Tanja Mitton Equestrian Success And Mindset

01/06/2026

Be careful what you say

The other day I caught myself saying: “I am not going to procrastinate anymore.”

I really meant it. I was not going to procrastinate anymore, I had enough. The more I thought about it the more I stopped, I paused, I got distracted, I found myself sitting on the couch and cuddling Barnaby.

What the ……

When there is something that I find difficult, yes, you guessed it, I procrastinate.

When I don’t know how to do something, yes, I do the same. Procrastinate.

When I am unsure and don’t feel confident…. Well, you know what happens.

And the more I told myself that I would NOT procrastinate, yes, you guessed it. I began to PROCRASTINATE.

Here is the thing:

The mind does not recognise the words
NOT
DON’T
WON’T
The mind focuses on the keywords we use.

What’s my keyword?
PROCRASTINATION

I had to give myself a bit of a talking to.

So, from now on I focus on ACTION, on being PRODUCTIVE and on SUCCESS.

Now that feels much better. ☺

30/05/2026

Every ride is a mirror. 🐎 Your horse is always communicating — are you listening? The more we tune in, the more we discover about ourselves. That's the true magic of this journey. 💛

What's the biggest lesson your horse has ever taught you? Share it below! 👇✨

29/05/2026

Do what you say and say what you do

I must admit something that I have spent a great deal of time pondering about. I often find myself saying things, like:

“I am going to start running so I can improve my cardio fitness.”

“Taking the horses out on regular trail rides would be so good for them.”

“I am going to dedicate more time to reading and learning.”

When I think of it, I have a lot of great ideas, and I declare to myself and others what I am going to do and how beneficial it will be.

Now I am going to be very honest here when I have to admit that I don’t always do what I say I am going to do.

And it bothers me.

I have been thinking about this a lot.

Infect I find it quite frightening how easy it is to give up on good plans.

It is far more easy to continue with the same old behaviour even after we made the decision to change.

It is never the lack of desiring change but rather the discipline on following through.

Making changes is hard. It requires effort and consciousness. When I am half asleep, I tend to fall into my old habits.

“Oh, I am a bit tired, I’ll start running tomorrow.”

“It’s too much effort and will take too long to put the horses on the truck and go out for a ride.”

“I just want to sit down and turn my brain off. I wonder what’s on TV tonight.”

Hmm, interesting…..

Have you ever struggled with following through? I would love to hear it.

28/05/2026

Roadmap to Dressage Success, the online course continues….

If we stay with goals for a little longer, I want to talk about something else.

‘The cost you pay for not achieving your goals.’

When I say cost, I don’t talk about money. Often, we are worried about the money we spend, and we feel we need to show achievements and results to justify the money and the time we spent. I get that, but let’s not talk about that.

I want to talk about the emotional cost, the price of regret that you have to pay. It might not be immediately but as with all regret, it finds you at some point.

Have you ever noticed that regrets come when time is running out.
By the time regret enters your thoughts it is often too late or at best, achieving your goal is more difficult than it was before.
That’s the cost I am talking about.

So, we openly discuss this in the course.

“What will the cost be if you don’t follow through?” I ask.

This is not always an easy question to answer, but then we are here to grow not to be comfortable.

27/05/2026

What’s your passion?

Have you ever noticed that when something is really important to you, you put a lot more effort into getting it done.

I remember when I was a little kid, I desperately wanted to learn how to ride. My parents would point out to me that horse riding was too expensive and not something that we as a family would get involved in. That didn’t stop me from cutting out horse pictures, glueing them into an album and naming every single horse as if it was my own. It didn’t stop me from dreaming that one day I would be owning a horse and riding out in the fields and even participating in the horse shows I used to watch on TV.

In some way I think I became more determined when I was told I couldn’t do it.

Giving up on that dream was never an option for me and so with every decision that I made, if it was schooling, work choices and even boyfriends, I always asked myself how it would impact the horse life I imagined for myself.

Even though there was no way I could know that I would end up not only owning a horse but dedicating my entire life to working with horses, I somehow manifested that life from an early age.
Passion is something we don’t develop along the way, I think passion is something we are born with.

When you identify your passion and you decide to follow it you will find happiness and satisfaction no matter what life throughs at you.
What is your greatest passion?

26/05/2026

The Roadmap to Dressage Success

Some of you might be familiar with the new online course I have launched at the beginning of April.

I just wanted to fill you in on how it is going.

We started out focusing on identifying everyone’s goals.

You know, goals are one of those things that we think about and write down and often after a while forget about.

I remember myself having goals that I wanted to achieve and like every good goal setter I wrote them down and ran them through the SMART Goals principles. It was a great exercise and very helpful I must admit. But then I continued doing what I was always doing, and life gets busy and I got busy and 6 months later my goal had ended up in the top draw of my desk at best, and sometimes in the bin.

This taught me a very valuable lesson.

You see, unless your goal is meaningful to you it easily gets lost in our busy lives.

You know a goal is meaningful when it takes over your first thought every morning and when it is your last thought at night. A truly meaningful goal is with you throughout each day, occupying your mind continuously.

So, you can see how we can’t do anything until we have clarity on the importance of our goals.

Happy riding everyone ☺

Ready to level up? 🙌 Enroll now — link below! 👇🐎

22/05/2026

Goals
One thing that always surprises me is how many riders struggle in achieving their goals.
The reason is not that they are lazy, or not dedicated, but rather that their goals are not clearly defined and emotionally owned.
What I mean is that so often we have goals that are loosely described and without a deep enough meaning. A goal like that is easily abandoned when life takes a turn and unexpected difficulties show up. Many riders I speak to tell me that they are reluctant to set goals because of previous failures and my responds is “Don’t stop setting goals but do start clarifying your purpose.”
‘I don’t know too many people who plan a wedding and then pull out because they got busy and just couldn’t find enough time.’
Think about that. If you are serious about getting married, you find the time to organise the wedding. Infect I would say most people (ok, most ladies) wake up each morning and their upcoming wedding is their first thought on their mind.
If you can’t tell someone in one sentence what your riding goal is then you haven’t clearly defined your goal for yourself.
What is your goal and can you clearly state it in one sentence?
I would love to hear it.

17/05/2026

On the road again…..
Left Queensland today and heading to SA for a couple of days of self care, grounding and simply just sitting in the dirt.
After that I’ll come to Victoria and Canberra for lessons.

My first stop today Bourke NSW.
Staying in a beautiful little motel and sleeping in the BIGGEST BED I have ever seen.
You can fit a whole family in it 😂
On my way I managed to catch up with my daughter who made me the yummiest pizza I have ever had. Soooooo delicious 😋

05/05/2026

"Why solid foundations matter more than quick fixes."

04/04/2026

This is so true and very well written.
Stop obsessing about moving up the grades and start obsessing about finer details.
Solid foundations give confidence where too many ribbons in small classes create a false illusion. Thank you JAMES EQUESTRIAN

Some riders plateau at 1.10m not because they lack talent—but because a few key pieces never fully come together. In showjumping, that height is often where the sport stops forgiving gaps.

Here’s what typically holds people there:

1. The basics aren’t as solid as they think
At 1.10, you can’t “get away with it” anymore. Inconsistent rhythm, weak straightness, or poor distance judgment start costing rails every round. Riders often chase bigger tracks instead of sharpening flatwork and fundamentals.

2. Riding reactively instead of proactively
Many riders at this level are still following the horse rather than riding the plan. They see a distance late, make last-second decisions, and rely on luck instead of creating the jump.

3. The wrong horse (or mismatch)
Not every horse has the scope, carefulness, or mindset to move up. And sometimes it’s not about the horse being “bad”—just not the right fit for that rider’s style or goals.

4. Comfort zone mentality
1.10 can feel safe and achievable, so riders stay there. Moving up means risking rails, time faults, and ego. A lot of people choose consistency over growth without realizing it.

5. Lack of correct coaching or feedback
Progress stalls when no one is truly pushing you or correcting the small details. The wrong voices—or too many voices—can also create confusion and inconsistency.

6. Mental ceiling
This is a big one. Riders often believe 1.10 is their limit. That belief shows up in hesitation, over-riding, or riding not to make a mistake instead of riding to succeed.

7. Inconsistent system
Training sporadically, changing methods, or not having a clear program makes it hard to build confidence and progression—for both horse and rider.

The truth?
Getting past 1.10 usually isn’t about doing something dramatic—it’s about doing the simple things exceptionally well, consistently, and under pressure.

The riders who move up:

Obsess over flatwork and rideability

Develop a clear system and stick to it

Put themselves (and their horses) in the right environments

Stay coachable and honest about their weaknesses

Get comfortable being uncomfortable