MJ and I were heading to Blair as competitors.
It still feels slightly surreal writing that.
Part 14 is all about the Blair experience itself — and one of the most memorable weekends I've ever had with a horse. ❤️

Video is of a last minute lesson once home from wedding anniversary trip.

Ling to blog in comments below

08/06/2026

The fantastic reviews have been coming in thick and fast lately….I am so happy to be making so much difference to these riders lives, it really is the best job ever. Also incredibly grateful to the clients that are happy to share their experience leaving such fab reviews❤️

Another weekend, another fabulous update from a Mum, whose daughter I’ve recently been helping with confidence. What a f...
06/06/2026

Another weekend, another fabulous update from a Mum, whose daughter I’ve recently been helping with confidence. What a fab photo to be sent! And before the show, she sent me a photo of her daughter listening to my recording on the way to the show! I feel so privileged to be able to help these young riders believe in themselves👌❤️

05/06/2026

Part 11 - My journey with MJ

Three weeks after Burgie we headed to Glamis for our next BE100.
Burgie had definitely been big. In fact, I think that's probably what most people remember about it. The fences were right up to height and there were certainly a few moments walking the course where I wondered what on earth I'd entered.
Glamis worried me more. Not because it was bigger, but because it was by far the most technical cross-country course we'd ever attempted.
I can still remember walking some of the combinations thinking, "How on earth am I supposed to ride that?" I walked certain lines over and over again. I'd walk away, then go back and look at them again. Then walk them again. Then stand staring at them from a different angle hoping they might somehow start looking easier.
They didn't 😆
The funny thing was that by this point I trusted MJ completely. I knew how clever she was. I knew how much she loved cross country. And I knew from experience that if I started interfering too much, particularly with my hands, things generally got worse rather than better.
So after all the analysing, all the worrying and all the course walking, I came up with a highly sophisticated plan...
Leave it to MJ.
Honestly, that was about the extent of it.
Look where I wanted to go. Ride positively. Try not to get in her way. And trust her.
As always, she didn't let me down.
The video attached to this post is us crossing the finish line. You'll see me punch the air as we go through the flags. That wasn't because we'd won anything. At that point I hadn't even seen the results. That punch was pure disbelief. (And this is probably the first time I’ve watched that video since that day & I am now sitting here crying my eyes out seeing her flying like that).
I genuinely couldn't believe we'd just got round a course that only a few hours earlier I'd been convinced might be beyond us.
As it turned out, we'd actually come 5th. Not only had MJ got us safely round one of the toughest, most technical tracks we'd ever tackled, she'd also put us in the placings.
I don't think I've ever been prouder of a horse.After everything we'd already been through together, there she was yet again giving me absolutely everything she had.
What I didn't realise when we loaded up and headed home was that Glamis had given us more than just a brilliant day out.
A few weeks later, while I was on holiday, I got a message that completely stopped me in my tracks...

PART 10 - MY JOURNEY WITH MJIf you'd looked at my Facebook in the summer of 2022, you'd probably have thought things wer...
03/06/2026

PART 10 - MY JOURNEY WITH MJ

If you'd looked at my Facebook in the summer of 2022, you'd probably have thought things were going pretty well.
MJ and I had worked our way back from years of injuries and rehabilitation. We'd moved from BE80 to BE90 and, despite our ongoing battles with dressage, we were having fun again.
What most people didn't know was that behind the scenes, I was struggling.
Really struggling.
A few weeks after deciding to move up to BE100, I was signed off work with acute anxiety, stress, burnout and mild depression.
I've written separately about that period of my life, so I won't go into all the details here, but I remember feeling overwhelmed by almost everything. Even small decisions felt difficult.
At the same time, because of everything MJ and I had already been through, I felt this huge urge to make the most of every healthy day we had together. When you've spent years having plans taken away by injuries, you stop assuming there will always be another season.
So I entered Burgie.
What I failed to realise was that Burgie was around five hours away from home and had a reputation for being a fairly substantial BE100 track!
The day before we left, I honestly felt like cancelling.
Then during the journey up, I spent at least the first hour thinking we should turn round and go home.
I never said any of this to Mum.
Thank goodness.
Because eventually we arrived.
And then I saw the cross-country course...
Let's just say it looked rather larger than I had imagined when I entered 😳
But by this point, something had changed in my partnership with MJ.
I trusted her completely.
I knew that if I rode positively, stayed out of her way and didn't interfere too much, she would do her absolute best for me.
And she did.
We finished our first BE100 with a clear cross-country round and I was absolutely delighted.
Looking back, Burgie taught me something important.
Confidence isn't about feeling fearless.
Sometimes confidence is loading the horse anyway.
Driving to the venue anyway.
Leaving the start box anyway.
Even when every part of you would quite happily be somewhere else.
Burgie wasn't our biggest achievement that season.
But it might have been one of the most important.
Because it showed me that I was capable of far more than I thought.
And as it turned out, MJ and I were only just getting started...

Interesting to notice that when I looked back for photos of us at Burgie there were absolutely none, only photos I took of the fences as I walked the course...and I think that's really indicative of my mental state of mind at the time!

Part 11 is about what happened next at Glamis – and how a horse I was once told would never be more than a BE100 horse started proving a lot of people wrong.

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