Methods and Approaches for the Reduction of the Precompetition Fever in Equestrian Sports

Abstract

The article focuses on basic methods and approaches to overcome precompetition fever in equestrian sport.What distinguishes the equestrian coach from the coaches in other sports disciplines is that in the training and sporting competition he works with two living creatures - a rider and a horse. It is also the peculiarity of the pedagogical activity of the coach - besides the close psychological contact he must establish with the riders, it is necessary to take into account the character, the psyche, the individual characteristics and the horse's preparation.In the course of equestrian training, the coach's overall assessment of the rider's personality, considering the character and temperament of the horse, has an active influence on his construction in moral, sport-technical, tactical and psychological terms. All this talks about the responsibility that lies on the coach and about his great role during the training and sporting competition in equestrian sport.In order to achieve good sports results, along with good general-physical, technical and tactical training, psychological sustainability and coping with pre-fever during competitions is also crucial. The work to successfully overcome all these challenges should begin even in the purposeful pursuit of training activities, not just on the day of the competition itself. Then it will be too late to achieve the desired positive result.Sports battles are won or lost before the start. not so much because of a lack of training volume or a poor training methodology, rather than the psychological training of the rider.For the proper psychological training, work is done in the day-to-day training process. Each rider is approached individually, and it is of particular importance to establish a synergy between him and the horse he trains with. The rider and the horse are treated as one whole as a dynamic system. Mutual trust between these two living creatures plays a key role in overcoming all the psychophysiological problems that would arise in the competitive environment. This trust is built on a daily basis, through proper methodical work, dedication and empathy without any conflict and confrontation. Once this trust is lost, it will take a long time to recover it. If this happens before the competition, anxiety, uncertainty and fear of the rider will lead to the emergence of a pretended fever that will inevitably affect the performance of the rider-horse couple.