Sam Osborn is a British Dressage coach and Master NLP Practioner and Performance Mindset Coach based in Somerset. Sam, owner of Osborn Dressage works with riders of all ages and levels, from those taking their first steps into affiliated competition through to riders competing at PSG.
Sam explains “Alongside my dressage coaching, I work with riders on both their training mindset and their performance mindset because I’ve come to realise that success in any discipline at any level requires far more than simply developing technical skills. How you think, the beliefs you hold about yourself, and the thoughts you bring into the saddle are incredibly powerful. They influence the decisions you make, the confidence you ride with, and ultimately the partnership you build with your horse. It’s not just about how well you ride – how well you think and manage those thoughts really matter!”
Sam’s coaching brings those two elements together, helping riders develop both the technical understanding and the mental skills needed to perform at their best. Her philosophy is simple: Think Well . Ride Well . Perform Well.
She says “Everything I do is horse-centred and focused on developing confident, capable riders who understand not only how to improve their horses, but also themselves. Whether we’re working on horse/rider biomechanics, riding a better centre line or learning how to manage pressure at a championship, my aim is always the same: to help both the horse and rider enjoy the process and reach their potential and ambitions with everyone’s wellbeing at the heart of it.”
How did horses come into your life and what led you to coaching?
Horses have always been part of my life. I first started riding during long spells in Spain, on little donkeys in Mijas, and from that moment I was completely hooked. When I returned home, I began having lessons and gradually progressed through the Pony Club into showing, before eventually finding dressage.
Showing gave me some wonderful early experiences, including qualifying for and winning major championships. From there, I moved into dressage, where I went on to compete Internationally as a Young Rider and nationally at Prix St Georges. Throughout that journey, I have been incredibly lucky to learn from brilliant horsemen, horsewomen and trainers who have shaped not only how I ride, but also how I coach today.
Coaching developed naturally alongside my own competing because I have always enjoyed helping and supporting people. As I worked with more riders, I began to notice a recurring pattern: many were not being held back by a lack of technical ability or knowledge, but by the stories they told themselves and the thought patterns that fuelled self-doubt, overthinking, pressure and a loss of confidence.
More often than not, riders already have strong foundations. What holds them back is the way they think about themselves, their horse or the situation they are in. When they learn to recognise and reshape those patterns, they become better able to trust their training, make clear decisions and perform with greater confidence and consistency. That observation sparked a deeper curiosity about the psychology of performance. I wanted to understand why riders could produce quality work at home, yet struggle to reproduce that same performance under pressure, and what kind of support would help them bridge that gap.
That interest led me to qualify as a Master NLP Practitioner and to begin Advanced Applied Psychology Coach training with Centre10, led by Charlie Unwin, a leading sport and performance psychologist. Since then, I have continued to invest in my own development, building a practical, evidence-informed approach that brings together coaching skills, applied psychology and real-life equestrian experience. This enables me to help riders strengthen their self-belief, focus, self-awareness, consistency and confidence, both in training and in competition.
Today, I bring those threads together by combining technical dressage coaching with mindset coaching. The two are inseparable: when riders develop their mental skills alongside their riding skills, they gain a clearer understanding of themselves, manage pressure more effectively and become more consistent in their performance. Most importantly, they are better able to enjoy the process and build a more confident, trusting partnership with their horse.
What is performance coaching?
Performance coaching is about helping riders develop the mental skills they need to perform consistently when it matters most. Together we explore how a rider thinks, communicates, prepares, and responds under pressure. We look at where their attention goes, how they speak to themselves, how they recover when things don’t go to plan, and how they regulate their emotions. These are all trainable skills, just like the technical skills we develop in the saddle.
The aim isn’t to eliminate nerves. Nerves are a natural response to doing something that matters, and when managed well they can become a source of energy, focus, and motivation. Performance coaching isn’t about becoming numb to your emotions; it’s about becoming skilful enough to perform well with whatever thoughts, feelings, and emotions show up on the day. The goal is to develop the confidence, self-awareness, and emotional regulation to work with those emotions, rather than be controlled by them.
For me, one of the greatest benefits of developing a performance mindset is the impact it has on our horses. Horses are incredibly sensitive to our emotional and physical state, particularly in competition, where they are also processing unfamiliar sights, sounds, smells, and environments. When we stay calm, present, and focused, we help our horses feel safe enough to do the same. When we can regulate ourselves, we give our horses the best opportunity to regulate themselves too. Just as we invest time in developing our horses physically, we can train our minds with the same consistency. When we do, we create stronger foundations for both horse and rider to perform with greater confidence, trust, and harmony.
Do you think being a rider yourself helps you coach others with their performance and mindset?
Absolutely. I think there’s huge value in coaching something you’ve experienced yourself. I’ve felt the nerves before entering at A. I’ve questioned whether I was good enough. Been frustrated, met training blocks and really struggled with self doubt. I’ve had brilliant days and disappointing ones and almost given up.
Being a rider means I understand the pressures and the importance that we sometimes attach to the competing side of our partnership. Competing isn’t just about the test sheet. It’s easy for it to become more about the months of training beforehand, the early mornings, the setbacks, the expectations we put on ourselves, the financial investment and as a result we move away from what really matters- what we learn about ourselves and our horses experience. That experience helps me empathise with riders, but it also allows me to recognise the patterns that often hold people back because I’ve experienced many of them myself.
You are a dressage and performance coach. How do you combine these to work with riders?
For me, the two are deeply inter-connected. Riding is one of the few sports where your thoughts can influence another living being almost instantly. The moment you become tense, distracted or caught up in overthinking, your horse is likely to feel that change and respond within seconds. That is why emotional regulation and self-awareness are such important parts of my work.
Our mental state often shows up in our bodies. Self-doubt, frustration and pressure can become physical tension, making it much harder to ride with freedom, feel and balance. A supple, independent seat cannot be forced; it develops when the rider is mentally present, physically relaxed and able to communicate with clarity. When I work with riders, we explore both sides of performance. Technically, we identify where improvements can be made in the training. Mentally, we look at what happens before, during and after they ride, because sometimes the biggest breakthrough isn’t changing the horse at all it’s changing where the rider places their attention.
I love systems and structure because consistency and competence create confidence. By meeting the horse each day with emotional regulation, thoughtful routines and a clear set of kind, respectful principles, we create the foundations for horse and rider to build trust, communicate more clearly and bring out the best in each other. Everything we do together is personalised because no two horses or riders are the same. My role is to help each partnership discover the approach that works best for them, developing both the technical skills and the mental skills needed to perform with confidence and consistency.
Everything I do is built around my three interconnected pillars:
Think Well: Developing emotional regulation, healthy self talk, self-awareness and focus.
Ride Well: Creating clear simple systems, consistent habits and quality basics.
Perform Well: Trusting your training and the process when it matters most.
How important is mindset in dressage, and what part does that play in a rider’s success?
It’s incredibly important and I wouldn’t pigeonhole it just for dressage – all disciplines require a clear understanding of self, how to control our emotions and reactions under pressure, especially if you are competing. Dressage asks us to produce precision whilst remaining relaxed, adaptable and in harmony with our horse. You can have the most talented horse in the world, but if your thoughts become consumed by judges, scores and outcomes, impressing others or fear of making mistakes, your riding changes. Our mindset influences our posture, breathing, decision-making and timing, all things our horses immediately feel.
One of the biggest shifts I help riders make is moving from outcome thinking to process thinking. Instead of riding for a score, focus on riding each movement with clarity, knowing you have a plan to recover and reset quickly when things don’t go as expected. Rather than worrying about what you can’t control, bring your attention back to what your horse needs from you in that moment so you can keep riding forward. Ironically, when riders focus on the process, the results often improve naturally.
Does working towards a particular goal help?
Definitely but I caveat that with, ONLY if it’s the right type of goal. Goals provide direction and motivation, but I encourage riders not to become completely attached to one outcome. Qualifying for a championship is a wonderful goal, but there are so many factors outside our control to consider when working with horses who aren’t really aware of deadlines, scoreboards, start lists and when and when not to pull off shoes! I prefer riders to have training, process and performance goals alongside the big shiny goal.
For example, riding every transition with clarity, riding correctly shaped/size circles, sticking to their warm-up process or regaining focus after a mistake. Those are things riders can control every single time they ride. The outcome then becomes a consequence of consistently doing the right things.
Are there common themes that you see?
There are definitely some common themes, and interestingly they almost always come from well-intentioned places. Perfectionism is one of the biggest. Most riders simply want to do the best for their horse, but somewhere along the line that desire to do well can become a fear of getting things wrong. Instead of experimenting, learning and allowing training to evolve, they become reluctant to make mistakes, and that can slow progress.
Comparison is another. It’s never been easier to look around and believe everyone else is progressing faster, achieving more or feeling more confident. We rarely compare ourselves to the whole picture, only to the highlight reel. Self-belief is another area many riders struggle with. They often underestimate what they’re capable of, talk themselves out of opportunities before they’ve even begun, or place more trust in everyone else’s opinion than their own experience and preparation.
Then there’s the stories we tell ourselves. “I’m not good under pressure.” “My horse always goes badly at this venue.” “The judges don’t like us.” These stories often begin as a single experience but, over time, become beliefs that shape how we ride before we’ve even entered the arena. None of these patterns are character flaws; they’re simply ways our minds try to keep us safe. The key is learning to recognise them without judgement, challenge whether they’re actually true, and replace them with thoughts and habits that support both learning and performance.
Ultimately, my goal is to help riders train with curiosity rather than fear, giving themselves and their horses the freedom to experiment, make mistakes, solve problems together and enjoy the process of improving.
What advice can you offer to help a rider competing?
Remember why you started. Most of us began riding because we love horses. Somewhere along the way it’s easy to let scores, qualifications and expectations become more important than the partnership itself.
- Notice and train your mindset with the same consistency that you train your horse.
- Have a really secure plan before you compete.
- Know what success looks like beyond the scoreboard.
- Focus on the things you can control.
- Reflect with curiosity rather than criticism.
- And perhaps most importantly, remember that confidence doesn’t come from telling yourself you’re the best rider in the warm-up. Confidence comes from trusting your preparation, your training and the partnership you’ve built with your horse.
Never underestimate the power of keeping it fun and playful!